Proposed Toll Bros. development on Chesco farm plows ahead -- with conditions

To residents, 322 acres of rolling hills on the eastern edge of Chester County are iconic and invaluable to preserving the agrarian history of a county that is undergoing rapid growth.

To developers, the Crebilly Farm tract has been ripe for development for decades and is an ideal spot for nearly 400 homes.

The Westtown Township Planning Commission has recommended that the township's board of supervisors accept the bid by Toll Bros. to build up to 397 single-family homes and townhouses on the property.

But the commission -- which has no power beyond issuing recommedations -- gave the developer more than 20 suggested conditions.

At its meeting Monday night, attended by about 100 people, it said Toll should shift the development farther east, thus preserving portions of the property that could hold historic artifacts. Hessian troops are said to have marched through on their way to battle the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The planning commission also called for additional traffic signals, road improvements, a public trail, removal of any trees that could be diseased or otherwise hazardous, minimized use of cul-de-sacs, and the removal of access to Route 202.

"This is the best way the planning commission could help the situation,” said Mindy Rhodes, a West Bradford Township resident who said she grew up riding horses on the farm and is helping to lead area residents' opposition to the development. "This is by no means over.”

The township's supervisors plan to have their first public hearing, a conditional use hearing, on the proposed development on Feb. 22. More than 4,200 people in and around Westtown Township have signed an online petition against the development of the property, which is bordered by Route 202 to the east and route 926 to the south.

Several homes occupy the land, but the tract is mostly farmland. The Robinson family, which owns the property, has agreed to sell to Toll.

Toll has submitted three plans to the township for the property. All three leave more than 190 acres of land as open space and keep two existing homes.

Source: Philly.com