On the Planning front: projects that were begun in recent years continue:
- Phase III of the Village Greene Townhomes
- Two land development projects by the Northwestern Chester County Municipal Authority.
- Phase I of Chestnut Ridge: 42 of the 128 single-family dwellings on quarter-acre lots, just broke ground this year, and three model homes have just gone up.
- A land development of a commercial property in the Mixed Use Commercial district is nearing completion.
- Two businesses—a notary and car repair business already occupy a large commercial building along Horseshoe Pike, and the third—a branch of the Suburban Brewing Company—is preparing to move in next year.
- A redevelopment of a mobile home community is in review, and three projects await state approvals before they can move forward: a 37-lot single-family subdivision, a land development of a commercial property in the Business Industrial district, and a mobile home community redevelopment all along Horseshoe Pike.
The Land Preservation Committee held a fantastic Farmer’s Breakfast last January for the 13th year in a row. Sadly, the 2021 breakfast will need to be canceled. Although no farms have gone to settlement for preservation yet in 2020, 439 acres are in the queue, including seven farms recently approved by the Board of Supervisors for preservation in 2021. All of those would bring the total number of acres preserved to over 5,040. That represents 31% of the total land in the Township under permanent conservation easement.
Our Park & Recreation Committee has been hard at work on planning for the future:
A Chester County Vision Partnership Program Grant was awarded to Honey Brook and West Brandywine Townships to assist with the cost to complete a feasibility study to construct a pedestrian and bicycle trail from the 3200 block of Horseshoe Pike to Icedale Lake, roughly following the abandoned railway line. The Comprehensive Recreation, Parks, Open Space, and Greenways Plan was submitted to the Chester County Planning Commission, bordering municipalities, and the Twin Valley School District for comment. A public hearing will be held on December 9 for the plan at the Board of Supervisors meeting, after which they will consider adoption as part of the Plan.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources awarded a $225,000 grant to the Township for Phase 1 of the James A. Umble Park improvement as contained in the Park & Rec Comp Plan. Phase I is to include a basketball court, skate park, walkways, natural plantings, and a small parking area. The existing paved parking and grass used for overflow parking will be eliminated, as a new parking area closer to the ballfields will be constructed in 2022. The number of ball fields will be reduced from three to two to allow for expansion of the outfields. The Township will match the $225,000 grant using monies in the Recreation Fund and General Fund.