UWCHLAN TWP, PA — Uwchlan Township supervisors unanimously rejected a proposed 492-home development on 237 acres along Lionville Station Road on Wednesday, Nov. 4, potentially reopening the property to large-scale industrial development and complicating a $64 million land sale by the Downingtown Area School District, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The three-member board denied both a zoning amendment requested by Rockwell Downingtown LLC and a tentative development plan that would have converted the former school district property near Exton into a predominantly age-restricted residential community.
The decision leaves the property’s existing industrial zoning intact, under which a separate proposal involving approximately 1.8 million square feet of light-industrial and warehouse space remains pending but on hold under an indefinite extension.
No industrial development has been approved.
Rockwell’s rejected proposal included 462 age-restricted homes, 30 market-rate homes, more than 100 acres of open space, recreational trails and a swimming center intended to serve residents and the Downingtown Area School District.
The vote followed years of competing development proposals for the property, which the school district purchased in 2003 for approximately $22 million with plans to construct a school campus.
After abandoning those plans, the district pursued a sale of the property, encountering repeated obstacles involving zoning and opposition to proposed development.
In 2024, the district entered into an agreement to sell the land to Rockwell for $64 million, a transaction contingent on the proposed development.
The township’s refusal to approve the residential zoning change creates uncertainty around that transaction and the future use of one of Chester County’s largest remaining undeveloped properties.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Rockwell President Greg Lingo described the supervisors’ decision as unexpected, particularly after extensive negotiations involving residents, municipal officials and other stakeholders.
The developer reported approximately 112 meetings concerning the residential proposal.
“It was helpful for us to now know formally that the Township does not desire to rezone the property and instead would like to see it developed under its current zoning,” Lingo stated in comments published by The Inquirer.
He indicated that Rockwell expects to return to the township within 60 days to pursue a development plan permitted under the existing zoning.
That prospect raises the possibility of renewed consideration of industrial development, an outcome that some nearby residents have opposed for years.
Members of Save Lionville Station Road, a residents’ organization formed in response to earlier industrial development proposals, had worked with Rockwell on the residential alternative.
Although some residents preferred preserving the land as open space, supporters viewed the housing proposal as preferable to warehouses or other industrial uses.
“If this community plan doesn’t go through, we’ll end up with ugly warehouses instead of homes and well-maintained properties,” resident Bonnie Fertell warned, according to The Inquirer.
Other residents raised concerns about the possibility of data centers being developed under the property’s existing zoning.
Township supervisors, however, concluded that the residential proposal did not provide sufficient public benefits to justify changing the municipality’s zoning framework.
Board Chairperson Laura Obenski acknowledged that the proposal offered recreational and open-space benefits but questioned whether those advantages outweighed the potential costs to taxpayers.
“Unfortunately at the end of the day, I think that the burden that was going to be borne by taxpayers of Uwchlan Township did not meet the bar in my head for a rezoning request,” Obenski explained, as reported by The Inquirer.
Vice Chairperson Bill Miller also opposed the requested zoning change, citing the number of proposed homes.
“I don’t think there’s enough positive benefit to the township to justify changing our comprehensive plan,” Miller stated, according to The Inquirer.
The township’s planning commission had previously recommended conditional approval of the development, provided the developer reduced the number of homes and eliminated the proposed swimming center, or natatorium.
Traffic emerged as a central concern during the review process, with residents and planning officials questioning the impact of hundreds of additional households on surrounding roads.
Planning Commission Chairperson Dennis Martin characterized the projected traffic as a significant problem, describing the development as “just a nightmare,” according to The Inquirer.
The proposed swimming center also divided residents.
Supporters viewed the facility as an opportunity to expand recreational and competitive swimming opportunities, including for Downingtown Area School District athletes.
Others questioned whether the facility belonged in the development.
Supervisor Larasz Moody indicated that residential construction remained preferable to some potential alternatives but called for a proposal more closely aligned with the township’s comprehensive plan.
“I do hope that future discussions will include a residential development that will better fit into the comprehensive plan of our community,” Moody remarked in comments published by The Inquirer.
Obenski likewise expressed interest in continued discussions, suggesting that elements of the rejected proposal could remain part of future negotiations.
The decision leaves several competing interests unresolved: the school district’s effort to sell its property, the township’s concerns about development density and public costs, residents’ opposition to industrial construction, and the potential traffic implications of either residential or commercial development.
For now, the residential rezoning and tentative development plan have been denied, while the property’s industrial zoning remains unchanged.
Rockwell’s anticipated return to the township could determine whether the next proposal shifts toward the industrial uses already permitted on the property.
For additional reporting on the supervisors’ decision, residents’ reactions and the future of the Lionville Station Road property, read the full article in The Philadelphia Inquirer: https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/uwchlan-township-lionville-station-road-20261106.html.
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