Chadds Ford Township supervisors called a special meeting on Friday, March 20. Supervisors voted to appoint Helen Smith as township treasurer, and they voted to apply for a historical marker application for Archie’s Corner, named for Rev. Lydia Ann “Mother” Archie, for whom the corner — at Ring and Bullock roads — is named.
Supervisor Samantha Reiner said the application is based on the findings from the 2025 preservation assessment and reflects ongoing efforts to preserve Chadds Ford’s history. Archie lived from 1844 to 1932.
The board also voted to advertise for a Data Center ordinance and had a long discussion about applying for discretionary funds from U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick for use by The Henderson Group to complete work on the last loop road project linking Routes 1 and 202 through Hillman Drive at the Chadds Ford Business Campus.
The data center ordinance would be as an amendment to the zoning ordinance, said Supervisors’ Chairman Timotha Trigg. It would establish regulations for data centers.
Supervisors’ Vice Chairman Kathleen Goodier said that the amendment would establish regulations for data centers.
“These types of facilities are becoming more common, and the ordinance is intended to proactively define how and where they may be developed, including standards related to land use, infrastructure, and potential impacts,” Goodier said.
There will need to be a public hearing before the amendment is adopted.
Trigg and Goodier had attended a Delaware County Planning Commission meeting in which the amendment was discussed and, according to Trigg, it was met favorably.
Trigg said the county commission said it was a “very thorough treatment of data center requirements, and they specifically commented on the numerous definitions we have of data centers, which they recommended to Upper Chichester that they incorporate into their data center ordinance.”
As far as applying for the discretionary funds for the loop road, township engineer Mike Schneider said there are “some unknowns associated with this. I’m not saying they’re bad unknowns, but it’s not necessarily an application to a specific grant program. It’s an application to get funding appropriated for the project.”
He said that if the project is selected through this process, “There would then be a program selected to fund and implement the project.”
Schneider went on to say the finding could ultimately go through any number of grants or through PennDOT.
“This is to apply to get appropriations earmarked for the project, then the department, PennDOT, would go through the different programs they have, and then select which one is most appropriate,” he said.
Some things remain unclear at this point. It could move from a private project — as was originally approved by the township for Henderson to do — or it could become a PennDOT project. Or, Schneider said, it could be a situation where they ask the municipality to manage the project, similar to Walkable Chadds Ford.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
