94 Acres to be Preserved in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County

I can remember Thompson Land owning a property in Princeton where I lived. They would cut down a couple trees a year and call it a "Christmas Tree Farm." Still, it's great whenever more land gets off the development rolls.

Originally appeared in NJ.com.

DELAWARE TWP. — Township officials agreed unanimously on Monday to a local conservation group's request to use local open-space tax and state grant money to help preserve 94 of 101 aces owned by Thompson Land.

Renee Kiriluk-HillDelaware Township Committee members at their July 16 meeting.

The property is at Pavlica and Pine Hill roads and the appraised value is $19,000 per acre, New Jersey Conservation Foundation regional manager Alix Bacon told the Township Committee. There are woods, farmland, some steep slopes, an old cemetery and frontage on the Plum Brook.

The cemetery is filled with ancestors of farming families who settled the Reading Road and Rosemont areas, Bacon explained.

Seven acres containing and surrounding a barn and outbuildings would be subdivided, leaving a building lot subject to property taxes.

The remainder, Bacon said, is "wonderful farmland as well as woodland," as well as a "missing link" that will connect other properties preserved by the foundation. The purchase would also continue a greenbelt being established around the village of Sergeantsville.

Renee Kiriluk-HillAlix Bacon of New Jersey Conservation Foundation and Delaware Township Open Space Coordinator Jim Borders attend a July 16 Township Committee meeting to support participation in the purchase of 94 acres from Thompson Land.

On July 16 Bacon clarified the foundation's request for money to enable the deal, which would cost approximately $1,786,000.

The foundation seeks: 10%, or $178,600, from the township's open-space fund; 30%, or $535,800, from a state Green Acres grant previously awarded to the township; 20%, or $357,200, from New Jersey Water Supply Authority; and 40%, or $714,400, from Hunterdon County open-space funds.

The Conservation Foundation would also contribute a $40,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation.

Committeeman Ken Novak questioned the purchase price of $19,000 per acre, because Thompson Land delivered a concept plan to develop the property but doesn't have any subdivision approvals. Bacon said that the figure was arrived at by two appraisers and pointed out that the purchase is "fee simple," not an easement.

Renee Kiriluk-HillAlix Bacon, regional manager for New Jersey Conservation Foundation, shows Delaware Township Committee members on July 16 the boundaries of a proposed open space purchase.

The foundation plans to manage the land. Bacon said that a local farmer would continue to work the farmland and that a trail would be added linking neighboring preserved sites.

Township open-space representatives said that the parcel is in the long-term plan as a desirable purchase.

Bacon said that the Thompson land would be accessible to people walking from Sergeantsville or those who drive and park near a foundation kiosk on Pine Hill Road. She said that it is the final Thompson Land tract in the township to be preserved.

She expects to learn in September if the county grant is awarded.

Delaware Township Preserves 24 Acres

A little acre whore love before we head to bed. My, that sounds dirty.

Originally appeared on NJ.com.

Four, 6-acre building lots are being preserved in Delaware Township

DELAWARE TWP. — Four approved building lots of 6 acres each on Locktown-Sergeantsville Road will be preserved for $663,000. The land is owned by longtime resident Harriet Fisher and adjoins a farm where a proposal to “harvest” spring water for bottling was denied two years ago.

The deal was arranged by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the land would connect to other preserved property.

On Jan. 30 the Township Committee approved spending $40,775 of the money raised by the township open space tax. The rest of the money will come from county, state and federal tax dollars: $132,600 will come from Hunterdon County’s open space fund; $249,625 from the state Agriculture Development Committee; and $240,000 from the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.

The lots were subdivided from a 70-acre farm at the intersection of Reading and Locktown-Sergeantsville roads.

Harriet’s son, Charlie, had sought Board of Adjustment approval to “harvest” 43,200 gallons of spring water daily for bottling. He wanted to pipe water from springs to new silos that would have replaced feed silos next to a former dairy barn on the remaining land at Spring Meadow Farm.

He said that water tanker trucks emptying the silos would have been similar to the bulk trucks that once took milk from the farm. The Fishers’ dairy operation was replaced by crop farming. The family previously preserved three other farms nearby.

The Board of Adjustment denied the application in 2010, feeling it wasn’t a suitable use. During the hearing process, Fisher said that water harvesting would allow the family to keep the land open. Had it been approved, he had promised to sign a promissory note with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to preserve the land and create a habitat for threatened and endangered species by creating “wetter wetlands” and planting native species.

Prior to the water harvesting application, the family had subdivided the four building lots from the rest of the farm.