192-Acre South Brunswick Farm Purchase Finalized

SOUTH BRUNSWICK – The 192-acre, historically important Pulda Farm in South Brunswick has been preserved forever now that the purchase of the land has been finalized, county officials announced Friday.

Middlesex County Freeholder Carol Barrett Bellante spearheaded the move to preserve the land while she served as South Brunswick Deputy Mayor and continued her support as a freeholder. The total cost was $7.5 million, funded by the Township of South Brunswick with $2.5 million in Open Space money and Middlesex County with $2.5 million from its Open Space funds and $2.5 million from its state Green Acres funding.

“This is a great day for Middlesex County,” said Bellante. “This environmentally and historically important land will be saved forever because of the cooperation between the people of South Brunswick, the Township and County and I cannot be more thrilled. Our children and our children’s children are the real benefactors of this action because an important part of our heritage has been preserved.”

The purchase prevents development of the property, which could have been subdivided into 52 residential lots. The land is adjacent to Pigeon Swamp State Forest, the only water supply in Middlesex County with the State Department of Environmental Protection’s most protected status.

The property also has historical significance. It was originally owned by the Van Dyke family, early settlers of South Brunswick in 1652. The property was part of an original land grant from King George III of England. There is documented history of slavery on the farm and slave quarters are still intact.

“By saving Pulda Farm, we continue to preserve the county’s agricultural heritage. The farm is the only Van Dyke homestead remaining in the Davidson Mill Road area and is an example of a mid-19th century farmstead that has been relatively well-preserved, and that has maintained a large portion of land for farming, an activity that reflects the lifestyle of early South Brunswick Township,” Bellante said.

“I am extremely pleased with the Open Space acquisition of the Pulda Farm,” said Mayor Frank Gambatese. “This a true example of county, state and municipal government working together to preserve the quality of life for not only the residents of South Brunswick Township but also the residents of the Central New Jersey Region. This purchase eliminated the potential for the building of 52 single-family homes, which would have impacted our school system and our local environment.”

“This is the right thing to do for the people of Middlesex County,” said Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano. “My Freeholder colleagues and I are committed to preserving as much open space as we can to protect the environment and safeguard the county’s agricultural past. With the purchase of the Pulda Farm, we reach those goals and also save our taxpayers money because no additional infrastructure, such as roads and utilities, will have to be built and maintained.”

Read more: http://njtoday.net/2011/02/28/south-brunswick-farm-purchase-finalized/#ixzz1R5w5CuUN
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Two Farms Preserved in Cranbury Township, Middlesex County

By Christopher Sacco, eastwindsor.patch.com

Two Cranbury Township farms have entered the Middlesex County Farmland Preservation Program, the county has announced. Sallie Toscano’s 43-acre Rejay Farm and the Lum family’s 48-acre vegetable farm have joined 31 other Cranbury locations previously preserved by the county and township. All told, 2,600 acres of farmland have been preserved in Cranbury thus far.

The county’s program, which to date has preserved 67 farms, organizes the purchase of easements on the land it plans to preserve. Typically, the state pays 60 percent of this amount and the county and municipality contribute 20 percent each. Rejay Farm’s development easement cost approximately $1.3 million, while the permanent agricultural easement on the Lum property cost $898,000. Cranbury contributed $263,000 and $180,000, respectively.

Committeeman Dan Mulligan said he sees participation in the preservation program as not only environmentally sound, but also fiscally responsible for the township.

“Middlesex County's land preservation program is extremely important to Cranbury Township as it is one of the key benefits we receive from the county taxes we pay as residents,” he said. “Overall, land preservation provides multiple benefits to the residents of Cranbury Township as we not only benefit from land that is preserved for agriculture as well as open space.”

The township has eight more locations targeted for preservation, which would add 600 more acres to its preserved land total. The county hasn’t decided if Cranbury will be selected for further preservation and other municipalities are also being considered. Farms located in Monroe and South Brunswick are expected to join to the program over the next several years.

With the addition of the most recent Cranbury farms, more than 5,000 acres of farmland have been preserved throughout the county. This figure includes preservation easements purchased through the preservation program funds as well as purchases made directly by New Jersey, Middlesex’s municipalities, non-profit organizations and donated land.

Middlesex County Freeholder Charles E. Tomaro, liaison to the Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board, said he's pleased that these two farms are joining the program.

“This is great news, and I want to thank our partners at the state and the township and especially Sallie Toscano and the Lum family for helping us preserve Middlesex County’s agricultural heritage,” Tomaro said.

Rejay’s Farm Stand, located along Plainsboro Road, offers organic eggs, naturally grown herbs, vegetables, cut flowers and fresh honey. The Lum farm allows visitors to pick their own vegetables from June to September and also operates a seasonal Asian vegetable and fruit stand from June to October. The Lum property lies on John White Road.

According to the freeholders, the Middlesex County Farmland Preservation Program will continue work to “maintain the county’s high quality of life.”

“We have saved forever more than 12,000 acres of open space and farmland and are actively pursuing more acres so that these precious lands can be enjoyed now and in the future,” said Freeholder Director Christopher D. Rafano.

A list of all preserved farms in New Jersey as of 2010 can be found here.

70 acres in N. Brunswick, 30 in Bridgewater expected to be preserved

The Bridgewater article:

BRIDGEWATER — Township Council approved the introduction of an ordinance to buy the development rights for about 30 acres at 791 Newmans Lane so that the property is restricted for farm use only and not built out with housing.

The township will pay $120,000 per acre or a total purchase price of $3,108,000, which will come out of the taxpayer-funded open space trust fund.

The council introduced a second ordinance to purchase outright about 6 acres that is part of the same property at 791 Newmans Lane, to be used solely for open space and recreation. The purchase price of $928,000 will also be paid from the open space trust fund.

A public hearing on the purchases will take place during the October 18 council meeting starting at 7:30 p.m. to be held inside the Bridgewater Municipal Courtroom at 100 Commons Way.

The township had been attempting to preserve the property from development for several years now, according Township Administrator James Naples speaking at the October 4 council meeting.

Purchasing the development rights on the 25.9 acres and buying the other 5.8 acres outright was accomplished after Mayor Patricia Flannery had established a rapport with the family that owns the land, Naples said.

If council approves the 5.8-acre acquisition, that property then can be used for active and passive recreation, he said.

“This has been property that has been on our radar screen for the better part of 10 years,” said Councilman Allen Kurdyla.

The councilman asked Naples what the amount of money was needed to purchase the 25.9 acres, not just the development rights.

“I know the goal eventually is to own the property,” Kurdyla said.

“My concern is that this is a significant amount of money coming out of the open space fund,” said Councilman Christine Henderson Rose.

She emphasized that no money is likely to go back into open space trust fund any time soon.

“It is possible that some of this money will be reimbursed,” said Bridgewater Township Attorney William Savo, explaining that the township could receive grant money for open space preservation through Somerset County by way of the Green Acres program run by of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.

Council President Moench said he wanted a status report at the October 18 meeting on the amount of money still remaining in the open space trust fund and what monies are already allocated either for land purchases or open space development.

Naples said that there is about $12 million currently in the fund. About $3 million of that has already been dedicated to developing passive and active recreation at several existing open space properties, and roughly $4 million, if approved, would be spent on the Newmans Lane property.

“We’ll have roughly $3 or $4 million left,” Moench said.

*
The North Brunswick article:

Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack and others in municipal government are open to ideas for using the tract known as Pulda Farm, now that the council, as had been expected, voted unanimously to purchase the property after years of debate.

"There was a suggestion from the public that we could use it as some sort of community garden...It is a good suggestion and we will consider it," said Township Administrator Robert Lombard. "We expect that it (the farm) will remain open space."

The council on Monday voted to purchase what is one of the last agricultural tracts in North Brunswick, agreeing to pay $22 million for the 70-acre parcel bordering Farrington Lake.

Lombard said it could take "a couple of months" before paperwork for the transaction is completed.

The farm is one of the township's last undeveloped properties and had been the focus of various plans for possible development for more than a decade.

Groups that worried about North Brunswick's population density pushed for keeping the farm out of the hands of developers. They have applauded the decision to purchase and preserve the tract. Womack had said half of the $22 million is to be paid by the county through open-space funds. Township officials hope to get $5.5 million through New Jersey's Green Acres program, with the township paying the remaining $5.5 million.

The property is located at 300 Old Georges Road.