Planning commission recommends Farm’s Edge access roadway to supervisors, calls for Option B and a traffic study

The Lower Makefield Township Planning Commission on Feb. 9 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve the Farm’s Edge at Shady Brook access roadway — subject to specific conditions including a preferred alignment, a traffic study and emergency‑access routing.

Ed Murphy and Joe Morrissey, representing Fox Lane Homes, presented plans for an access driveway from Township Line Road to serve a 129‑unit active‑adult (55+) project already approved in Middletown Township. Morrissey said the application contains two alignment options: Option A, which follows an existing access near the 777 Building, and Option B, which would line the new road up with Stony Hill Road and circle an “Eco Park” aeration pond. The applicant and its traffic consultant favor Option B for better stacking and intersection geometry.

Commissioners repeatedly stressed the need for a traffic study and expressed concern about taking a final position without knowing how the remainder of the Fleming property might be developed. "We need a traffic study — and it should be robust," one commissioner said, noting recent changes in traffic patterns from nearby developments. Staff confirmed the plan was submitted Dec. 14 and that the township was within the 90‑day review period for the submission.

At the close of discussion the commission moved to recommend approval to the Board of Supervisors under these conditions: pursue Option B (alignment with Stony Hill to permit a four‑leg intersection with Township Line Road), require an acceptable traffic study before final action, ensure emergency access to the Middletown development is routed through Middletown rather than through Lower Makefield, and ask the supervisors to consider input from the township’s stakeholder/steering committee when they act. The motion was seconded and the recommendation passed on a voice vote.

Applicants said they had discussed connectivity goals — trails, an Eco Park, and potential pedestrian links to Silver Lake and nearby retail — and noted the active‑adult community is in Middletown Township while the access would cross a small portion of Lower Makefield. The commission’s recommendation sends the matter to the Board of Supervisors for final decision and specifies the traffic study and the emergency‑access arrangement as conditions for approval.