The owners of historic Crebilly Farm, who have received decades of tax breaks for preserving the tract, now want to sell the land to Toll Brothers, which plans a controversial subdivision of more than 300 homes.

Since 1998, Crebilly Farm, a scenic, historic swath of land in Westtown Township, has enjoyed substantial township, school and county tax breaks. Its benefactor? Clean and Green, a state program enacted in 1974 to encourage protection of Pennsylvania’s valuable farmland, forestland and open spaces. Also known as Act 319, the program resulted in a school tax bill ...