Middletown supervisors present settlement and overlay plan for Stone Farm; public raises easement, traffic concerns

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Middletown Township supervisors on April 6 reviewed a proposed age‑qualified overlay district and a stipulation that would end long‑running litigation over the Stone Farm property, while residents pressed questions about the language and enforcement of a planned conservation easement.

An unnamed township presenter told the board the overlay district is intended to allow a community limited to residents 55 and older and described draft regulations: a maximum density of two units per acre, maximum impervious surface of 40%, maximum lot coverage of 20%, minimum open space of 35% of the gross site area and a 25‑foot buffer yard. The presenter said the ordinance was modeled on the township’s existing age‑qualified community zoning and that both the Bucks County Planning Commission and the Township Planning Commission found the ordinance compatible with the comprehensive plan.

Under the stipulation of settlement reviewed at the meeting, roughly 67 acres abutting Boling Mill Road would be placed under a conservation easement and subdivided into two conserved parcels (each about 33.5 acres) that include typical 2‑acre building envelopes. The remaining roughly 89‑acre parcel would be developed into 59 age‑qualified detached and semi‑detached dwellings, including 17 single‑family homes and the rest twin homes, with approximately 24.5 acres of common open area, pedestrian trails and privately maintained roads. The presenter said the developer has agreed to reimburse legal fees incurred by the township and intervening residents and that final land development approvals and recording of the easement would follow court approval of the stipulation.

Sharon Furlong, speaking as spokesperson for Bucks Environmental Action, urged greater clarity about the easement language. She said the 15‑page document is labeled a “conservation easement” but appears to allow agricultural activities, retail sales of crops, and commercial timbering — provisions she said align more with an agricultural easement. "A conservation easement is for the preservation of plants, trees, soil, wildlife," Furlong said, and asked who will monitor and enforce the easement’s restrictions.

Township staff responded that Bucks County (not the township) will be the holder of the easement, and that building permits and code reviews would still be required if development proceeds. The board’s motion to authorize the solicitor and staff to carry out terms of a stipulation was amended to make approval contingent on receipt of required owners’ signatures before the stipulation is filed with the court.

Other residents raised traffic and neighborhood impacts. An unidentified resident who said she lives at 197 Iron Rock Court asked that a small parcel adjacent to Summit Trace remain available for her use and said she worries construction and events at nearby George School will create heavy traffic and nuisance impacts. Eric Jacobs, a nearby resident, suggested one internal road be routed to Tollgate Road rather than to Route 413 to reduce pressure on Route 413.

Developer representative Jeff Miller said the negotiation was long and difficult but that the stipulation represents a compromise that preserves much of the land and allows the parties to put litigation behind them.

Next steps: the board elected to hold the ordinance hearing and continue final action on the overlay until the May meeting so outstanding signatures and exhibits can be obtained. If the board and the court approve the stipulation and the overlay, the developer would submit engineered land development plans for review and additional approvals by the planning commission and the board before permits are issued.

(Reporting note: direct quotations and attributions in this story come from comments on the record at the April 6 meeting.)