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 Willistown Township officials approve. During a public meeting, Willistown 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. 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. Under the 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 of the lots proposed for residential development. The one nonresidential lot would be conserved as open space. The lots vary from about four acres to up to 26 acres. A conservation easement for the preserved land would be held by the Willistown Conservation Trust. Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 8/21/2026