Save Sleighton » michael8dan5 Save Sleighton

Middletown Township Proposing Purchase of 80 Acres

michael8dan5 — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 19:25:32 +0000

As of now, Elwyn is still attempting to move forward with a development plan for the Sleighton property, similar to the ones mentioned in previous posts. However, at a recent Township meeting, it was brought up that Middletown is looking to purchase just over 80 acres of the Sleighton property from Elwyn, and the decision will be placed on a May 21 ballot as a referendum. The tract involved is the Middletown portion west of Valley Rd (across the street from the former campus). This property includes some wooded areas, farm fields, and buildings such as Lucky Shop, Littlehouse, Stokes Barn, and Stokes Cottage. This purchase would protect all of the Sleighton property west of Valley Rd, as the Edgmont portion contains 120 acres of protected agricultural security area. That would preserve 200 acres of open space all together and only leave the campus portion of Sleighton vulnerable to development.

This is probably the best news regarding the preservation of Sleighton. As this is still in the early phases, it’s unclear what the intent of the existing buildings would be. Stokes barn would most likely continue to be leased out as it is now. All the other buildings would most likely be demolished due to neglect, because as of my most recent visit a few years ago, they appeared to be at the point of being beyond repair. Still, it is a pleasure to see that this historic property may have some land preserved.

Toll Brothers Out, Elwyn Seeking to Develop Edgmont Side

michael8dan5 — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 15:39:09 +0000

In light of the 397 unit Toll Brothers plan proposed in 2012, that plan has been recently terminated. This plan was terminated due to deadlines not being met. Among the 275 acres of the current Sleighton property, 104 lay in Middletown, and 171 lay in Edgmont. In Edgmont Township, 116 acres of land are protected in an agricultural security area, hence they can’t be developed. Edgmont also requests an extra four acres oddly placed between two sections of protected land not to be developed as well.

Currently, Elwyn Inc. is looking to rezone the land in order to follow up with development, which has apparently attracted interest from several developers. Currently, Middletown is declining to rezone their 104 acres of developable land due to density issues. The current focus is on Edgmont, and their 51 developable acres.

No formal rezoning application has been submitted yet, but Elwyn has been presenting zoning plans to the township in public meetings, which are currently ongoing. The township seeks to preserve as much open space as possible, while Elwyn seeks to build as much units as possible. Currently, they are looking to find a plan that works best for both parties.

Sleighton School Unoffical Concept Preservation Plan

michael8dan5 — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:59:04 +0000

sleightonschoolpreservationplan(1)

Check out the above PDF document, this is a thought out plan by me. The plan explains it all!

Expand Your Research on the Sleighton School

michael8dan5 — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 12:46:07 +0000

Currently there has been little to no activity news wise, so I thought I would make a news post based on encouraging people to expand their research. I would first recommend everyone view all my pages, as I have a good collection of great information and photos, especially in the “About Sleighton” page. I would also encourage people to look around to see other great websites and photos as well if this interests you. Just make sure everything is creditable information, as I have seen much that hasn’t been. You can also do what I do and look “outside the box”, and seek to find information that nobody knows, there is plenty of it, I discover it all the time. If you ever want me to publish any of your information or photos, email me at savesleighton@yahoo.com. If it is something I wish to post, I will let you know if I post it and I will give your credit for it. If you want a website added to my recommended website list, you may also notify me of that also.

A great website so far that I collaborate with and has good content is a Facebook page called “Sleighton Farm Views”. I also have a blog that is a bit dated called “Unknown Historic Sites”.

Some people contact me about wanting to visit Sleighton, and while it is a magnificent place, and something you need to see to get the full experience, I would not recommend going there. I will obviously not stop you, but I will warn that there is security, the state police ride through there, and anyone caught (including simple explorers) will be hit with a hefty fine. My photos were all taken when I had permission to walk the property, and I no longer have that privilege, as they told me I would be fined too.