A age-restricted housing development planned for a portion of Shady Brook Farm received preliminary approval Monday night from the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors.
The “Farms Edge at Shady Brook” project is proposed by ELU DeLuca SB Middletown LLC and was approved in a 4-1 vote.
The plan for the 53-acre site at Township Line and Stony Hill roads calls for 129 age-restricted units, including 42 single-family homes, 14 twin homes and 73 carriage homes.
The Middletown Township development site sits next to Shady Brook Farm in Lower Makefield Township and sits near the Newtown Township border.
The latest plan marks a reduction from earlier proposals of 161 and 150 units.
The preliminary approval comes with several conditions, including emergency access routes must be reviewed and approved by fire and emergency services. Additionally, any roadway, and traffic improvements extending into Lower Makefield Township will require approval from that municipality.
The developer, who is Joe Morrissey, the founder of Fox Lane Homes, highlighted the preservation of 21.4 acres of open space, just over 40 percent of the total site.
Morrissey said the age-restricted status of the development means no school-age children are projected to be added to the Neshaminy School District.
The project is estimated to generate $1.8 million in annual tax revenue, with $1.4 million earmarked for the Neshaminy School District, $223,000 for the township, and $213,000 for Bucks County.
The tax revenue for the age-restricted development is an increase from the estimated $274,000 in total annual tax revenue if the property were developed with large, four-bedroom single-family homes under current zoning.
The developer expects many of the residents for the community to come from the surrounding area and be downsizing from single-family homes.
Morrissey said his team has worked to listen to nearby residents and make changes to the plans based on their feedback.
Neighboring residents from the Silver Lake and Villas of Shady Brook communities in Middletown Township voiced ongoing concerns about density, emergency access, and setbacks from existing homes.
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Megan White, a resident living adjacent to the proposed development, stated the plans “remain unnecessarily dense.”
Another neighbor, while acknowledging the developer’s efforts to listen, maintained that the project still had “too many units with not enough setback from existing homes.”
Morrissey addressed these concerns by outlining commitments made by the developer, including stormwater management improvements, enhanced landscaping buffers, and potential modifications to the emergency access location based on fire department requirements.
The developer, according to Morrissey, has also committed up to $200,000 to create a pedestrian connection from Silver Lake across Village Road to a park.
Supervisor Chairman Mike Ksiazek pointed to the preservation of some of the land, noting it was a key benefit of the age-restricted community compared to traditional single-family development.
Supervisor Dana Kane expressed reservations about viewing the project in isolation. She pointed to planned commercial development on the Lower Makefield Township portion of the property.
“It feels like we are looking at this in a silo where there’s all of the building and commercialization that’s going to occur,” Kane said.
The Fleming family, who have operated Shady Brook Farm for four generations, will continue to reside on the property and maintain farming operations on a smaller scale next to the development. The Flemings plan to build a home within the new development.
The developer will work to address engineering reviews and work with township staff and neighboring municipalities to resolve remaining issues before seeking final approval from the supervisors.
In late 2023, the Fleming family, who owns and operates Shady Brook Farm, announced the sale of 80 of their 130 acres to developers. They plan to retain 50 acres for the popular agritainment and events business.
Shady Brook Farm, which started in Bensalem Township in 1913 before relocating, has said the decision to sell the land came as the fifth generation of the Fleming family prepares to take over the business.
Across the street from Shady Brook Farm, the Prickett Preserve at Edgewood, a 30-acre mixed-use development featuring homes, businesses, and a Wegman’s, opened last year.
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