WEST BRANDYWINE TWP, PA — Toll Brothers is facing unusually heavy public opposition to a proposed 237-home, age-restricted community on roughly 116 acres near Hibernia County Park, with the Philadelphia Business Journal reporting that the project has generated more public engagement than any development proposal a township official could recall.
The conditional-use application by property owner Imaging Associates LLC and Toll Mid-Atlantic LP Company Inc., a Toll Brothers affiliate, calls for 163 detached houses and 74 attached twin units at 500 Hibernia Road, along with recreational facilities and other community amenities.
The two-parcel property is in West Brandywine Township’s R-2 Rural Residential District. The development would require conditional-use approval under Sections 200-19.C(8) and 200-21.1 of the township zoning ordinance.
That means the proposal is not a request to rezone the land. Age-restricted development is conditionally permitted in the district, but the applicants must establish through the hearing process that the project satisfies the township’s applicable zoning standards.
The formal conditional-use hearing began Aug. 5 and resumed Sept. 29 after being continued. The proceeding is adjudicatory, with testimony transcribed by a court reporter and affected residents able to seek party status, present evidence, question witnesses and retain attorneys.
The Sept. 29 proceeding did not result in a reported approval or denial. The application remains before the township as the parties develop an evidentiary record.
Opposition has coalesced in part around Friends of Brandywine Farms, with residents raising concerns about the project’s density, traffic on Hibernia and surrounding roads, sewer and water infrastructure, emergency services, wetlands, streams and farmland.
Opponents have also cited potential effects on water flowing toward the Brandywine watershed and the property’s proximity to Hibernia County Park and the Hatfield-Hibernia Historic District. Those concerns represent opponents’ arguments rather than findings by township officials.
The scale of the public response has made the proposal a significant land-use dispute in West Brandywine. The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that a township official described the level of engagement as exceeding that generated by any previous development proposal he had encountered.
The application remains in the conditional-use process, with no approval or denial reported following the Sept. 29 proceeding. No subsequent hearing date was identified in the available records.
Under the township’s conditional-use process, the applicants bear the burden of demonstrating that the proposed development satisfies the applicable requirements of the zoning ordinance. Residents or organizations granted party status may present evidence and challenge testimony as part of that proceeding.
For additional reporting on the proposal and the opposition surrounding it, visit the Philadelphia Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2026/10/01/toll-brothers-west-brandywine-regency.html
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