Toll appeals supervisors’ decision on Crebilly Farm

WESTTOWN » Toll Brothers will appeal a Dec. 28 decision by the township board of supervisors to deny construction of 317 homes at Crebilly Farm.

No court date has been set by the Chester County Court of Common Pleas to address the appeal.

Township supervisors unanimously voted to deny Toll an application for conditional use. The court might not make a decision for more than a year concerning the future of the iconic 322-acre farm.

The township cited traffic congestion, construction of a connector road and the preservation of scenic views as reasons to forbid Toll Brothers the right to build.

In a bid to relieve traffic congestion on Route 202, the township required that Toll build a connector road parallel to Route 202 from Pleasant Grove Road to Route 926. Plans call for the roadway to stretch all the way to Skiles Boulevard.

The Horsham builder is not required to abide by the township’s comprehensive plan, reads the appeal.

Toll didn’t satisfy the board that the road network would be “safe and efficient” and “fully coordinated with adjacent existing and future development,” reads the township’s 53-page conditional use decision of the board of supervisors.

“The reasons for denial set forth in the board’s decision constitute an abuse of the board’s discretion, are improper as a matter of law and are not supported by substantial evidence,” reads the appeal filed by Toll, last week.

Toll also contested the board’s statement that at least 50 percent of the property’s “scenic views” must be preserved under township zoning ordinances.

Scenic views are not defined under zoning ordinances and the zoning code is “entirely subjective,” according to the appeal.

Toll also said there are no applicable historic preservation or protection township ordinances to preserve the site where troops possibly marched 241 years ago during the Battle of Brandywine.

West Bradford resident Mindy Rhodes has led the charge to stop development at Crebilly.

“A favorite saying of mine is: ‘Little pigs get fed; big pigs get slaughtered,’” she said. “I believe in landowner rights. I do not believe, however, anyone has the right to destroy an entire region, sacrificing the greater good and the welfare of many others.

“I would be grateful to see a suitable portion of Crebilly Farm conserved as a park. If the rest of the tract is developed, then I hope it will be done thoughtfully, by a developer who will maintain the integrity of our Revolutionary War history and build what works with the surrounding community already established.”