West Vincent board tables Toll Brothers plan after residents, engineers press for Route 401 access

The West Vincent Township Board of Supervisors on June 15 delayed action on a contentious Toll Brothers preliminary plan after residents, legal counsel and an independent engineer urged the board to consider an alternative access connection to Route 401 instead of multiple access points on narrow Chester Springs Road.

Michael Tuoso, speaking on behalf of resident Stephanie Lingquist, asked the board to table Resolution 11‑2026 and said his firm has filed an appeal to the conditional‑use portion of the land‑development package. Tuoso said the record lacks a zoning officer opinion about whether certain steep slopes are man‑made and urged the board to review recently submitted materials, including an alternative access plan filed June 12.

Engineer Jack Smite of Bull Smite Associates told the board a 13‑hour traffic count shows Chester Springs Road carries about 300 vehicles per day in normal conditions and that the proposed development would add roughly 653 vehicle trips per day. Smite argued that adding that volume would change the road’s typology, trigger minimum lane‑width and sight‑distance standards, and likely require removal of mature trees and portions of stone wall to meet safety standards. He urged routing primary access to Route 401 to preserve Chester Springs’ viewshed and buffering.

Resident Stephanie Lingquist said she and her counsel were surprised by the level of detail in the packet and urged the board not to lock the township into Chester Springs access in exchange for a $300,000 payment from the developer. Lingquist said widening the road later would cost the township more and would remove mature trees (she cited roughly 305 mature trees along the corridor). "Kicking the can down the road" by accepting access now, she said, could impose long‑term costs and landscape damage.

Multiple residents backed those points at the public mic, raising emergency‑response and pedestrian‑safety concerns on narrow roads, and questioning whether traffic studies were conducted during the school year. Several speakers gave differing trip estimates — Smite’s ~653 trips, another commenter’s estimate near 400 — and experts at the microphone emphasized the need for site‑specific sight‑distance and lane‑width analysis. One public commenter, Jeff Jones of Jones Forensic Investigations, urged adherence to local code standards to protect health and safety.

Separately at the meeting the township solicitor read and the board adopted a 23‑page conditional‑use opinion and order relating to the PY Homes of Pennsylvania application. The order denied requested modifications including a reduction of roadway width from 36 feet to 24 feet, elimination of on‑street parking, parking in front yards, front‑loaded garages, the segregation of townhomes from single‑family homes and a requested higher ratio of townhomes. The board voted to adopt the solicitor’s opinion and order.

After hearing new information and submissions presented at the meeting, board members agreed to table Resolution 11‑2026 and scheduled reconsideration for the board’s July 20, 2026 regular meeting. Meeting minutes and staff said the applicant consented to an extension to allow the delay. The board also asked that the review letters presented that night be posted and shared with the applicant and township engineers before the next hearing.

The board’s action leaves the Toll Brothers preliminary plan unresolved pending further review and engineering analysis. The next procedural step announced by the board is a July 20 meeting where the packet and new review letters will be reconsidered.