Yo so maybe the Chester County Commissioners and the Chester County Planning Commission should put all of us out of our misery now and just rename the county Toll Brothers County?
Tag Archives: toll brothers
tigue farm in west chester to bite the dust
At 945 Tigue Road, West Chester, PA just below the Stadium at West Chester University -between the stadium and Route 52 – actually the other side of the stadium- is this gorgeous farm you see in courtesy photos from my friend Robin Ashby.
And it’s yet another farm which will soon be plowed under for yet another development of plastic houses. I am told the actual farm is on the northeast portion of the parcel. The open land is Tigue Road and Route 52 looking north.
According to information found on the Internet at RealtyTrac.com:
945 Tigue Rd is a farm, crops located in West Chester, PA 19382. Built in 1750, this property features 7 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 58 acres lot, and 3,999 sq ft of living space.
This is East Bradford Township. And oh yeah, it’s Toll Brothers….again:
TOLL BROTHERS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
During their Regular Meeting on December 12, 2017, the Board of Supervisors approved a settlement agreement with Toll PA VI, L.P. for the development of the Tigue Farm (Tigue Road and Lenape Road) to be known as “Darlington Ridge at West Chester.” Minutes from this meeting are available on the Board and Commissions page. The next phase of the development will involve submission of land development plans and Township review during 2018. This application may be prominent on the Township Planning Commission agenda during 2018.
Does everyone realize that acre by acre, what made Chester County Chester County will literally cease to exist at some point in the not too distant future?
How is this crazed thirst for development sustainable? How many times can we expand our schools and/or redistrict until we’re out of room?
It’s time for the residents of Chester County to have their eyes on the prize that is our home county and not just the developers.
Our agricultural and equine heritage are about to be lost forever along with the architectural heritage of Chester County farm houses, outbuildings, and barns. Once the farms are gone, they are gone forever.
Also don’t forget, that a lot of these farms were also proven or potential battle sites during the Revolutionary War. So in a lot of cases our nation’s very history is getting plowed under. And well Tigue Farm dates to the 18th century, doesn’t it?
Are we all to have “green roofs” and grow our food and put animals out to pasture that way? I find that doubtful since all these developments come with homeowners association’s and lots of rules don’t you?
Farming is often a brutally hard life. When did we stop caring about our farmers in this country? We must’ve stopped caring because they’re all selling to developers, right?
I don’t pretend to have all the answers other than restating the obvious which I keep saying, and that is the pace of development must slow down.
dear toll brothers and other developers: there is another way
Reader submitted photo April 2017
This is important to take note of, because it PROVES there is ANOTHER way then straight cram plan developments.
Chester County has been overrun by greedy developers. For perspective remember that size-wise Bryn Coed is like a giant super-sized Chesterbrook.
If not for those who care, like Natural Lands Trust, you would be seeing “coming soon” signs for developers like Toll Brothers.
These screen shots are from the Natural Lands Trust Bryn Coed Farms website.
Imagine living in an expansive, conserved landscape with a thriving nature preserve and miles of trails just next door. That is the unique opportunity available at Bryn Coed Farms.
In order to preserve as much of Bryn Coed Farms as possible, a number of large conservation properties will be made available to individual buyers. Each property will be placed under a conservation easement to be held and monitored by Natural Lands Trust, ensuring that the land is protected in perpetuity.
Seems like a revolutionary idea, doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s how parts of Ardrossan are staying intact in Radnor Township and it is how large swaths of countryside and history in places like England remain intact.
It is a viable solution to developing every square inch. It’s a compromise point.
Now critics will say more land should be saved with these plans and maybe they aren’t necessarily wrong , but this IS a viable compromise in my opinion.
Imagine if the Robinson Family did this at Crebilly, for example?
Or imagine if say developers who want to develop the Bishop Tube site chose a plan like this versus doing things like picking on me for wanting the best clean-up possible?
The Natural Lands Trust has once again proven, there is another way.
And speaking of Bishop Tube it is a big story in the Philadelphia Inquirer today:
Updated: APRIL 10, 2017 — 6:23 AM EDT
by Michaelle Bond, Staff Writer @MichaelleBond | mbond@phillynews.com
Read the entire article. Read where the chair of the supervisors in East Whiteland says he expects the developer will get the zoning variance. That is East Whiteland’s compromise point? Gambling with people’s health and safety? (Notice you hear little to nothing out of state officials and why are these people in office again?)
Read the entire article. Contact the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and East Whiteland Township today if you think more needs to be done with Bishop Tube, Ok?
crebilly meeting reminder and a school district takes a stand against wanton development
So a reminder that the next Crebilly meeting is Wednesday, March 29th, 6-10PM Rustin High School and it will be the second Conditional Use hearing. Here is the link to a printable flyer my pal Mindy Rhodes made with additional dates we all encourage you to share with others:
https://crebillyfarmfriends.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/crebilly-march.pdf
But what is really and truly exciting to me is something I have wished a school district out here in Chester County would do – take a stand on wanton development, and that is exactly what West Chester Area School District has done. Here is hoping more districts follow suit because it gets a bit much when taxpayers watch school districts behave like ostriches with their heads in the sand. Chief ostrich in my opinion is Great Valley School District, but I digress.
Anyway, Mindy Rhodes wrote to all of us this morning not only about the meeting tomorrow but also about this:
Party Status will be determined for a number of groups and then testimony continues. I had a dream last night only five people came to the hearing and the auditorium was empty with the exception of a full stage that included the BOS and Toll Brothers. There are 850 seats in Rustin Auditorium. Please do what you can to attend any part of the hearing. Every bit helps… and don’t forget to bring water:)
Last evening, Dr. Scanlon, Superintendent of the West Chester Area School District, issued a letter to the community that included a resolution from WCASD and the impact the Crebilly development by Toll will have on the schools in the district:
Dear Community Members,
The West Chester Area School District has passed a resolution at its March 27 board meeting to allow the Superintendent to request an annual impact fee of $645,000 from Toll Brothers developers for the added expenses the district will incur from the proposed Crebilly Farms housing development.
Crebilly Resolution.docx – REVISED 3-21-17.pdf
Currently Toll Brothers is seeking approval from Westtown Township to build more than 300 homes on the Crebilly Farms tract of land at the corner of Routes 202 and 926. Working with an experienced demographer, we have determined that this development will generate at least 172 students who would attend our school district. (This estimate already excludes the number of students we believe would attend private schools, based on our previous experience.)
It is common practice for school districts to request impact fees from developers when a large development is proposed. Simply put, a public school district cannot fairly shoulder the entire cost of a huge surge of students at one time. We will need to find additional space in our schools with modular units or additions, we will need to hire additional teachers and other staff, and we will need to provide additional transportation. (In addition, we are bound by law to also provide transportation for any students who choose private schools located within 10 miles of our borders.). We anticipate approximately 56 private and/or parochial school students from this proposed development.
Final approval of this development rests with Westtown Township. We consider it our duty to keep you informed as this matter relates to our school district. Public hearings are continuing, and we welcome your voice in this matter.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jim Scanlon, Superintendent
I am so thrilled by this letter and resolution. I have often been impressed with Dr. Scanlon’s writings in the past; in my opinion, a thoughtful and very sensible voice of reason. This creates yet another hurdle for Toll Brothers to comply with. It is my hope others in similar positions will stand up to this company and hold this developer accountable in every way possible.
If not you, then who?Thank you,
Mindy
I have been critical of the WCASD school district in the past, but today I admire them. I admire their chutzpah in being real and saying to a developer “Hey this is not OK.”
Municipalities and School Districts are separate entities they are autonomous of one another, so basically neither consults the other ever about anything that in the end affects taxpayers and residents….and kids in a school district. Development looks really great on paper to politicians. They can say they brought in ratables end it helps them build the legacy to themselves that they all seem to crave. And no, I am not saying that is the case here with Westtown, it’s just what I think about a lot of municipalities.
Municipalities tend to look at new development like a fresh and shiny toy, but sometimes they need to have more thought as to what that toy will cost taxpayers and residents and members of school districts down the road.
Finally, a school district in Chester County is standing up and saying not no to developers per se, but who is going to pay for the side effects of development after developments are built. This school district is being responsible to residents, children, the taxpayers. And might I add this is something the Chester County Planning Commission should be doing with every development proposed in Chester County? As well as State Senator Andy Dinniman? After all it is not just about land and historic preservation, it’s about the other long term impacts of development, isn’t it? Why do residents always seem to have to do the heavy lifting ?
Here is what WCASD said:
crebilly in the snow
Sigh….isn’t this just beautiful? A friend of mine was kind enough to snap this today and send it to me. I thought I would post it along with a link to a letter another friend of mine wrote to Toll Brothers recently.
No developer can replicate this pastoral beauty or view. They can only steal it for development. And will the future residents of a McMansion Farm even appreciate a view like this? Doubtful. Those people aren’t even allowed to garden the way they want (if they were gardening types to begin with.)
This is what the Robinsons are sacrificing on the altar of soulless development. I still don’t get it. If my legacy was land like this with amazing views, purpose AND history, I would fight to preserve it. But I am guessing these folks are sadly different? They seem to be missing the gene that allows them to do great things – you know like Frolic Weymouth did his whole life and the recent generosity of the Haas family with regard to their estate in Villanova?
#NoMoreTollberhoods
#SaveCrebilly
what toll brothers does to farm land
How is this progress?
the anti-development valentine
This is what development does to open space, to farms. Taken from the air by a friend.
This is what development does to raw land. Given that some reporters are writing “elegies” for Crebilly and 6ABC’s coverage last night, I thought I would leave all of you with an anti-development valentine to ponder today.
It used to be if development was thoughtful, a community might be able to tolerate it. But when was the last time anyone anywhere saw a thoughtful, inclusive development that nodded towards the future while respecting the past? When is the last time any developer who came into Chester County gave a crap about the agricultural and equine heritage of Chester County let alone open space?
Affectionately referred to as “Lake Pulte” – out near/in West Vincent. Reader submitted photo
Oh sure they say they will give you a trail and preserve the trees but is that fair compensation to communities that depended on farming for so many reasons let alone starting with growing our food? Is that fair compensation to the schools when they get overcrowded and taxpayers are forced to build new ones? Is that fair compensation for the loss of history? Is it fair compensation for turning country roads into scenes from outside the King of Prussia Mall? And in the end do they actually preserve the trees let alone preserve a way of life and the history that makes Chester County great?
This is “Liseter” in Newtown Square. It used to be known as Foxcatcher Farm. This is what Toll Brothers did there and it has almost the same number of plastic McMansions they want on Crebilly.
I don’t think so. And no one is doing anything too slow or even measure the pace of development. Brian O’Leary and the Chester County Planning Commission want to talk a good game but what do they actually do? Unless we all forget Mr. O’Leary learned how to talk a good game from the masters in Lower Merion Township where he lives and where he once served on that planning commission, right?
Our state and federal elected officials are all busy fighting each other over who was elected president, but what are they doing for us in as far as historical preservation, land conservation, environmental conservation, open space conservation? What are they doing to protect the future of farming and Chester County and across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? Come to think of it since election day what has any elected official done for any of us in any capacity other than being a talking head?
Happy Valentine’s Day Chester County. Here is hoping from one end of the county to the other people wake up before it’s too late and realize developers are no gift.
Also Toll Brothers. Was once the most glorious series of farm fields and beautiful woods. Little Conestoga Road, Upper Uwchlan. Went by there last week and what was different is there are a couple of “sample” houses on a barren stripped swath of land.
Notice the land and tree “preservation” at Foxcatcher? Be horrified, this is the future at Crebilly.
Not Toll Brothers but this was the old Quigley Farm on White Horse Road in Charlestown Township. The title of this photo is “death of a farm”
Another view of what used to be open space in Chester County…..
Even Malvern Borough can’t escape – used to be Gables Greenhouses….
crebilly news
I have nothing to do with this, I am merely an additional conduit of information. But I have been getting messages regarding what was new, so I will post what I received. E-mail mindyrhodes1 <at> gmail.com to get on her Crebilly updates list.
Here is what I received from Mindy today:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your continued support regarding the pending development of Crebilly Farm by Toll Brothers. I would like to reiterate what I have stated in previous emails: I encourage all of you to forward this info to your friends and at any time you wish to be removed from this list, please let me know.NEXT PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS:Tuesday, January 10th, 6:30PM Rustin High SchoolAgenda: traffic and sewerTuesday, January 24th, 6:30PM Rustin High SchoolAgenda: engineering, fiscal impact and PC recommendationsNOTE: The PC is going to ask for an extension from Toll to split the last January meeting into two separate meetings because they have been so long. I will let you know when I hear more.There are 850 seats in Rustin’s auditorium. It is imperative we rally together and fill these seats. Please invite your friends and neighbors to join you. I recommend we all plan to sit forward this time. In a much larger auditorium than Stetson Middle School, I believe it will send a message from all of us to the developer that we are united and strong. As many of you already know, these meetings have been hours long and public comments are not permitted until the end. Consider bringing a snack, a drink, your knitting:) Take a break and come back, but try to make it for the long haul if you can. Public comments are invaluable and need to be on record. The more we can pick apart the application from the developer and speak on record, the better. Though everyone has a voice and may speak, comments from Westtown Township residents and nearby Thornbury Township residents will have the most impact.If you have not had the chance to view the beautiful and historic land of Crebilly Farm, here is the website: www.crebilly.comAttached is a map of the plans by Toll Brothers. Their original map was green. We had this one colored to clearly define the building lots (orange), waste water disposal and storm water retention (brown) and wetlands (green). The terrain in the central part of the property, where the bulk of the building has been proposed, has many streams, valleys and wetlands. The streams on the property flow into the Brandywine river. This proposed development will impair the eco system and wildlife miles away.I have had some inquiries with regards to donating money. In my opinion, now is not the time to donate money. Pulling funds together should happen if and when there is a call for buying down the development rights or Toll decides to pull out. Until then, MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY by attending the township meetings, along with raising awareness among local and national conservancies, county officials, state officials and historic organizations is where I believe we should be focusing our efforts.Thank you again for your continued support. I believe it is possible to respect land owners rights and also achieve a thoughtful development plan. Without all of your participation, there would be no fight to preserve the integrity of this beautiful open space and the Brandywine Battlefield. Together, we are making a difference.Leave no stone unturned.Mindy—
#NoMoreTollberhoods
developers can’t replicate this view.
#preservechestercounty
too much development has negative consequences
This photo came to me from a friend with the following note:
People who are interested in all the new construction in the Chester Springs area should be made to attempt a morning commute during the week versus cruising through on a Saturday or Sunday.
I felt like I was in Manhattan this morning – cars well past Montgomery School on Route 113 trying to get through the intersection with Route 401, a couple miles worth of hideous, now everyday traffic.
God bless those who have to get to work OUTSIDE of Chester Springs. And to think of the nearly 250 homes not yet occupied as part of Byers Station Phase 2 and roughly same number of Pulte homes going up near Ludwigs Corner????
This is insanity!!!
Perhaps worth a post. Biggest problem when the the massive amount of developing going on is the market for them- the buyers. They have no idea the poor quality of these homes along with what it is really like to get around these 2 lane roads. Uh!!!
And indeed, so worth a post!
Why this is so good to see come to life isn’t so people can be miserable in traffic, it’s instead so people can know what their future holds every time they see one of these plans proposed wherever it is they live.
When these plans are proposed in your municipalities, they are cute little Lego land box drawings on a big flat piece of paper. The drawings are shown with these buildings with nothing around them, so you can’t visualize the reality of these developments for the most part. You get stuck waiting for the developments to be built and then there’s nothing you can do.
And my favorite is the trick that even a curse out here where they talk about how people aren’t going to be using their cars, they will use special Jetson spaceships and public transportation. Everything is going to be “walkable”. Of course how they can say that with a straight face and parts of Chester County were you still have to drive miles to get to a grocery store cracks me up.
A lot of the “highways” out here are glorified country roads. They weren’t meant for this volume of humanity. Then you look at roads like 202 which are a nightmare even with improvements.
So anyway, just more food for thought. Especially if you were thinking about areas like over around Crebilly, and that’s not just because of the Toll Brothers proposed building on that land. It’s quite simply put: just adding all the plans up.
What do you get if you add up all the developments large and small from one end of Chester county to the other? To me that prospect is frightening and very very sad.