Two neighboring Upper Makefield Township properties, once the center of a court battle over the proposed development of a house of worship, are again the topic of discussion in the township. The current plan has a property at 1458 Wrightstown Road reduced from 13 acres to three acres, with the neighboring property, under the same ownership, increasing from over 12 acres to over 19 acres. Both lots have existing homes. A third lot of three acres would be established, on which a future home could be built. However, in 1996, the township granted then-owners Harry and Priscilla Whyte a subdivision of a single larger property to create the two current lots, and the Whytes agreed to a deed restriction that barred future development. The Whytes pursued a plan to build a house of worship on the land in the early 2000s. It was denied by the board of supervisors, things got litigious, and there was ultimately a court decision that upheld the deed restriction, preventing the proposed house of worship development. The Whytes died earlier this year and their relatives are pursuing the subdivision. Township officials had concerns, and questioned if they would be setting a bad precedent by overriding the deed restriction. Township attorney Will Oetinger said the request for a subdivision amounted to the Whytes’ niece “asking for a grant of grace from the township” and that the township “holds all the cards.” The discussion was only of a preliminary sketch plan, and the applicant would need to submit formal, engineered development plans if they wish to pursue the subdivision.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 6/12/2025