Seniors, Amish unite against developer’s bid to build high-density homes on wetlands
As proposed, the developer is calling for the construction of 398 residential dwellings including 244 twin units and 141 townhomes.
HONEY BROOK TOWNSHIP » Residents are questioning the logic of building 141 townhomes and 254 twin units on 176 acres of wetlands. The property, which is composed of two parcels, is on a flood plain.
The two parcels are on the eastern edge of Honey Brook Township at 2351 Chestnut Tree Road and 2207 Horseshoe Pike.
Honey Brook is one of the least developed municipalities in Chester County, given many parcels are farms belonging to members of the Amish community.
Honey Brook borders Lancaster County. Moreover, Honey Brook Township is a unique multicultural community that comprises Amish farmland, historic properties and extensive natural resources including wetlands, as previously reported.
Concurrently, as the last remaining area of Chester County that has preserved its natural resources and farmland, the residents are facing an unprecedented influx of builders wanting to develop in their rural community.
A fourth Zoning Hearing Board meeting was held to address D.R. Horton’s request for a special exception to build 141 townhomes at 2351 Chestnut Tree Road. The developer originally submitted an application to build 478 buildings on both parcels, including 204 single-family homes on small lots at 2207 Horseshoe Pike, which would require a special exception waiver from the Honey Brook Township Hearing Board. The developer has since changed the application to build 244 twin units on the parcel instead, which is allowed under current zoning.
However, the developer still needs the Zoning Hearing Board’s approval for a special exception to build 141 townhomes on the 2207 Horseshoe Pike parcel.
As proposed, the developer is calling for the construction of 398 residential dwellings including 244 twin units and 141 townhomes.
Presently the nearly 200 acres, off Route 322, are undeveloped pastures and forest as well as wetlands. Horton is a national developer and specializes in residential construction.
The Honey Brook Township Zoning Hearing Board has held four public hearings on the application. The elderly and the Amish have been fighting to preserve their rural community, noting that the township’s limited infrastructure cannot support the proposed highdensity development, as previously reported.
Further, there is no local police or volunteer fire department in Honey Brook, although there is a regional fire company that operates in Honey Brook Borough. Honey Brook is also home to a plethora of narrow country roads which are occupied every day by Amish buggies and farm-exempt trucks and trailers.
The Zoning Hearing Board did not reach a decision at the close of Monday’s public hearing, which lasted until 11 p.m.
Zoning board members Jeff Emberger, John Riehl, and David Rodgers were unavailable for comment as of press time.
Local resident Geradline McCormick, who lives on Chestnut Tree Road, was the first member of the public to rise up on Monday night and speak against the proposed development.
She said that building townhouses on woodlands would destroy the natural habitat of the wild animals that live there.
“Destroying the woods would eliminate their life source,” McCormick said.
“How is it possible to remove a woodland area and build 141 townhouses and roads and add parking areas and plant a few sapling trees and keep it still looking like a rural and tranquil woodland?”
McCormick also decried adding a public water sewer system to the area which could harm the private wells in proximity already in existence.
McCormick said the property already floods during storms. A stream runs through the heart of the proposed development.
“Is it legal to build a road where wetland plants are?” McCormick asked the Honey Brook Zoning Hearing Board members on Monday.
The proposed development “will destroy the rural tranquility of Honey Brook,” McCormick said. “Honey Brook Township is known as the ‘Headwaters of the Brandywine,’” McCormick said. “And since 1789 the meaning of the name ‘Honey Brook’ is ‘sweet water.’ I just hope and pray that it will remain ‘sweet water’ and that it won’t become polluted by development.”
After finishing her comments, the audience erupted in applause.
D.R. Horton, Inc. is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Arlington, Texas. A representative from the company did not respond to a request for comment on the proposed development as of the deadline for this report.
Honey Brook Township Solicitor Charles Haws said the Zoning Hearing Board is expected to announce its decision on Horton’s application for a special exception to build the high-density development by May 9.
“The special exception is to allow townhomes, not any particular number of townhomes,” Haws said the day after the meeting. “Twins and singles are permitted uses and not part of this zoning hearing.”
MediaNews Group filed a Freedom of Information request for the names of the residents who spoke at the hearing, however, one was not provided as of press time.