{"id":38199,"date":"2023-03-02T09:24:30","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=38199"},"modified":"2023-03-02T09:24:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T14:24:32","slug":"commissioners-ok-4-2m-grant-to-preserve-crebilly-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=38199","title":{"rendered":"Commissioners OK $4.2M grant to preserve Crebilly Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chester County Commissioners present $6.35 million in funding to Westtown Township and Natural Lands, to support the preservation of Crebilly Farm. Pictured left to right are: Westtown Township Supervisors Dick Pomerantz and Scott Yaw; Jack Stefferud, Natural Lands Senior Director of Land Protection; Chester County Commissioners\u2019 Chair Marian Moskowitz; Westtown Township Supervisors\u2019 Chair Tom Foster; County Commissioners Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline; and Oliver Bass, President of Natural Lands.<\/p><\/div>\n

At Wednesday’s\u2019s public meeting, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline approved a grant of $4.2 million awarded to Westtown Township for the preservation of Crebilly Farm.<\/p>\n

The latest funding is added to a $2.15 million Preservation Partnership Grant that the Commissioners awarded to regional conservation non-profit Natural Lands at the February 8 public meeting, bringing a total County contribution for saving Crebilly Farm to $6.35 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping to preserve Chester County land for future generations is one of the most important actions we can take as County leaders,\u201d said Chester County Commissioners\u2019 Chair Marian Moskowitz. \u201cThe Chester County Department of Parks + Preservation has worked diligently with Natural Lands and Westtown Township to ensure that the County plays a significant role in saving Crebilly Farm.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Open Space program, approved overwhelmingly by voters more than 30 years ago, not only allows us to preserve valuable acres, it also contributes to Chester County\u2019s economic success,\u201d added Commissioner Moskowitz.<\/p>\n

Located in Westtown Township, Crebilly Farm is one of the largest remaining unprotected properties in Chester County.<\/p>\n

County Commissioner Josh Maxwell said, \u201cCrebilly Farm is a gemstone of hills and woods that deserves to remain as it was when the Battle of the Brandywine occurred there in 1777 during the American Revolution. Its historical and environmental worth cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of preserving this land is also evident in the tremendous public desire to keep it from development, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to that,\u201d added Commissioner Maxwell.<\/p>\n

The conservation plan for Crebilly Farm combines publicly accessible open space and privately owned preserved land. Crebilly\u2019s owners\u2019 first agreement of sale for 208 acres is to Westtown Township, which will allow the township to develop a passive-use park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWesttown Township is extraordinarily grateful to the County Commissioners for their generous financial support to preserve Crebilly Farm,\u201d said Township Manager Jon Altshul. \u201cThis grant award aligns perfectly with the results of the recent voter referendum in Westtown, in which 68 percent of Westtown voters supported the imposition of new taxes to protect open space. This acquisition is therefore truly a team effort involving Township, County, state, and federal resources, and we are proud that all levels of government are coming together to make this important project a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

A second agreement of sale between Crebilly Farm\u2019s owners and Natural Lands enables the land conservation non-profit to purchase up to four conservation easements on approximately 104 acres of the property. These 100-plus acres, which contain most of the property\u2019s buildings and residences, will remain on the market to be purchased by private buyers, with the new owners being subject to the terms of the conservation easements.<\/p>\n

The two grants from Chester County will support the purchase of both the 208-acre parcel and conservation easements on the remaining 104-acres.<\/p>\n

County Commissioner Michelle Kichline said, \u201cA key focus of Chester County\u2019s Parks + Preservation department is to preserve land throughout the county by partnering with conservancies, townships, the state, and even private landowners. Over its 30-plus-year history, our open space program has leveraged hundreds of millions of dollars through these partnerships. Crebilly Farm is a perfect example of this, and we thank the Robinson family, Westtown Township, and Natural Lands for all the time and effort that has gone into saving Crebilly.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Crebilly Farm is a conservation priority in the county and region for a host of ecological and historical reasons,\u201d said Oliver Bass, president of Natural Lands. \u201cWhat\u2019s most striking, though, is how deeply people care about it. The landscape is truly iconic, and we are exceedingly grateful to the Commissioners for making this major investment in Crebilly\u2019s preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chester County\u2019s contribution of $6.35 million for Crebilly Farm is added to the $6 million already committed by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the $7.5 million to be provided through Westtown Township\u2019s open space bond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Wednesday’s\u2019s public meeting, Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline approved a grant of $4.2 million awarded to Westtown Township for the preservation of Crebilly Farm. The latest funding is added to a $2.15 million Preservation Partnership Grant that the Commissioners awarded to regional conservation non-profit Natural Lands at the February […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[138,2502,8694,6269,4748],"class_list":["post-38199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chester-county","tag-commissioners","tag-crebilly-farm","tag-featured","tag-open-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38199","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=38199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38200,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38199\/revisions\/38200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}