Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
CREBILLY FARM FIGHT
More than 100 pack latest hearing on controversial Toll Brothers plans for beloved farm
It might not have been a true battle, but a solicitor for the planning commission and a historical expert hired by builder Toll Brothers certainly engaged in a war of words during the latest hearing to decide the fate of the controversial plans for Crebilly Farm.
Once again township residents packed the meeting Wednesday night.
Solicitor Michael Gill and Robert Wise, historical consultant, battled over the historical significance of the 330-acre farm off Routes 202 and 926, and its role during the Battle of Brandywine on Sept. 11, 1777.
Both seemed to reach com-
mon ground and agree at Wednesday night’s continuation of a conditional use hearing at Westtown School, that there is far more to the Revolutionary War battle lost by Gen. George Washington than specifically where blood was shed.
Wise said he has found no evidence showing that British and American soldiers fought on the farm.
“We can’t say for sure if it was a battlefield,” Wise said. “I have not encountered anything that shows a battle or skirmish was fought there.”
Wise did say that “it would appear” that some of 17,000 British and German troops marched south through the western edge of the farm and along where New Street now sits.
Toll Brothers wants to build a 317-home subdivision at the last large undeveloped tract of land along Route 202 and between Wilmington and King of Prussia. The proposal has sparked strong opposition. More than 100 people showed up at the continued conditional use hearing Wednesday night.
Toll Brothers plans call for “pushing” the construction 600 feet to the east, away from New Street. Toll Brothers is considering adding a vehicle pulloff on New Street or adding a historical marker to subdivision plans.
Both men agreed that there was a bloody battle just south of Street Road but where troops moved is up in the air.
The farm stretches from New Street to the west, Street Road on the south, Wilmington Pike on the east and Pleasant Grove Road to the north.
Gill asked the historian and former Brandywine Conservancy employee whether historians should study further.
As far as history goes, it’s very limiting and “new things come to light,” Wise said.
Gill asked whether the possible historic site might be compromised by construction.
“In light of uncertainty and the importance to the Battle of Brandywine, is a marker or pulloff an appropriate way to further our understanding of the battle?” Gill said.
Both men relied heavily on a book written by Michael C. Harris, “Brandywine: A military history of the battle that lost Philadelphia but saved America, September 11, 1777.” Gill read several paragraphs into the hearing’s record from his tattered copy.
The Darlington Tavern, near the corner of Street Road and Wilmington Pike, is the only building on the property eligible for the National Historic Register, according to Wise.
The building might be moved although Toll Brothers does not yet know where.
Gill asked whether the tavern might be a candidate for adaptive reuse and Wise agreed that it was preferable to demolition.
Wise said that when seeking tax breaks, it’s not the use of the property but how a building is renovated.
Any plans for the farm to be eligible for national historic district status would likely have an adverse effect on the status, or would “delete eligibility.”
Geologist Paul Scott completed his testimony, which carried over from the March hearing. Additional test wells were tested since the March hearing.
Scott said that the property should be able to handle a subterranean drip irrigation system for processing effluent.
Wastewater engineer expert Fred Ebert also testified and said that 25.5 acres were set aside by the builder for an onsite wastewater treatment plant.
He said the plant would have the capacity to process 110 percent of the expected daily waste water.
He also noted that using a public sewer system would be a cheaper and preferable alternative to using an onsite plant.
Ebert said that Toll would either dedicate the system to the township, or a regional authority or a third party public for-profit utility such as Aqua.
At the March hearing, a Toll Brothers representative said the 25.5 acres set aside in the plans would be considered part of the required 60 percent open space calculation.
Ebert also said the plant would not be damaged by neighborhood kids.
“There’s no passive recreation,” he said. “You can’t control kids if they want to go out and play on it. This won’t have an impact.”
Ebert said that projected plant areas located in the northwest corner of the property and southeast portion would be fenced off, with paved trails circling the perimeters.
Grass would grow 8 to 12 inches high to “discourage people from using those areas,” he said.
Ebert said there was no health hazards associated with passive recreation at the sites.
The plant would contain a 242,000 gallon storage container, large enough to store three days of effluent in case of a power failure or lightning strike.
Ebert recommended placing the tank underground, which would ensure that the product doesn’t freeze and stays consistently at 50 to 60 degrees, year round.
Ebert suggested using three types of plants that he has designed in the past and said a drip irrigation system would cost from $200,000 to $250,000 per year to operate.
The township will schedule another conditional use hearing on the development next month.