Crebilly Farm Update 6/28/17

Dear Friends,

First, please mark your calendars for the upcoming Crebilly Farm/Toll Brothers Conditional Use hearings:

Tuesday, July 25th

Tuesday, August 29th

6PM, Rustin High School

*TRAFFIC WILL BE CONTINUED AT THE JULY 25th HEARING!!!! PLEASE DO NOT MISS!!!

I apologize for my belated update from last week’s meeting.

Attendance was light.  If only someone had served some wine… it may have been more bearable.  We are moving much faster through these hearings than I had hoped.

This is not a good thing and I wish the township had postponed the hearings for the Summer, especially since so much of the public is out of town. Toll Brothers has completed their testimony with the exception of traffic which is expected to be completed at the next hearing Tuesday, July 25th. Solicitor Kristen Camp, for the Westtown Township Planning Commission, began presenting expert witnesses last week.

Here is a brief recap:

1)Fiscal Impact presented by David Babbit

http://www.westtownpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Toll-CU-Exhibit-G-Fiscal-Impact Analysis.pdf

2)Fire Safety presented by Chief Michael McDonald

2017-02-12.pdf

3)General Engineering presented by Kevin Matson, McCormick Taylor

2016-12-09.pdf

4)Soil expert, Stephen Daddio of Cedarville Engineering

2017-02-12.pdf

Yesterday I was in Newtown Square and decided to drive through the Toll Brothers development, Liseter.  ‘Wow’ doesn’t even begin to describe the sight.  It is a sea of cookie-cutter homes and more construction with no end in sight.  The proposed development for Crebilly Farm is larger.  On the Liseter website, they state they have

‘tastefully preserved the estates rich heritage as a noteworthy horse farm that produced many champions.’  I assure you, they have not.  For those who do not think the potential

development of Crebilly Farm, in a manner such as this, isn’t reason to sound the alarms in all directions,  I really think you need to take the time and drive through this development.  Seeing is truly believing.  Many of the roads are only wide enough for one car and I found the one-way roads to be confusing and inconsistent.  The two-way roads are also narrow and at one point, I had to drive over the curb and onto the grass because there was a moving truck parked along the curb on the other side.  I imagined what it

would be like for a firetruck or an ambulance to have to navigate through the area.  I imagined parking for holidays, private parties and the super bowl.  All I kept coming back to was ‘Wow.’  Please think about this as we continue the hearings for Crebilly Farm.

After I left Liseter and made my way home, I drove past Crebilly Farm.  I was listening to that song from Linda Ronstadt-Long Long Time.  I don’t know why that song makes me think of Crebilly Farm.  It’s not about land or open space.  I guess what touches me is the anguish in her voice when she sings “I’ve done everything I know to try and change your mind… and I think it’s gonna hurt me for a long long time.”  I tried to imagine what Crebilly would look like with all that ugly on top of her.  Gone would be the fields of corn.

Gone would be her beautiful trees.  Gone would be white fields of cut straw… the rows

of lush green soy… the sweeping brown grasses.  And gone would be our American history and the last authentic view shed of what it truly looked like when our revolutionary war soldiers crossed this land and fought for how we live today.

Sincerely,

Mindy