'All Hell Broke Loose' After Chesterbrook Vote, Late Supervisor Said

Henry Rentschler, a Tredyffrin Township Supervisor from 1968 to 1976 who died in March, was remembered at the April 15 Board of Supervisors meeting.

"Mr. Rentschler led the board with dignity and vision," board chairwoman Michelle Kichline said, summing up the sentiments of the township leaders who worked with him.

  View the attached video of Rentschler describing Chesterbrook vote

"He voted for Chesterbook in the face of 5,000 oppositions on a petition. In 1976, the population of this township was 23,000 people. So, to put that in perspective, one-fifth of our population was opposed to Chesterbrook," Kichline said. "Now Chesterbrook is held out in planning development communities as a model for multi-use, smart planning and use of open space."

Kichline then played a clip from the documentary Tredyffrin Township: The First 300 Years.

In the video, Rentschler said the supervisors knew the Chesterbrook land would be developed eventually, but didn't know how the development would proceed.

He described casting the deciding vote for the development:

Hank Rentschler, affirmative. And then all hell broke loose.

Copies of the documentary are available on DVD from Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Society.

Do you think the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors made the right decision when they approved Chesterbrook? Share your thoughts in the comments below.