{"id":36381,"date":"2022-04-05T09:51:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T13:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=36381"},"modified":"2022-04-05T09:51:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T13:51:27","slug":"crebilly-farm-moves-closer-to-preservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=36381","title":{"rendered":"Crebilly Farm moves closer to preservation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Crebilly Farm in Westtown.<\/p><\/div>\n

Natural Lands announced today that the owners of Crebilly Farm have signed an agreement of sale that opens a path for the permanent protection of the property. The iconic property in Westtown Township, Chester County, has been at risk of development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very grateful to the Robinson family for their willingness to take this important step towards conservation of such a beautiful, historical, and ecologically important property,\u201d said Oliver Bass, president of Natural Lands. \u201cWe are a long way from the finish line, but the key to any successful conservation project is a landowner who is willing to preserve their land.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conservation plan\u2014which may take 18 months to two years to complete\u2014combines publicly accessible open space and privately owned preserved land. The agreement of sale between Crebilly Farm\u2019s owners and Westtown Township\u2014which was unanimously approved by the Township\u2019s Board of Supervisors Monday night\u2014makes way for the Township to purchase approximately 208 acres intended to become a passive-use township park.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy acquiring 208 acres of Crebilly Farm, Westtown Township will ensure that this pristine corner of the Township remains unspoiled for generations to come,\u201d said Board Chair Scott Yaw. \u201cWe are grateful to both the Robinson family for their commitment to conserving their land and to Natural Lands for facilitating this remarkable opportunity for all concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Police Commissioner Richard Pomerantz, \u201cAs the former chair of the Planning Commission and now a township supervisor, I have spoken with thousands of Township residents over the past decade about the importance of preserving Crebilly Farm, the iconic centerpiece of Westtown Township. I am delighted that the Township has entered into this agreement of sale with the Robinson family to protect this beautiful Township gem.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second agreement between Crebilly Farm\u2019s owners and Natural Lands is expected to be finalized soon. That deal will enable the land conservation non-profit to purchase up to four conservation easements on approximately 104 acres of the property. These 100+ acres, which contain most of the property\u2019s buildings and residences, will remain on the market to be purchased by private buyers. New owners would be subject to the terms of the conservation easements.<\/p>\n

A conservation easement is a voluntary land protection agreement that permanently restricts development on a particular property. Subsequent heirs or owners of the land are legally required to comply with the terms of the agreement in perpetuity.<\/p>\n

Late last year, the owners of Crebilly Farm reached out to Natural Lands to discuss possible conservation options. In December 2021, the Westtown Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to hire Natural Lands to apply on the Township\u2019s behalf for federal, state, and county funding toward conservation of the farm.<\/p>\n

Natural Lands and Westtown Township must secure approximately $25.5 million in grant funding for its purchase of the easements and to fund Westtown Township\u2019s purchase of what will be the publicly accessible portion of Crebilly Farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopeful that we\u2019ll be able to secure funding from a variety of federal, state, county, and municipal sources over the next couple of years,\u201d said Oliver Bass. \u201cHowever, it is likely that there will be a gap between available funds and the amount we need to raise. While a campaign is not yet underway, we anticipate that there will be an important role for the community\u2014which has been so outspoken in its support of Crebilly\u2019s preservation\u2014to play in making up that gap.\u201d Bass encourages the public to sign up for updates on the project at\u00a0www.natlands.org\/crebillyfarm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Said Westtown Township Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Tom Foster, \u201cWesttown has always been defined by its rural character, and Crebilly has long been our centerpiece. The next step in acquiring this beautiful property is probably the most important: financing the project. It is up to Westtown residents to make this deal happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Crebilly Farm site holds significance for more than just its iconic beauty and ecological benefits. The first skirmishes of the Battle of Brandywine\u2014the largest one-day conflict of the American Revolution\u2014took place on these same rolling hills and woodlands on the morning of Sept. 11, 1777. American General Adam Stephen spotted Hessian troops marching across the farm from his lookout atop Sandy Hollow, where the main battle would take place. Stephen dispatched a party of soldiers to the farm to frustrate the Hessians\u2019 advance towards the American position.<\/p>\n

Natural Lands is dedicated to preserving and nurturing nature\u2019s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in the outdoors for everyone.\u00a0\u00a0As the Greater Philadelphia region\u2019s oldest and largest land conservation\u00a0organization, Natural Lands\u2014which is member supported\u2014has preserved more than 125,000 acres, including 42 nature preserves and one public garden totaling more than 23,000 acres.\u00a0Nearly five million people live within five miles of land under the organization\u2019s protection. Land for life, nature for all.natlands.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Natural Lands announced today that the owners of Crebilly Farm have signed an agreement of sale that opens a path for the permanent protection of the property. The iconic property in Westtown Township, Chester County, has been at risk of development. \u201cWe are very grateful to the Robinson family for their willingness to take this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[8694,6269,9611,12514,4638],"class_list":["post-36381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-crebilly-farm","tag-featured","tag-natural-lands","tag-open-space-preservation","tag-westtown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36382,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36381\/revisions\/36382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}