Upper Makefield rejects 77-house Toll plan near national cemetery

A proposed residential development that’s been at the center of controversy and legal challenges for almost 15 years in Upper Makefield again took center stage before the township’s board of supervisors at a public meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Ultimately, the board voted to again reject Fort Washington-headquartered Toll Brothers’ plan to build what officials described as 77 new homes on roughly 99 acres on Stoopville Road near the Washington Crossing National Cemetery. The property is often referred to as the White Farm.
An earlier incarnation of the project received approval from a prior board of supervisors in 2007. However, a group of concerned neighbors appealed the decision.
Bucks County Court later remanded the development application back to Upper Makefield, but supervisors unanimously rejected the plan in a 2015 vote, effectively saying it failed to comply with the township’s stormwater management requirements.

Toll didn’t quit its pursuit of developing the White Farm, however, and more legal entanglements ensued. Given the latest rejection on Dec. 7, Upper Makefield officials are anticipating a court challenge from Toll.
In April 2021, supervisors also rejected a related plan from Toll Bros. that sought to build 45 single family homes on some 66 acres on Stoopville Road near the White property. That land is commonly referred to as the Melsky Tract.
Stormwater concerns were a central reason for supervisors disapproving the Melsky Tract proposal.

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