Middletown Planners Postpone Farm Development Talks

MIDDLETOWN, PA — Planners in Middletown Township on Wednesday voted to postpone consideration of a controversial plan to develop a local farm into a subdivision.

The Middletown Township Planning Commission tabled discussion of plans for what would be called Stone Farm subdivision on the current property of Stone Meadows Farm on Fulling Mill Road in Langhorne.

Middletown Planning and Zoning director Pat Duffy said that, to date, there have been nine reviews of plans for the site, which have drawn opposition from residents.

A development group called KTMT Stone proposes building 121 homes on the 168-acre property.

That hasn't played well with some in the community. A group called Save Stone Meadows Farm has formed. They argue that the farm, which neighbors Core Creek Park, is significant to local history, as well as being one of Bucks County's few remaining farmlands.

"We want today's children and tomorrow's generations to be able to enjoy the benefits of clean water, fresh air, and healthy opportunities for local food and recreation," the group says on its website.

Stone Meadows Farm, once a dairy and cattle farm, has grown corn and soybeans for the past 25 years, according to the group. It was home to the Stone family for three generations.

During the course of discussions that have gone on for the past few years, Middletown planners have posed dozens of questions and concerns to the development group, many of them centering on impact to traffic in the busy Newtown-Langhorne Road area.

The planning commission next meets on Nov. 20, but the Stone Meadows Farm development was not on an agenda for that meeting available Thursday on Middletown's website.