Glenmoore residents oppose luxury housing developments in Chester County

This time of year, it’s not unusual to see a truck carrying freshly baled hay slowly making its way down Fairview Road in the Glenmoore section of Wallace Township.

Glenmoore, nicknamed ‘The Village’ by locals, resembles countless other villages that once dotted the countryside Chester CountyIt is a thriving community of two-lane roads and beautiful views, with suburban-style residential neighborhoods that have remained largely unchanged and continue to be built nearby.

The latest development is; Properties in Stonecliff36 semi-custom homes on half-acre lots, all but three of which are arranged on a hillside Devereux Road. Portions of the 73-acre property, formerly known as Heim Farm, were under cultivation until 2023.

“The homes will be located here and (the development) will be surrounded by existing woodland on almost all sides,” said Mike Long, production manager Foxlane HomesA Mid-Atlantic real estate firm headquartered in Fort Washington, Montgomery County.

“It’s rare to find a community where no home sites are adjacent to another,” said sales manager Nicole Fitzgerald. “There will be plenty of privacy. And the views are spectacular.”

Prices at The Estates are expected to start at around $1 million.

Location, location, location

The 12 square miles of rolling hills, fields, woodlands and wetlands now known as Wallace Township were settled by Europeans in the 1600s on land that had been inhabited for centuries. Home of the Lenni Lenape people. town Created in 1852 and gradually grew to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Expansion from Carlisle to Valley Forge It was opened in 1950.

Between 1950 and 1990, Wallace Township’s population tripled from 771 to 2,541 and increased from 3,240 in 2000 to 3,240 in 2011. According to the US Census in 2020, there were 3,711.

Since 2020, The Estates at Stonecliff and Trails on Marsh Creek, Approved, under construction or proposed for land that is a traditionally rural part of Devereux Road.

The peak of development in Chester County was from 1980 to before the Great Recession of 2008, says Executive Director Brian O’Leary. District Planning Commission.

“Many developments that were approved before the recession are now being built,” he said in question.

Views from the village and beyond

Along the village’s main streets, Creek and Fairview roads, are three churches, several older homes, a volunteer fire company, recreation areas, access to hiking trails, and several businesses.

“I think it would be great for our community and our congregation to have more people moving in,” Matthew York said. Faith Alliance ChurchHe works as a volunteer firefighter in Glenmoore.

Royce and Julie Dorman opened Mean Bean Coffee and CreamA coffee, pastry and ice cream shop located in a vacant storefront on Creek Road just after Christmas in 2023.

“Things are going great,” said Royce Dorman, 39, who grew up in Chester County and spent a dozen years surfing and bartending in California before moving with his family to Glenmoore seven years ago. He did most of the renovations himself to create the Mean Bean in a former deli shell.

Dorman likes the small-town feel of the Village, where Mean Bean has quickly become a popular hangout, and he doesn’t expect the Village’s relaxed vibe to be undermined by the Estates or other new residential developments like it.

“I’m excited for more people to live here,” he said. “More people means more customers.”

The prospect of more residential development worries Mean Bean regular Wesley Kaufman, 37, whose two children attend Glenmoore’s only elementary school.

“We moved here five years ago because of how quiet it was and how strong the sense of community was,” he said.

“But now everything is piling up and we don’t have the means to deal with it,” he said. “We feel more and more that we are not rural.”

Sarah and Mike Walls grow and sell flowers Design Your Day Their workplace on Devereux Road is also their home.

The couple said they welcome the new residents and customers, but they also have some reservations.

“It’s no wonder people want to move here to such a great place,” Mike said.

“We love living here, so we understand,” Sarah said. “But it seems like everywhere I drive there’s new development.”

“The problem is not new people, it’s old infrastructure,” Mike said.

He was one of the local residents who wondered out loud about capacity. Devereux Bridge.

The bridge was built in 1877 across a tributary of Brandywine Creek at the foot of Devereux Road. Heavy equipment at the Estates construction site does not use it.

“We want to make sure the city is looking out for everyone’s best interests,” Mike said.

The town is also included in this

The Estates at Stonecliff is “one of three developments in the same neighborhood that the municipality is processing around the same time,” said Elise Grashof, Wallace Township’s assistant manager.

“Like other properties considered at the time, the lands included trails, open spaces and other features specified in the regulations,” he said.

Grashof also noted that preserving the town’s rural character and open spaces are among the elements of Wallace Township’s Comprehensive Plan.

O’Leary, of the county planning commission, also noted that the county has been successful in preserving 31% their own land remove from development or preserve as agricultural land. Some of these efforts included partnerships with land conservation organizations.

He said development pressure is “still ongoing” in Chester County.

“It’s still here and it’s still coming.”

View from properties in Stonecliff

In interviews held at the construction site on Devereux Road, Nicole Fitzgerald and Mike Long said the company aims to make Stonecliff Estates a part of the community, but not a place separate from it.

They have spoken with residents in the nearby Lexington Manor neighborhood and want to be respectful of their and other local residents’ questions about the project.

“Even after construction is over, there will still be a lot of open space. There will still be a lot of green space.” He said long.

“We are just here to make this community better.”