Tag Archives: chester county planning commission

chester county planning commission is there something you want to tell residents?

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https://icma.org/job-posts/143284

Executive Director of Planning

County of Chester, PA

Chester County and its 550,000 residents enjoy a high quality of life with outstanding employment and educational opportunities, coupled with an array of performing arts and cultural venues, museums, historical sites, world-renowned gardens, recreational offerings, and an eclectic mixture of dining, microbreweries, and wine tasting options. Referred to locally as “Chesco,” the County includes the City of Coatesville, 15 Boroughs, 57 Townships, and numerous other communities within its 762 square miles and is part of Philadelphia’s 6.2 million metropolitan area population. Chester County is the fastest-growing county in southeastern Pennsylvania, with 100,000 projected new residents by 2050.

The Executive Director of Planning is responsible for leading, implementing and managing all programs, staff, and budgets for the County Planning Commission, Environmental and Energy Advisory Board, and Agricultural Development Council. The position is also responsible for providing the highest technical level of assistance to County Commissioners.

Chester County seeks a visionary and creative Executive Director of Planning who is passionate about progressive planning principles and has the keen ability to develop long-range plans and future projects with area planning and transportation partners. The successful candidate will have a functional understanding in a variety of practices including long-range planning, balancing growth with preservation, open space acquisition and management, affordable housing, sustainability programs, multimodal transportation, and Transit Oriented Development.

A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in planning, geography, political science, economics, landscape architecture, or other related field is required, coupled with ten (10) or more years of applied experience in planning fields (i.e., community, environmental, plan review, transportation, etc.) is required. Candidates with an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will also be considered. Membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) strongly preferred. The final selected candidate must also possess or be able to obtain a valid driver’s license. Residency is not required for the position; however, it is desired that the Executive Director of Planning live within a reasonable commuting distance to the County offices in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Chester County offers a competitive salary based upon qualifications and experience with a desired starting salary range of $120,186 – $150,234.

Please apply online at: https://www.governmentresource.com/recruitment-employers/open-recruitme…
For more information on the position, contact:
Doug Thomas, Executive Vice President of Recruitment & Leadership Development
Strategic Government Resources
DouglasThomas@governmentresource.com
863-860-9314

Soooo isn’t that special as well? Welcome back Church Lady:

So Brian O’Leary is the current Executive Director of Chester County Planning Commission so is he retiring?

O’Leary was appointed in Chester County in 2015. I was never a fan. I remember him from the Planning Commission in Lower Merion Township and Montgomery County.

ChesCo Commissioners name Brian O’Leary as Planning Commission Executive Director

Ok I found it, he’s retiring:

He’s retiring just after the November election as per his LinkedIn:

Good morning friends and colleagues,

On November 8, I’ll be retiring after many great years at the Chester County and Montgomery County planning commissions. It has been interesting, fun, and, hopefully, impactful work that has been much more fulfilling because of my interactions with all of you.

Chester County is now looking for a new executive director of planning, and you can find more about the position here:

https://lnkd.in/e6kfy38W

If you know of someone who would be a good fit for the position, please share the link with them. Chester County is an excellent place to work as a planner. Both the county government and the general community are very supportive of planning; Landscapes3, the county’s comprehensive plan, is well respected by our partners; and the county directly implements smart growth and preservation through its open space, community revitalization, and planning grant programs.

When I retire, I’ll be doing the usual retiree activities of more travelling, more learning, more creative hobbies, more time outdoors, and more time with family.

Sincerely,

Brian

One pension or two? He was at Montgomery County for like 28 years, and Chester County for 9.

My largest problem other than I remember how pro-development I felt he was from my time living in Lower Merion Township, was that he did NOT live in Chester County. Sorry not sorry but to understand Chester County best for a crucial job like this, it should be a resident if possible.

So anyway, arrivederci O’Leary. I hope your successor actually lives in Chester County.

File again under news I found that I wasn’t looking for.

when it’s coatesville and media gets “no comment” on a potential development, look again

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When chirpy little posts get put up about housing developments in Coatesville, you have to look. Because with the City of Coatesville, nothing is ever as it seems because there is a history of corruption in the City of Coatesville, is there not?

When Coatesville says no comment you ALWAYS look again, so I am. I learned that many years ago when it ended up, they were trying to take a certain farm via eminent domain for private gain for a freaking golf course.

So here’s the post that caught my eye and the post creator is correct because if you have an interest you DO have to go to the meetings to be heard. I will preface the post that this is 88.3 acres and I pulled the property record and they have been sitting on this since 2019, which undoubtedly means that logically the City of Coatesville has had some awareness since then and why so quiet?

I will note that her verbiage comes from a publicly published whyy.org article:

Coatesville could soon see its first rental housing development in more than a decade

Coatesville could soon see its first rental housing development in more than a decade

WHYY Kenny Cooper May 28, 2024

📌Harrisburg-based developer Brandywine View Tri-Corner, LLC hopes to bring 266 market-rate apartments to the city of Coatesville. The development will be called the Brandywine View Apartments.

The Planning Commission of the City of Coatesville is expected to vote on the new project in June.

If the five-person commission greenlights the project, the Brandywine View Apartments will be the first rental development to break ground in Coatesville in more than a decade…..

Brandywine View Tri-Corner, which appears to operate under Statewide Partners, did not return multiple calls for comment. Jon Juffe, one of the three partners leading the real estate outfit, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

….According to a preliminary plan submitted to the Chester County Planning Commission, the property will consist of four buildings with multi-family units. An older posting in the Construction Journal described it as “new construction” with approximately 312 parking spaces.

City manager Jonathan Logan and assistant city manager Roberta Consentino declined to comment on the project until after it receives a vote.

I think that’s my favorite part of the article. That the city manager and the assistant city manager of the city of Coatesville declined to comment until after it receives a vote.

Simple question really but why won’t they comment about some thing that they appear to be supporting? I guess it’s always the same old Coatesville government at the end of the day isn’t it?

If a municipality is supportive of a project, all they do is talk about it because they’re salivating over the money they can make. Except in Coatesville if they’re not commenting, it means the other shoe has yet to drop probably doesn’t it?

I called up Coatesville because I don’t see anything on the calendar. The person I spoke to said that the agendas go up a few days before the meetings and that the planning commission meeting should be June 12 and it is a public meeting. I don’t hold out much hope for a comprehensive agenda because I pulled up the one for May and honestly it’s like a 4th grader wrote it. I mean, it is so bare-bones it’s laughable. No plans no documents no instructions as to whether the meeting is recorded you can watch it live or anything.

I asked when I called to find out the date of the meeting to make sure it really should be June 12 if plans would be filed on the website and they don’t file plans on the website. Now they have a fancy new website with an AI bot, yet Coatesville can’t load plans and documents?

Soooo what about all of the houses in Coatesville that need help? Also are there going to be affordable housing units in this development or just market rate which are insanely overpriced most places?

Rental apartments are also creating a more transient society because people don’t stay in apartments necessarily especially given the way most landlords jump the rents with market rates. Just look around Chester County. Look at all the social media forums where people who rent are looking for places to live because their landlords are hiking rents.

The developer mentioned in the article,Brandywine View Tricorner LLC, has owned the property since 2019. They filed business name with PA in 2018.

WHYY says this entity is run by Statewide Partners. Statewide according to their LinkedIn profile:

Statewide Partners and its partners oversee business entities and activities in five main categories, which include: Real Estate Development, Residential Construction, Multifamily Construction, Property Management, and Commercial/Investment Brokerage. The three current partners, Josh, Jon, and Zach Juffe are brothers of a second-generation investment management team. Their combined skill set coupled with their zeal to develop responsible communities and businesses make them a perfect fit for the ever-changing real estate markets they serve.

Statewide filed this entity with the state in 2021:

So when you Google the address, this comes up:

And when you look at the reviews for the companies listed at this address, they’re mostly really bad aren’t they?

So I don’t know what the affiliation is or if these are all pieces of the same puzzle but on the Pennsylvania Corporation database:

So honestly, I think it’s up to the residents to decide. And if they have an interest or questions, they need to go to a meeting June 12 because there’s not much out there on this plan and nobody’s talking about it which can be construed as suspect in my opinion because doesn’t any kind of municipal government always has the ability to say that they don’t have much information but here’s what they know? No comment all the way around it’s just kind of suspicious isn’t it?

This land parcel has been bounced around and bounced around overtime, and I think other plans that were considered for the site were single-family homes in the past maybe?

The property records only record sales dates from 1955 forward, although if you look on the property record, it shows people owning it prior to that. I don’t know what this land ever was used for or if it was just raw land that had no use.

Whatever it is it’s 88 acres, right? Is this the best plan for that site? Was this site ever farmed? Was it a factory? It’s just a puzzle isn’t it?

And who are Josh, Jon, and Zach Juffe?

I found an article quoting Josh Juffe:

https://www.standard-journal.com/news/local/article_8937766d-6a16-588b-a5f2-9c0c1abab090.html

I found this:

https://www.alignable.com/harrisburg-pa/tricorner-homes

Thanks to a 2015 Harrisburg area article I found another entity and this very busy address in Harrisburg. Here’s the article:

https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/07/harrisburg_john_elder_property.html

Here’s the entity:

These folks seem to be busy in Harrisburg and York?

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2016/05/11/developer-plans-50-plus-apartments-baker-building/84253230/

I will note in another lifetime, I spent too much time going up to Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, etc. and that area has a lot of really unattractive development.

So if you live in Coatesville or abut Coatesville and this parcel you’re going to want to go to the planning commission June 12. And then you are going to want to go to the city Council meeting that follows and maybe even the one that precedes it to ask questions.

And one of the questions you should start with for the city of Coatesville is if you look at when the Chester county planning commission reviewed this it was 2021. So have they known about this since 2021?

And I don’t think this is a love match with the Chester County Planning Commission because it’s a pretty long reply. It is in this packet of information. Starting on page 27. I am going to give you screenshots of each of the pages but you should go read it in the PDF because there are other hyperlinks. You may wish to click on. And I’m also going to give you some of the Takeaway is that I am taking out of what Chester county said, as a little excerpts.

Click to access 01-Jan-Final.pdf

Excerpts from ChesCo Planning:

Chesco-Planning-to-City-of-Coatesville-late-2021Download

I hope residents and others interested in this project pay CLOSE attention to what the county is saying with regards to this project. They are not sold on this project the way I am reading this. I also wonder why Coatesville hasn’t seemed to talk about this before if Chester County Planning Commission issued this report late 2021 (December 27, 2021) and we are all learning about this now, almost halfway into 2024?

Here are some things that popped out to me in the Chester County Planning Commission report:

  • The parcel according to Chester County records is 88.3 acres. This plan calls for 7.8 acres according to Chester County Planning Commission so what happens to the OTHER acres?
  • is this to be a phased development?
  • What open space gets saved and preserved?
  • “The plan and aerial photography indicate that a portion of the site is wooded. Mature trees and shrubs reduce the volume and impacts of stormwater runoff by intercepting precipitation, increasing evapotranspiration, and stabilizing soil through root growth. If development or earth disturbance is going to encroach upon existing woodlands, the removal of trees should be limited to the minimum area needed for the buildings and support facilities. The limits of tree removal should be clearly shown on the plan and “limits of disturbance” should be delineated to protect all trees that are intended to remain”
  • “The area to the north consists of much lower-density residential developments, including single-family dwellings. We suggest that the applicant conduct a shadow analysis to predict how the proposed multi-story buildings will affect the neighborhood to the north”
  • “We suggest the applicant consider eliminating at least one of the proposed buildings or
    reconfigure the buildings to limit environmental impacts and provide more usable and centralized open space and recreational areas. Reconfiguring the buildings to allow parking underneath would decrease the footprint for the required parking, provide room for usable open space, and limit the environmental effects on the site, such as on the steep slopes and woodlands.”
  • “The applicant has requested a waiver from landscaping requirements at some parking areas. We suggest that the City carefully evaluate these waiver requests.’
  • “The applicant has requested a waiver from landscaping requirements at some parking areas. We suggest that the City carefully evaluate these waiver requests…..Subsurface infiltration stormwater management practices are not appropriate for areas that will
    receive runoff with high sediment loads. Particular care should be taken during construction to prevent compaction of the soil below the system and to minimize the delivery of sediment to this system from construction runoff.”
  • Public transit access?
  • ADA compliance including with sidewalks?
  • Traffic impact study? I am person ally adding one that is realistic and not done in dead of summer or a holiday which is a favorite dev eloper trick isn’t it?
  • “We suggest that the applicant and City consider providing a percentage of affordably-priced housing units within the proposed apartment building…”
  • City Fire Marshall needs to weigh in on “fire protection facilities” and I want to ask will all roads be WIDE enough to accommodate all fire trucks and apparatus AND will there be ROOM behind buildings and in between for all fire trucks and apparatus? We can all name developments of recent vintage throughout Chester County where we can’t say that about, correct?

So…lots of questions about this prospective project dating to late 2021 and the City of Coatesville seems like they have had laryngitis for a couple of years?

And I have to ask is this a site on the border of Valley Township? What have they been told? And do any other municipalities border this? What have they been told? Development does not happen in a vacuum does it?

It also shows up in a website called Construction Journal which has a notation of zoning variances being sought? So why is this going to planning June 12? Has it already been to zoning? If it has not been to zoning and they do need variances, what gives?

https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/b9de7bd1f5ff4050a47e905ebf32bb52.html

I mentioned earlier in this post that Coatesville’s website has an AI bot. I find that rather amusing considering what money could be better spent on, but I digress. But even the Coatesville Website Bot knows nothing about this project.

I swear it’s the most economically deprived or challenged areas that have the snazzy websites that say absolutely not much. They have a city council meeting tonight and an agenda that says practically nothing and again, no attachments or uploads? And meeting recordings do not appear to be readily available and a handful of City of Coatesville videos and meetings are on YouTube…but only from 2020 so explain how they are sunshine friendly?

https://www.constructionjournal.com/projects/details/b9de7bd1f5ff4050a47e905ebf32bb52.html

I have an inherent distrust of this municipality dating back to around 1999 when the City of Coatesville declared eminent domain on a family named the Sahas who are dear to me. Coatesville wanted to exercise eminent domain for private gain so a developer could build a golf course. I met the Sahas when we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Lower Merion in the historic Ardmore business district. The Sahas fought until 2006. They won. Coatesville lost because they were in the wrong.

I have nothing more to add. This project seems off or it could just be me because it’s Coatesville. People will undoubtedly say I should be supporting things in Coatesville, and yeah if it’s for good, I am all ears to listen. This is just development and I am sorry not sorry of the opinion if residents don’t pay attention and residents in neighboring municipalities don’t pay attention they won’t be happy in the end.

There are too many questions already on this plan don’t you think? If people love Coatesville, then they had better look sharp. That opinion and the rest are brought to you courtesy of the First Amendment. You can’t trust Coatesville government can you?

I will close with a couple of things from the Saha struggle so people are clear as to why I will always and forever be mistrustful of the City of Coatesville.

when good conquers evil eminent domain you get lavender fields

a tale of two cities…err chester counties

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A friend commented today that whomever thought all this new construction was a good idea has hopefully made buckets of money ruining the area.

Among other things I blame the Chester County Planning Commission as well as the various municipalities.

Now these aren’t thoughts I wouldn’t expect from this person but are they wrong? So much construction and so many unfortunate, truthfully ugly apartment buildings. It’s just too much.

Start in Easttown and move west. From fakakta apartments they want to build essentially in the shadow of traditional and lovely Devon Horse Show neighborhoods via rezoning, to the supersizing of Berwyn Village.

Move onto East Whiteland. Apartments everywhere in various stages of development. Ugly, architecturally unfortunate buildings utterly devoid of charm.

And West Whiteland. Oh we can’t forget West Whiteland. A sea of apartments and wait until they develop at Ship Road and Lancaster Avenue which will create the urban canyon corridor from hell.

Here we are at King of Prussia west. And it literally sucks.

The tale of two cities errr ….Chester County.

Here we are in one of the most beautiful counties in Pennsylvania. But due to greed and urban sprawl, how soon before Chester County is referred to as formerly one of the most beautiful counties in Pennsylvania?

We are getting towards the end of 2020 and even in this brutal year of the global pandemic known at COVID19 the development has continued it’s relentless march across Chester County.

I have to ask when will it stop? Single family, multi family, fake carriage homes, apartments, town houses whatever it is ALL TOO MUCH.

nothing like a tropical storm to make you want to revisit the pace of development and all it entails.

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Photo source: Facebook. Location: Exton PA West Whiteland Township.

The photo I am opening this post with speaks volumes. The first thought is aren’t we all lucky to have such great first responders in this area? But it’s the second thought that bothers me and makes me ponder. The location is on the photo. Route 30 and Route 100 in Exton, West Whiteland Township.

If there was LESS development would perhaps there be LESS flooding when a big storm rolls in?

It’s kind of what came first the chicken or the egg kind of a conversation, but Chester County, we need to have it. Yesterday is a clear indication we need to have it.

A disclaimer: I am using flooding photos sourced off of Facebook. Some from the Classic Diner folks, a friend, and just photos that have been publicly posted. People captured in the moment storm flooding images yesterday and I want you all to look at the photos and think.

Think about our communities.

Think about our safety, the safety of our first responders during storms like this.

Think about the pace of development out here.

Think about the need for better stormwater management and less density.

Source: Facebook Route 30 in Malvern /Frazer East Whiteland Township

A friend of mine took the photo above yesterday. This water is insane. I haven’t lived here long enough to know if it ever flooded like this before. They also took the next photo. It sure looks like those boats were ready to launch, right?

Source: Facebook Route 30 in Malvern /Frazer East Whiteland Township

However, it still renews my suggestion that East Whiteland Township is but one of many municipalities which needs to look at their stormwater management codes/rules and reevaluate immediately due to the constant development around here. I also think that East Whiteland and her neighbors to the east and west (West Whiteland, Easttown, Tredyffrin for starters) need to revisit the pace of development, period.

And there needs to be a conversation with the Chester County Planning Commission and their Landscapes quagmire which has this part of Chester County becoming the next King of Prussia. Come on now, I am not exaggerating see this screenshot from Landscapes:

Screenshot from Landscapes 3

I have been perfectly honest in the past of not being a fan of the Executive Director of the Chester County Planning Commission. Brian O’Leary has always been too pro-development and I remember a lot of his decisions on the Lower Merion Township Planning Commission back in the day not exactly fondly. (Here is his email to Chester County Planning Commission if you are interested: boleary@chesco.org or you can email them at ccplanning@chesco.org, or call them at 610-344-6285.)

This man has always been development first oriented and he lives in Lower Merion Township in a densely populated area. Don’t misunderstand me, he lives in a lovely area, but it is extremely unlike out here. And as per bios of him I have read, he grew up in an area even more densely populated than where he currently lives. So how can Brian O’Leary really get Chester County? Sure he works out here, but he doesn’t live out here so how can he get our day to day 24/7/365 experience? So when I see the density the Chester County Planning Commission says in hunky dory for certain parts of Chester County, it literally makes me queasy. Brian O’Leary is captain mixed use, high density. There already is one King of Prussia. There already is one Bensalem.

So Brian, what do you have to say today for the flooding in some places? Can you kindly put your planning brain to use over stormwater management and perhaps a density slow down? Yesterday’s flooding shows we desperately need another plan. A better plan. The more development which occurs, the fewer places for water to go. Common sense.

Source: Facebook Lincoln Court Shopping Center yesterday in East Whiteland Township, Chester County.

So many people are without power. So many people lost so much due to flood waters. People also lost homes due to falling trees. Yesterday was a very bad storm. But as temperature and weather patterns change due to climate change, we have to adapt. And we have to change. We can’t keep doing what we have been doing. Or more specifically, we can’t keep allowing the same patterns of development to continue.

Photo courtesy of the Classic Diner, Malvern. Location: Route 30 East Whiteland Township

Change won’t be easy. Change won’t happen overnight. There are a lot of politics involved to say the least. But I am tired of politicians also driving how we should want to live in our communities. We need more open space, less development. We need less high density development and some real/better stormwater management plans. Municipalities can’t just play lip service to this any longer. They also need to put existing residents first and quit drooling over the quick fix one-time hit of ratables when a new development occurs.

Critics of my thought process will undoubtedly say I can’t tie this storm and over-development together. But I can and I have. Because if there was MORE open space, LESS development, BETTER stormwater management plans, and LESS high density development would some areas have potentially had LESS flooding yesterday? Now I know that doesn’t mean everywhere that flooded yesterday, but in some places I believe people might have fared better.

But until we try as communities to do things better, we will never know if we can do better, will we? So how about it residents of Chester County? Can you ask your elected officials for change?

Thanks for stopping by.

Source: Facebook. Morehall Road at Atwater East Whiteland Township

then there is this other stepford mecca being built on white horse road…

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Of course then there is this development on White Horse Road in Malvern.

I don’t even know what this Stepford Mecca is called.

But hell’s bells I guess these local municipalities must really think that we are going to grow our food on top of Whole Foods and Aldi and Wegmans given the rate they are approving developments out of farm land and open space, right?

And when everyone is so surprised when every school district doubles in size splits into two takes land by eminent domain for new buildings, don’t be. This is exactly why it’s happening.

This is also the Chester County Planning Commission and Municipalities Planning Code of Pennsylvania hard at work…for anyone other than the actual residents.

Wake up Chester County. Wake the hell up.

what a difference a year or two makes in west whiteland

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Ashbridge house in Exton. 2017.

I took the above photo of Ashbridge House located in West Whiteland at Exton Main Street in Exton in 2017.

It’s been mothballed for years in plastic since the mall was built. It’s another Chester County property with quite the history.

They even have a sign up in Exton Main Street about it:

Supposedly this house is being restored. I don’t know exactly which decade that’s going to occur in however, do you? I found this 2017 West Whiteland Planning Commission document (CLICK HERE) which indicates it would be preserved in the middle of hundreds of new apartments. (Also check out the Daily Local Article from May, 2017 and a blurb on the WCHE website from the same time.)

Hundreds. Because you know there aren’t enough apartments and townhouses and carriage houses being built in West Whiteland Township now are there?

That’s crazy. Obviously it was approved. Click HERE to see a list of developments in various stages in West Whiteland. Suffice it to say, I thought the list of developments in East Whiteland were bad enough. And I can’t say for sure that these lists are current as to what development is planned where.

But I digress.

Here we are in March, 2019 right? So a couple of weeks ago I guess it is now, I was over at Exton Main Street with my husband. I can tell you I was stunned by the way Ashbridge House and the outbuildings looked.

Ashbridge House in Exton. 2019.

When exactly is the preservation going to finally begin? Is it just me or do others of you out there think it’s never going to happen and someday will just hear how the house mysteriously fell down?

Ashbridge House in Exton. 2019.

I just don’t understand. I don’t understand why people no longer seem to care about historic preservation in a county that used to be known for it.

If you are interested in Ashbridge house, I have found a couple videos:

Janice Early’s terrific history video

Abandoned Steve Adventures 2013 video

Ashbridge House in Exton. 2017 or 2018.

dear developer, if you are going to preserve lloyd farm’s historic farmhouse…actually DO IT

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Reader submitted photo. Lloyd Farm’s farmhouse. 2019

I received a message overnight:

I am hearing from  neighbors (across from Lloyd house) the developer isn’t tearing the circa 1795 house down. I hope that’s true! A bunch of us walked the house. Teens have vandalized it yet the house is solid. Something like 9 bedrooms!!

I met a lady in town whose mother grew up there. Her mother’s mother died when she was young so the father took a job at Lloyd farm taking care of the stables and horses and they lived in the house with the Lloyd family! (We assume based on dates it was the Lloyd family)

Sending photos I took. It’s such a huge old house.

Abandoned Steve photography documents old Chester county houses before they’re torn down. He took photos as well. His are better than mine.

Lloyd Farm. Sigh.

In December 2018 I had posted about Lloyd farm in Caln being at risk. Sources tell me that they had quite the crown turn out the other evening who turned out to protest this?

Things that people are worried about include will that historic farmhouse be torn down no matter what? Is it true that farmhouse does indeed have a fairly new roof and if this land was part of a William Penn Land Grant as in the guy who settled PA, how can this even happen? And what about the component of the big pipeline easement? How should that affect density of any development plan?

Things also being wondered about is this developer just looking for plan approvals to flip the parcel with approvals to yet another developer? And is this developer the guy who owns Suburban Propane?

Is it true that Caln’s solicitor was snippy with residents? And isn’t she the same gal who USED to hold or holds a similar position in West Goshen? East Goshen? Does something in Easttown and more places? Why does she seem so pro-development? Is she going to be mad I ask these questions? Aren’t we allowed to ask these questions? Will she try to stop me from asking these very reasonable questions?

And as for the category of “in the audience” who was the mystery attorney who seemed to object to some community flyer? Who was he there for? Apparently they also objected to residents concerned about development jacking up traffic?

So the meeting was paused until January, 2019, correct? And then there was this update January 5th that a reader posted:

Update on the Lloyd Farm. There is no public hearing being rescheduled. The people have spoken and the Commissioners have heard you!  While this plan isn’t going to get through, REGAL WILL BE BACK. As quickly as they can. Yes they have a right to develop land the own and paid $4.6M dollars for. But they need to do it in a manner that is acceptable to the Caln Twp residents. We will be watching and reporting so keep a look out for news here and on www.calnwatch.info

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I was driving by Lloyd Avenue while in Downingtown on Saturday with a friend, so is this part of that parcel?  See below:

32023107677_264313156a_o

Is this part of “Lloyd Farm”?

So a recap is in order before I press on, ok?

Super historic. Known as the “Lloyd Farm”, “Valley Brook Farm” has a fire I would call mysterious a few years ago?  Seriously.

Then I hit Google and oh the things I found including this amazing history compiled by someone named Edward G. Lendrat on the West Chester University Old Caln Historical Society Collection. Caln Township has this buried on their website.

Pretty crazy historic, and I understand there was a fire, but  is super-sized developement all Caln Township can think is right for this property??? I am told the developer who has bought the “Lloyd Farm” was proposing 5 story apartment buildings, and commercial where there is NO zoning for it? So now what?

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So if I read the history of the property correctly, it dates back to the late 1600s and a Penn Land Grant? And by 1996 it was owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia? (Now I make no secret of my disdain of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and their pedophile priest problems of recent past. Sorry, I digress again…)

Ironically something I wasn’t looking for with regard to this property but seemed to have stumbled upon is a 2015 pipeline easement between the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Columbia Gas. So umm, high density development being proposed and a pipeline? NICE, right?

(See my prior post for links to the history I found and some document on the easement.)

Again I will tell you I have never been on this property. But people near it have, which is how I was sent the photos I am sharing.

Do I have the answers as to what to do with this property? Sadly, no.  Don’t know that area well enough.  But if there is a pipeline easement, maybe the developer should go light on the development?

Again, how many cram plan developments does one county need? Who is driving this?

Chester County, we can’t just keep sitting idly by as chuck after chunk of land gets carved up.  Once open space is gone, it’s gone.  Once history is gone, it’s gone.

They had me with part of a Penn Land Grant.  That is older than the American Revolution and is so the literal founding and early settlers.

Here is a snippet off of Wikipedia – sorry – it saves me time:

The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in English North America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II. The name Pennsylvania, which translates roughly as “Penn’s Woods”,[1] was created by combining the Penn surname (in honor of William’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn) with the Latin word sylvania, meaning “forest land”. The Province of Pennsylvania was one of the two major Restoration colonies, the other being the Province of Carolina. The proprietary colony‘s charter remained in the hands of the Penn family until the American Revolution, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was created and became one of the original thirteen states. “The lower counties on Delaware”, a separate colony within the province, would breakaway during the American Revolution as “the Delaware State” and also be one of the original thirteen states.

Also check out places like the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s website. Land that was part of any Penn Land Grant is extraordinarily historically significant.  Residents near and far and hsitorians should take note and attend meetings.  Media local and regional might not find history and land development sexy, but they also need to get on the stick here. One  blip on this important topic was in the Daily Local in early December.

According to the Caln Watch Website there is a meeting Tuesday, February 12 at the Thorndale Fire Hall 3611 Lincoln Hwy, Thorndale, PA 19372 – 6pm to 8pm (Parking located in school lot):

meeting

Soooo…among the questions that should be asked and that Caln Township and this developer needs to address is are they SAVING the historic farmhouse for real? If so enough with the demolition by neglect, right? If people are sending me interior photos, then the building is not properly secured and while safe for now the longer it is exposed to punk ass vandals and the elements is not good, correct?

So the Daily Local seems to indicate that Caln Township is not really particularly chatty on the topic of Penn Land Grant becomes development and why is that?

They did post a teensy 2/1/2019 update on this issue:

2 1 update

Sooooo…my suggestion? Contact these folks. Make your opinions known. Flood meetings with bodies. Reach out to  public officials and those who want to be in office or ummm have aspirations for higher office who are in local office now. Reach out to any historic preservation or media contacts you have.

Caln officials:

Jennifer Breton jbreton@calntownship.org

George Chambers gchambers@calntownship.org

Josh Young jyoung@calntownship.org

John Contento jcontento@calntownship.org

Lorraine Tindaro ltindaro@calntownship.org

Always cc ​info@calntownship.org

It borders Downingtown, right?

Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell would be on my list and he wishes to be a Chester County Commissioner. Jmaxwell@Downingtown.org

Downingtown Borough Council:

Borough Council

Anthony Gazzerro, President
Ward: West
Term Expires: 2021
Contact: agazzerro@downingtown.org

Alex Rakoff, Vice President
Ward: East
Term Expires: 2019
Contact: arakoff@downingtown.org

Phil Dague – Councilperson
Ward: East
Term Expires: 2019
Contact: pdague@downingtown.org

Jeff Thomas, Councilperson
Ward: West
Term Expires: 2019
Contact: jthomas@downingtown.org

Ann Feldman, Councilperson
Ward: East
Term Expires: 2021
Contact: 610-518-5615
afeldman@downingtown.org

Patricia McGlone, Councilperson
Ward: West
Term Expires: 2021
Contact: pmcglone@downingtown.org

The Chester County Planning Commission:

Brian N. O’Leary, AICP,
Executive Director

boleary@chesco.org

Carol Stauffer, AICP,
Assistant Director

cstauffer@chesco.org

(P) 610-344-6285
(F) 610-344-6515

CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE STAFF DIRECTORY.  You never know who you may know, right?

Like Crebilly (in Westtown and still at risk) this is a call to arms. (See Crebilly Farm Friends and Neighbors for Crebilly  for more on that issue.)

Also at issue and not in Caln and not Lloyd Farm but I must mention given the shared solicitor?

Development in East Goshen.

Those misguided supervisors are voting on higher density B.S. zoning thing I never thought I would see in that township on Tuesday February 5th. I heard and was not surprised to hear they refused a resident petition against this? The East Goshen  meeting starts at 7 PM.  The agenda is posted and can be read HERE. People and media should attend that as well and read the packet linked here. (Also on Tuesday in East Goshen? A chicken ordinance.  I find it ironic that chickens have such issues in a township that was once also a lot of farms. Yes, I am pro-chicken although I personally keep none.)

Why is this a call for arms? Simple. Chester County is groaning and suffering under the weight of over development and it needs to slow down or even stop for a good long while.  Just this weekend I was in Glenmoore for example.  They seem to suffer from lots and lots of power outages.  Locals speculate part of the cause is the infrastructure can’t keep up with the pace of development.

Moderation is the key to true and actual smart growth.  Only we don’t see that any longer. There is limited respect for the past and the architectural heritage of Chester County.  Just like there is lip service paid to open space and agricultural preservation at times.  It’s great when small parcels are preserved and handed down to the next generation, but what about these big parcels? Parcels like Crebilly and Lloyd farm are what a lot of our county was like for a very long time.

Now I actually do believe progress has a place but it’s the vision of progress I take issue with.  Progress doesn’t have to hurt and wanton development hurts.  We can’t support it long-term and by the time a lot of folks figure that out, the developers and current elected and appointed officials will be long gone, correct?  As a county we have to look past the damn ratables that elected and appointed officials salivate over.  They are a short-term financial gain if a gain at all since is it not true sometimes the ratables are not what people thought they would be?

Maybe some do not like my opinions, but I am entitled to them. Not every square inch should be developed. Not every square inch needs to be developed.  Y’all aren’t going to get your veggies off the roof of places like Whole Foods are you?

Farms, open space, history need to be respected and preserved.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone.  What do you as a resident want the future to look like? Lots of Tyvec wrapped plastic beige boxes? More stucco McMansion horror show stories?  Human warehouses for seniors and others? More ugly strip malls? The end of Main Street? Constipated bits of “open space” which is usually land that is not able to be developed?

Tick tock Chester County, tick tock.

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Reader submitted photo Lloyd Farm 2019

will village of howellville get squeezed by development in tredyffrin?

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Pattye Benson Community Matters Photo

Pattye Benson Community Matters Photo

The Village of Howellville is one of Tredyffrin’s earliest villages. So historic and it was easily accessible by the farms of the Great Valley.  According to Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society it started with a tavern around 1712:

Howellville, one of Tredyffrin’s earliest villages, grew in an area convenient to the farms of the Great Valley. A tavern was often the start of a town, and the first one here was built about 1712. By the early 1700s, sawmills and gristmills had appeared. Nearest to the center of town was the sawmill on Crabby Creek. Several of the early farms had their own limestone kilns. The first school opened about 1720. A factory of some kind belonging to the Workizer family is listed on the 1798 Direct Tax. [Note 1] By the late 18th century, a shoemaker and a wheelwright had set up shop.

More industry developed in the 19th century, including a woolen mill owned by Samuel Wood. There was at least one blacksmith. By the middle of the century there was a store and the Chester Valley Railroad, and by the late 1800s Howellville was a thriving industrial town. The limestone quarries became big business and Italian immigrants arrived to work at them. Other nationalities followed, but were never as numerous or as prosperous as the Italians.

By the early part of the 20th century, Howellville had become a close-knit community-a bit naughty, with lots of drinking and gambling. Then came the Depression which dealt rather harshly with the village. Having lost their jobs, and with no place to go, the quarry workers lived hand-to-mouth. In 1934 Frances Ligget, later a member of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club, marshalled the help of the Valley Forge Farm and Garden Club to clean up the town and help the unemployed workers and their families. Free seeds were given for gardens. The state provided medical assistance as well as sewing, knitting, and cooking classes, and a nursery school. Weaving was taught by Lettie Esherick, wife of the artist Wharton Esherick.

In 1681 land in the center of Tredyffrin Township that would eventually become most of Howellville belonged to William Mordaunt and John Hort Each owned 500 acres. They were Welsh Tract brokers-they bought the land from William Penn but never lived on it. In 1711 Mordaunt’s sons sold their 500 acres to John Evans, who had previously been Governor of Pennsylvania. Just to the east lay 1340 acres that David Meredith sold to William Powell in 1706. They were also Welsh Tract brokers.

Llewellyn David, a Welshman and one of the early settlers, bought 300 acres in 1708. The name David (later changed to Davis) was the biggest name in Howellville for the next two centuries.

The area sat at the bottom of a natural bowl where three hilly roads met to form a triangle. Swedesford Road, forming the north side of the triangle, came into existence about 1720, very early in the settlement of the Great Chester Valley. It led from the vicinity of Randall Malin’s house in East Whiteland to the Swede’s Ford at the Schuylkill River, near present day Norristown, and gave settlers in the interior access to Philadelphia.

Bear Hill Road, which formed the southeast side of the triangle, connected the Valley with the Black Bear Tavern at the top of the South Valley Hill near the Lancaster Road and today’s village of Paoli.

The southwest side of the triangle was Howellville Road, until a traffic light was installed at the corner about 1960. Then it became part of Swedesford Road and the north side of the triangle was made one-way. It was this way until most of Howellville’s buildings were torn down and Route 202 was completed and dedicated in 1971.

The triangle at the bottom of these roads was a convenient place for horses and wagons to stop and rest, and in 1745 a license was granted to establish the first tavern. When David Howell settled in the area and became the second innkeeper of the tavern, about 1765, it was called Howell’s Tavern. The village that grew up around it became Howellville. When the old inn was razed in 1921, the only house in the triangle was the little house described by Henry Darling later in this article.

The triangle disappeared in 1967 when Route 252 was widened and Route 202 was built.

READ THE ENTIRE HISTORY HERE

The history of Howellville is fascinating and rich.  Most people just think of Howellville Road today…not that it was a historically important crossroads village. It is an integral part of the history of Tredyffrin and was discussed in Tredyffrin’s 2009 Historic Preservation Plan.

001r

Last time I was on Howellville Road was in the fall  when I was noodling around and found myself on that road.  It has long fascinated me and I lament the loss of one crossroads village after the other as time progresses.

villa-straffordToday I just finished reading a blog post by my friend Pattye Benson about a proposed development there. Oh and the developer is a name familiar to East Whiteland and Radnor 6602889_0_jrbnqjresidents: Benson Companies. Or you know, the townhouses without real trees crammed in at 115 Strafford Ave in Wayne and the eqully unctious cram plan that finally got approved at 124 Bloomingdale Ave in Radnor. And for East Whiteland? Linden Hall. You know the developer that said they would restore historic Linden Hall if they got approved for townhouses, only they haven’t done anything other than sell approved 124-bloomingdaletownhouse plan  to Pulte who built the townhouses with a view of the cigar store, Route 30 and the still rotting Linden Hall? But is that all on Benson? What about the teaming up with O’Neill at super toxic Bishop Tube?  And do not forget Kimberton Meadows, right?27685291670_2d629ed33d_o

Anyway….Benson is once again the proposed townhouse gift that keeps on giving:

Community Matters: How many townhouses and assisted living communities does Tredyffrin Township need (or want)? Can the T/E School District accommodate the increase in student population?

February 15, 2017

Comments

You may recall the abandoned Jimmy Duffy property on Lancaster Avenue in Berwyn and the subsequent construction of Daylesford Crossing, an assisted living facility on the site.  The approval for Daylesford Crossing was a long, drawn out redevelopment process in 2012 that required a text amendment to permit senior living facilities as a by-right use in C-1 (commercial) zoning.

Some argued at the time that the zoning change to permit senior living in C-1 was ‘spot-zoning’ to accommodate this specific project and others questioned what this would mean for future C-1 development in Tredyffrin Township. In 2015, the township expanded the C-1 District zoning to also include townhouses as a by-right use.

During the last few years, developers have flocked to the township with their assisted living and townhouse, apartment and condominium plans. Assisted living projects currently under construction or in the review process include Erickson Living at Atwater Crossing in Malvern (250 beds) and Brightview Senior Living on E. Conestoga in Devon (196 beds).

On the townhouse-apartment side in the township, there are many projects in the planning stages or under construction….Areas that were once farmland continue to be developed.  Top ranking school district, T/E brings an influx of people to the area which means an influx of students, and the growing problem of finding a place to put them….. a new proposed land development plan in the works that is extremely troubling – townhouses on Howellville Road. The proposal is to wedge a cluster of 20 townhouses, in four buildings, between the village of Howellville and the shadow of the Refuge Pentecostal Church.

howellville-road-townhome-plans

….The proposed land development plan on Howellville Road is not compatible with the character and appearance of the area.  Beyond the impact of traffic on Howellville Road, the proposed development plan creates serious safety concerns.  The steep narrow winding nature of Howellville Road makes entry and exit from the proposed dense townhouse project a dangerous situation.

Benson Company’s proposed townhouse project on Howellville Road will change the look and character of this community as well as place a greater burden on the narrow, winding road – and again more students for the school district!

John Benson of Benson Company has enthusiastically offered that his proposed Howellville Road townhouses will look like his Grey’s Lane townhouses on Lancaster Ave.  A couple of things – (1) Grey’s Lane is on Rt. 30, a commercial 4-lane road vs. Howellville Road, a rural country road and (2) he squeezed 12 townhouses in at Grey’s Lane in 3 buildings where as this proposal is for 4 buildings with 20 townhouses….Areas that were once farmland continue to be developed. Between the assisted living communities and the townhouses and apartments, should the objective in Tredyffrin Township be to approve any and all land development projects regardless of the impact?

How awful this sounds and allow me to share two screen shots – one is Pattye’s photo of where the proposed townhouses will be stuffed in and perched like Jabba The Hut and all his children, and a rendering of the “Greys Lane” townhomes…another cram plan, and cheap looking to boot.

And from an aesthetic point of view, every time I see a staged interior of a “fabulous” Benson new construction piece of new construction dreck I am struck with the fact that every interior looks the same. If you want Barbie’s dream house, you are pretty much there. No character, predictable, mass produced, plastic.

Photo by Pattye Benson Community Matters

Photo by Pattye Benson Community Matters

25 Greys Lane, Berwyn, PA:

7db6d1b352d8413-6924697

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Residents of Tredyffrin are soooo right!!  How much of this does any one township want or need? And much like neighboring East Whiteland it seems like people are hell bent on developing every square inch of the township! Who needs King of Prussia? Soon Tredyffrin and East Whiteland will definitely resemble King of Prussia meets Bensalem.

Oh yes, one more thing? Tredyffrin residents need to get to the Planning Commission TOMORROW February 16th when this next great godforsaken plan makes it’s debut along with “Westlakes Hotel” and “Chestnut Road Apartments”.

Again I ask where the hell the Chester County Planning Commission and Brian O’Leary are? Lord above, Chester County is drowning, yes drowning in development plans.

tredyffrin

“stakeholder” meetings should be centrally located and convenient for “stakeholders” right?

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dsc_8099A reporter asked me what happened to the link for the Chester County Planning Commission’s survey in advance of the soon to be new and glorious Landscapes3, an Exercise in Resident Futility.

Why?

Because the original link does NOT work anymore.  Great planning: they send out a link ask all their contacts to distribute within their communities and then they change it. Or make it go away. Of course I have no answer what happened to all of the answers of people who already completed the survey, do you?

So now go to this page Public Participation Opportunities , go partway down the page and see:

Topical Surveys

Developed to gather stakeholder opinions on specific topical areas, these surveys are also being made available to the public. Targeted to representatives of organizations active in the topical areas, interested individuals are welcome to complete these surveys as they become available.

  • Preservation

  • Agriculture

  • Housing

  • Utilities and Infrastructure (available October 26)

  • Transportation (available November 2)

  • Economic Development (available November 16)

  • Community Health (available December 6)

 

Also of note, the top part of the page:

The development of Landscapes3 will be an open and collaborative experience. The public is invited to participate throughout. The process includes:

Photo Contest

Participants can submit their favorite Chester County place in this photo contest, which is aimed at taking a different approach to identifying what is valued by residents. Prizes will be available. (coming soon)

Stakeholder Meetings

A series of stakeholder meetings will be held to identify issues and challenges facing Chester County over the next ten years. Experts will meet under the following topics: preservation, agriculture, housing, utilities and infrastructure, transportation, economic development, and community health. The public is invited to attend and observe these meetings. Click here to view meeting schedule.

 

How many of my photos of farms and historic houses would they like to see?

But then we come to the stakeholder meetings. Here is a screen shot of the schedule:

this-is-how-you-know

In the middle of the afternoon, in Coatesville? Seriously? Hello people work, pick kids up from school/sports, have farms and businesses to tend, and so on.

But no, Chester County’s idea of most opportune time to schedule these meetings is in a place not quite ideally located and at times inconvenient for the majority of people living int the real world.  Common sense would dictate if they were REALLY interested in what people who live here and pay taxes (as opposed to the carpetbagger Executive Director of Chester County Planning Department Brian O’Leary), they would have chosen a location like West Chester, or done a series of traveling meetings and maybe holding them in school auditoriums or something.

But Brian O’Leary and the Chester County Planning must not really be terribly interested in citizen participation if they choose times that are NOT convenient for average folk, even farm folk and choose a location like this one in Coatesville, that is not really even convenient to anyone.  (Which is why I think they should have had travelling meetings to capture different quadrants of the county more effectively.)

This is not an auspicious beginning to a long process that is supposed to matter, Chester County.

And no, Brian O’Leary I am not going to stop mentioning you are not a Chester County resident and come from a uniquely pro-development township (Lower Merion Township) where I don’t think you listened much at all to residents while on the Planning Commission there, arranged for political pasty “planning” awards be given to politicians who weren’t planners except in the landscape sense of the word, and were employed by Montgomery County which as a whole has been decimated by development in part.

Our chief planner should be one of us.  I find it hard to believe that no such qualified planners exist in Chester County.

Carpe Diem, Chester County Residents.  I know many of you care. Speak up. Please…before all the open space, farmland, and history is gone. This county has a unique history, and it is very much at risk.

saddle up for crebilly, chester county

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kathy-shea-photo

Photo Courtesy of Chadds Ford Live and Kathleen Brady Shea “With the expanse of Crebilly Farm ahead of her, Mindy Worth Rhodes rides on Dunvegan Road in Westtown Township. Her goal is to raise awareness about Toll Brothers’ subdivision plan for the 330-acre property.” (Photo edited by me to achieve this cool effect)

Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 words. Kathleen Brady Shea’s photo in her article today did that for me. She seems to be the sole member of the media who cares about the fate of Crebilly Farm.  I find it disturbing that I have not seen anything anywhere else as a matter of fact.

This article is about a woman whom I do not know but wish I did, because she sounds marvelous. Her name is Mindy Worth Rhodes, she is now a resident of  the historic village of Trimbleville in West Bradford Township, grew up in Westtown on General Howe Drive. She is a life-long equestrian and growing up she rode through Westtown neighborhoods to be able to ride on Crebilly.

So on Sunday, like the Pony Express rides again or Paul Revere, she saddled up her horse and distributed flyers about saving Crebilly.

How cool and appropriate is that?  To do it on horseback!

I am thrilled other people are stepping in and stepping up the game to Save Crebilly, or at least part of it.  Community matters and so does coming together on this issue.

As a friend said to me today:

The more letters and emails that go to ANY public officials, including the county commissioners, the better….. Here’s what I know about the previous apartment building: It would have conserved 90 percent of the tract. That is why some, including the supervisors, supported it. Members of the public hated the concept and came out in droves to defeat it;

 

Here is an excerpt of today’s article:

Saddling up support for Crebilly preservation

Posted by Kathleen Brady Shea on October 10th, 2016

The news that Crebilly Farm, a historic, 330-acre property in Westtown Township, was poised to become a massive subdivision hit a former neighbor particularly hard.

 

Heartsick is how Mindy Worth Rhodes described her reaction to the news that Tolls Brothers had an agreement of sale for the farm, where the developer hopes to erect up to 385 homes. Rhodes explained that she grew up on General Howe Drive in Westtown Township, and about two decades ago, she often rode her horse through adjacent neighborhoods to get to Crebilly’s pristine open space.

 

Rhodes, who now lives in the historic village of Trimbleville in West Bradford Township, is also acutely aware of Crebilly Farm’s historic significance. Like her current residence, Revolutionary War troops traversed the property, which is bounded by Routes 202, 926, New Street and West Pleasant Grove Road.

And even though Rhodes lives in West Bradford, she said she still travels past the scenic farm on a regular basis by car, enjoying its magnificent vistas.

 

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever,” said Rhodes. She stressed that she’s not anti-development and firmly believes that Crebilly’s owners should be fairly compensated. However, she also maintains that every effort should be made to protect such hallowed ground.

And toward that end, she decided to get back on her horse.

On Sunday, Oct. 9, after printing more than 100 flyers, Rhodes saddled up White Spike and set out on a wind-swept odyssey to raise awareness….nyone interested in joining the effort or receiving more information could contact her at mindyrhodes1@gmail.com or info@neighborsforcrebilly.org.

 

I can’t pretend to understand the heirs to and most of the current residents of Crebilly, one of whom resides in New Mexico.  But the person we see mentioned the most when it comes to Crebilly is David Robinson. I do not know what drives Mr. Robinson.  Wish I did. I guess I do not and will never understand how a significantly affluent and influential family can sell to a Toll Brothers?  I get wanting to divest themselves of some of the land because it is an awesome responsibility, but how do you inherit something like Crebilly and not want to preserve it for future generations?

How do you not value the legacy that was dropped in your lap because you were related to certain people? Is it the whole having to work for it versus inherit it? How can you sell to Toll and live in your same homes and watch hundreds of plastic boxes grow up like demented plastic corn around you? Does the man have an overwhelming desire to be the Squire of his very own plastic Toll Village? And since the family has avoided telling anyone anything, no one knows besides the obvious objective of financial motivation and gain what is going on, right?

Now, onto other things. First,  I thought I would mention in addition to my Save Crebilly Farm Page on Facebook, there is now a Neighbors for Crebilly Page on Facebook.  I know the people who started that page a little bit, one is a residential realtor in Chester County and her significant other who is a businessman  is no stranger to conservation and land deals. They are what a friend of mine would term simply as “good people”.  So that being said, while they are not neighbors in close proximity to Crebilly anymore than I am, they are smart people whose heart is with Crebilly….you can’t go wrong with that now, can you? Maybe give their page a like too please?

So while I am on the topic of neighbors, I know people in Westtown Township are upset about Crebilly, but they are not going to Westtown Meetings to discuss it with their Supervisors.  Supervisors might be local politicians, but they are also human beings and not clairvoyant.  People with actual standing, who live in Westtown, need to speak up now before it is too late to have a voice, any voice in the eventual outcome. And whomever started the latest petition should probably come forward as I assume they wish to present their petition to Westtown?

I get the need to have anonymity when voicing opinions on certain local topics, but whomever you are, you inspired me and others to raise our collective voices regarding Crebilly with your simple message to go with your petition:

Help join the cause to save Crebilly Farm, a prized open landscape that represents Chester County’s unique history and natural beauty. There are currently plans installed by real estate company Toll Brothers to develop the Crebilly property. If you oppose these plans, please show your support. Together we can preserve Chester County’s historical significance and natural integrity that are central to our community’s identity. Let’s keep our home an enjoyable place to live in.

Here are some of the comments left by petition signers:

1-more another-1 family history memories more regrets

I hope someone hears their pleas. Eloquent and simple.

I hope Westtown residents express themselves soon so their township hears from the residents in time.

I hope people from ALL over Chester County bombard the Chester County Commisisoners with phone calls, e-mails and letters over Crebilly and the state of development in Chester County in general.  It would be nice for example if they could tell us the taxpayers and residents of Chester County why it is that our county planning is headed up by a hired gun who does not even live in Chester County? Why is the Chester County Planning Commission led by Brian O’Leary who lives in super pro-development Lower Merion Township, used to be on their planning commission and accomplished nothing really to combat over development and sprawl during his tenure in Montgomery County? Why does a pro-development Auslander the best choice? Are there no qualified planners who reside in Chester County? Really?

Other Crebilly posts:

before crebilly gets developed westtown, let’s talk traffic

is it possible to STOP toll brothers from destroying crebilly farm in westtown? sadly, probably not.

a love note to the chester county planning commission

Oh and one last thing. In order for Chester County Planning Commission to be as confusing as humanly possible they have split the survey they recently sent out into different sections. You can now take a survey on just certain sections like Preservation or Agriculture, for example.

I will note their original survey seems to be not load right (maybe it’s just me, not sure and it could be Survey Monkey which gets hung up if some thing is busy), so   FOLLOW THIS LINK. It will lead you to the split up sections page.

Carpe diem folks! Once places like Crebilly are gone, they are never coming back.  It is up to us collectively to step up and demand better.  Historic preservation, equine and agricultural preservation, meaningful open space preservation.

I would like to think when it comes to Crebilly, the ghosts of American Revolutionary War Soldiers would want us to speak up don’t you?  They died to keep our land free from invaders, right?

Thanks for stopping by.