Dear Friends,
I feel like Rocky Balboa and all of us, together, just gave Toll Brothers a knock-out punch in the second round!!! Congratulations to Westtown Township and especially solicitor Patrick McKenna for their Crebilly I Commonwealth Court victory!!! The panel of three Judges unanimously ruled in favor of Westtown Township, upholding their decision to deny Toll Brothers Conditional Use. I will never forget listening to Mr. McKenna’s compelling arguments to the Judges in Pittsburgh court last May, noting numerous deficiencies in Toll’s application. He was cool headed, relentless and spot on. If I could have jumped out of my seat with pom poms and cheered for him I would have!
Here is a brief recap of where we are and how we got here. In December of 2017, the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors denied Toll Brothers Conditional Use. Toll appealed that decision to the Court of Common Pleas and lost. (There are three tiers of court: Court of Common Pleas, Commonwealth Court and State Supreme Court). Toll then appealed to Commonwealth Court and as we all just learned- lost again. Should they choose to do so, Toll could appeal once more to the PA Supreme Court. If they appeal and lose again on the state level, I am pretty certain the application will be rendered dead. In the meantime, Toll has a second application (Crebilly II) currently undergoing the whole process again, within the township. Crebilly II has just completed the Planning Commission phase where the PC has recommended the Board of Supervisors deny the application and has included over fifty conditions should the board grant Conditional Use. The first BOS Conditional Use Hearing will take place this Wednesday, December 18th, 7PM, Rustin High School. *For information on Party Status, please refer to 12/11/19.
Here is the court decision in its entirety:
One of my favorite parts can be found on page 11. The Commonwealth Judges specifically identified Toll’s traffic consultant, Nicole Kline. I have heard Ms. Kline give testimony on behalf of Toll Brothers numerous times and have frequently wondered how she sleeps at night. I found this part from the Judges to be especially delicious:
“Toll presented the testimony of Nicole R. Kline, P.E., Senior Project Manager for McMahon Associates, who was accepted as an expert in traffic engineering. Kline testified that the left turn lanes at all four approaches were warranted under existing conditions. Because the traffic congestion is preexisting, Kline maintained Toll should not bear the responsibility of making the improvements. However, the Board rejected Kline’s testimony as not credible as it relates to the traffic impact from the Proposed Development based on inconsistencies between her testimony and the traffic impact study that she prepared and her reticence in response to questions regarding impacts to the South New Street intersection.”
Here are the latest news articles on the subject:
Chadds Ford Live:
Daily Local News:
Thank you, to each and every one of you reading this. It means you are part of the massive public outcry and awareness campaign working toward the best possible outcome for Crebilly Farm and ultimately, our community. I could not be more thrilled by the court’s decision. This is not over and we still have a long way to go. And we must keep going, we must not give up. Thank you for your resilience and please continue to stay engaged by keeping this important issue in the forethought of others. See you Wednesday.
If not you, then who?
Sincerely,
Mindy Rhodes
Crebilly Farm Friends 
Thank so so much for everyone’s efforts. I do what I can from out of state, but it brings tears to my eyes seeing the outpour of support to save this land I grew up on. My Pop would be proud, he loved this land as much as you do. Merry Christmas and much love to all! Shannon Fehr
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I’m so proud of my Westtown community AND surrounding communities who have attended many local Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor meetings, traveled hundreds of miles to Pittsburgh for a court hearing, and continue to post lawn signs, share updates on social media, and contribute expertise and homeowner concerns regarding this travesty of demolishing historic
Crebilly Farm.
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Has there been any effort to buy the development rights to Crebilly Farm to preserve the entire farm as open space?
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Yesterday morning, I saw a bald eagle perched on a tree on the property of the abandoned house near the intersection of 926 and 202 overlooking Crebilly Farm. I tried to get a picture, but it flew away as I approached. I did however get video of it over the farm (see link below.) Obviously there’s a nesting pair of eagles nearby, yet another good reason to preserve the farm?:
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0qU3SoiVPkDGyrcJlhalcMtgA
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