A settlement could preserve more of Chester County’s sprawling Rock Hill Farm — but still allow for development
Township officials are weighing a settlement that would scale down development on a 222-acre tract, preserving a majority of it while still building a slate of homes.
A proposed settlement with the developer who is seeking to turn the rolling, open Rock Hill Farm into housing could significantly preserve more of the land than initially planned, if township officials decide to accept it.
During a public meeting Thursday, Willistown Township officials laid out for residents a potential settlement between the township and Rock Hill Farm Acquisition LLC, the developer who purchased the sprawling 222-acre parcel, and an adjacent 24-acre property, in 2021. Supervisors did not vote on the plans Thursday night; a vote will be held at a future, undetermined meeting.
A Chester County judge last month sided with the developer, overturning the township’s September 2024 denial of plans to build more than a dozen homes on the property. The township appealed the ruling earlier this month.
But under a proposed settlement, the developer would radically scale down the plan that was before the court, preserving roughly 166 acres of the larger tract, or 75% of the land, under a conservation easement. The land would be subdivided into 18 lots, down from roughly 24, with all but one lot proposed for residential development. The one non-residential lot would be conserved as open space. The lots vary from about four acres to up to 26 acres.
“This is a good ‘best-case scenario’ for us,” said Molly Perrin, chairperson of Willistown’s board of supervisors. “It could get a lot worse than this. Ongoing litigation would almost ensure that.”
A conservation easement for the preserved land would be held by the Willistown Conservation Trust. The trust would maintain the protected woodland as private property, not public land.
Separately, the developer has offered Willistown Conservation Trust the exclusive option to buy the adjacent 24-acre property, if the settlement agreement is approved by the township and court. The township would plan to buy it from the trust using designated open space funds, and preserve the property as open land. The board voted to approve the purchase in February, officials said.
“We understand there are members of the community who feel very strongly that the entirety of the 222-acre parcel should be coJ. Brian O’Neillmpletely conserved with no future development,” Perrin said. “Municipalities cannot simply ban a property from being developed. It would be nice if we could, except that when that’s turned against us, we would all hate it.”
The property, purchased by developer for $25.4 million, boasts rolling hills, meadows, woodlands and historically significant properties across its hundreds of acres.
For years, it had been owned by a conservation-minded local family. When it sold to O’Neill, who originally planned to build up to 24 residential lots on the grounds with only roughly 52 acres of land preserved, it sparked a community battle.
Community members launched a “Save Rock Hill Farm” campaign in an effort to fend off the development, as other Chester County municipalities have successfully done when homebuilders have come knocking.
At Thursday’s meeting, residents were relatively open to the proposed settlement.
David Rawson, who lives in the township, thought it was a “far better plan than I thought anybody would be able to negotiate.”
It’s the “best deal you’re going to get short of continuing to fight,” resident Joe Heenan told the board.
“I’m not opposed to the fight,” he said, “but I think it’d be nice to have odds in the favor.”
Others hoped more could still be done.
Invoking President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Les Haggett, a leader of Save Rock Hill, noted, “Sometimes fear is the only thing we have to fear.”
“I don’t think it’s the right time to settle,” he said. “My thought is, don’t be afraid. Don’t settle.”
Supervisor Bill Shoemaker said the township was working to achieve the best possible plan. Though they feel their appeal is “based on good and solid reasons,” they thought that of their initial filing, too, he said.
“The court is always a bit of a gamble,” he said. “So we have to consider very, very carefully what the best possible plan would be.”
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