Stone Meadows Farm Subdivision Gets Approval

The Middletown Board of Supervisors voted last week to allow the owners to subdivide the 168-acre Stone Meadows Farm property.

The property that sits between Newtown-Langhorne Road and Fulling Mill Road will be split into two pieces, a 44.9 acre tract and a 123-acre piece of property. The smaller area includes the Stone family home and other buildings that sit on the working farm.

The supervisors approved the subdivision 4-1.

Solicitor James Esposito advised residents the subdivision follows township guidelines and does not approve any development on the property.

In September, an updated plan from Metropolitan Development Group for development of the property is expected to come before the Planning Commission.

Several residents spoke in opposition to Metropolitan Development Group’s plan to turn the township’s largest privately-owned agriculture property into a development featuring more than 100 homes.

An attorney representing community group Save Stone Meadows Farm came before the supervisors and voiced the group’s opposition to the plan to subdivide the property. He added it would have been more appropriate to consider the split during land development.

Esposito said the township was following the rules in allowing the current owners of the property – the Stone family – to divide the land they own.

In May, LevittownNow.com reported that Metropolitan Development Group’s plan called for up to 124 single family homes on farm. An attorney representing the developer said less than 100 homes could be built due to an option that would give the current property owners the ability to preserve the southeast corner of the property near Fulling Mill and Tollgate roads. Under that plan, the existing farm houses and other structures will remain on an excluded 9.4 acre plot.

Since this news organization broke the news in 2015 that the farm could be developed, neighbors have fought to save the property. They have held fundraisers to fund the effort and worked to find a government agency or private buyer who will preserve the land.

Sources have said the estimated purchase price for the Stone Meadows Farm is between $8 million and $16 million.

Related:

• Officials Review Latest Plans To Bulldoze Largest Remaining Farm In Middletown
• Group Working To Save Stone Meadows Farm
• Stone Farm Planning Commission Meeting Cancelled
• Middletown Twp. Tables Stone Farm Development Zoning Request
• More than 120 Homes Planned For Stone Farm, Middletown Could Preserve Portion Of Land
• Housing Development Could Overtake 168-Acre Farm