Dear Friends,
You may have heard last month the Robinson family extended their agreement of sale with Westtown Township for another year; the deadline is now March 31, 2024. This will give Natural Lands another year to secure the remaining funds through grants and other resources. This is all good. Natural Lands has already achieved their goal of 75% funding completion by March 31st of this year. I am grateful to all parties involved and have confidence in the professionals that this will end with great success. And I will continue to keep you posted as the year unfolds. In the meantime, please forgive me for drawing your attention to some other business, unrelated to Crebilly Farm. In fact, I think what I have to share is so important that I am breaking my own rule of ‘never mixing with Crebilly.’ Thank you for indulging me.
You may or may not be familiar with the mega-warehouse proposal for the Lionville/Chester Springs/Exton area in Uwchlan Township. The Uwchlan Township BOS has already approved ‘Phase I’ from Audubon Land Development and ‘Phase II’ plan is in the works. Phase II involves Downingtown Area School District, who owns the land known as ‘Lionville Station Farm,’ and is currently under an agreement of sale with Audubon Land Development to build almost 2 million square feet of warehouses on roughly 237 acres of farmland near routes 100 and 113. Audubon Land Development is seeking zoning changes and conditional use approval from the Uwchlan Township BOS. Sound familiar? Bottom line- this is not a done deal!
Here is the latest Daily Local News article by Bill Rettew regarding the proposed plans near Exton:
Mega-warehouses have become a by-product of the surge in online shopping and product shipping caused by a change in our society, especially since Covid. We have become slaves to convenience, myself included. States like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland are being particularly targeted for their massive open spaces and farmland, located near existing trucking corridors and necessary to accommodate such massive buildings. Unlike a residential development, this is a machine that never sleeps. The tractor trailer trucks run all day and all night, seven days a week. Imagine the impact of 24/7 tractor trailer noise, light pollution, poisonous emissions and filth from pollution this will bring to our beloved Chester County. Next time you cross the Commodore Barry Bridge or travel to the Poconos, State College or Baltimore, be sure to check out the miles and miles of newly built mega-warehouses along the way. They are mind blowing. Never did I think the day would come, but I’m going to say it: I would pray for a Toll Brothers development over this.
There is a great group leading the charge against the mega-warehouse development in Uwchlan Township, called ‘Save Lionville Station Farm.’ This group is already a well-greased machine and I cannot say enough good things about them. They have applied for their non-profit 501c3 and are doing everything by the book. If you wish to learn more, I encourage you to follow them on social media (link to FB is on their website) or email to get on their mailing list:
Website: www.SaveLSF.com
Gmail: SaveLSFarm@gmail.com
NEXT UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETING:MONDAY, MAY 8TH, 7:30pm, Board of Supervisors Meeting, Uwchlan Township
Uwchlan Township Building 715, North Ship Road, Exton, PA 19341
*feel free to write and bring your own impact statement to read and/or leave copies with the BOS; I look forward to seeing you there!
*this location could change so please check the website www.SaveLSF.com closer to the date for confirmation
You may also write to the Uwchlan Township Board of Supervisors and send them your impact statements as to why and how a mega-warehouse will negatively impact you:
Mayme Baumann: Chairperson
Laura Obenski: Vice Chairperson
Bill Miller: Supervisor
Thank you, truly, for caring enough to read this far. Unfortunately, Chester County’s open space continues to be under siege by development. There is a time and place for most things. There is not a time nor a place for mega-warehouses on the farmland of our beloved Chester County. The last thing I want to do is cause any of you PTSD after the long haul with Crebilly,but I was compelled to share this with you. It is another call for MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY. Any part you can give of yourself via writing to the BOS, attending a meeting, donating to the www.saveLSF.com to help cover their outreach expenses or just sharing this information with others will be a huge help. No part is too small and every one of you reading this knows this kind of action works.
After all, if not you, then who?
Sincerely,
Mindy Rhodes
Crebilly Farm Friends 