Originally appeared in The News of Cumberland County
HOPEWELL TWP. — There’s a sense of urgency in Matt Blake’s voice as he describes the future of New Jersey’s Green Acres Program.
On
one hand, 22.5 acres at Elk Lake, in Hopewell Township, was just added
to the Cohansey State Wildlife Management Area’s 800 acres.
On the other, the final round of Green Acres funding was just announced and Blake would hate to see Cumberland County miss out.
“There’s
a brief window of opportunity until mid-February where towns and
counties can apply for funding,” Blake said Wednesday of the program
overseen by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
He’s
working on raising awareness of this issue at the local level but at
the moment, the 22 acres tacked onto the Cohansey management area is
reason to celebrate.
“The site served as a cultural epicenter for
Springtown in Greenwich, which was founded by freed slaves and Quakers
who played a historically significant role in the area’s renown as a
major focal point of the Underground Railroad,” Blake said.
That
land, sold by the Mulhern family, was offered to Green Acres though
their standard application process, though the project was apparently
long in the works.
Typically, properties with willing sellers are
inspected and appraised before an offer is made. In this case, the Elk
Lake location was approved and now joins the Cohansey management area.
The
springs that feed Elk Lake start on the property that was just sold.
That’s something significant because Blake said it keeps the lake
pristine and transparent — even 7 feet down.
The other timely
matter worthy of mention: Green Acres sent out letters late last month
to all counties and local governments in New Jersey concerning the 2012
funding round.
Voters approved the three-year Green Acres Bond
Act in 2009 and 2012 brings the final round of the funding. A new source
of funding would need to be approved by voters, though Blake is unsure
when that may come around.
“This will be last opportunity for
Cumberland County, as well its towns, to take advantage of this funding
until a new funding source is approved at the ballot-box,” said Blake.
Local governments will have until mid-February to turn in their applications.
The
funding traditionally can be put toward land acquisition, development
and conservation projects or the other half of an initiative that
requires matching funds.
Counties with an Open Space plan, as
Cumberland does, typically receive between $900,000 and $1 million in
grants. Blake notes the accomplishments of Essex County over the past
nine years: an enhanced park system, athletic fields, playgrounds,
parking areas and more.
“Cumberland County is blessed with exciting downtowns,” he said.
“Any
community with a waterfront area in need of redevelopment ought to be
talking to the county about securing this money for possible projects —
be in downtown Fairton, Bridgeton, Millville, Greenwich, Fortescue,
Bivalve or Shellpile,” said Blake.
The grant application process
is apparently none too complicated. Blake said Matt Pisarski, from the
county Department of Planning and Development, told him Tuesday that the
“application isn’t heavy lifting.”
Open Space efforts tend to
fall on the back burner in light of budget crunches, Blake said. He
accepts that, but, noted the county created an open space plan to take
advantage of the funding floating around.
He noted that county
Planning Board Director Bob Brewer told him the pursuit of grants is a
freeholder decision. The county sees themselves as a conduit in this
process but “they need to be in a position to pounce when opportunities
present themselves,” Blake said.
Showing posts with label cumberland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cumberland. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Four Farms Preserved in Cumberland County
Four privately owned farms totaling 171 acres in the county were recently preserved by a partnership between Cumberland County, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cumberland County purchased the development rights on the four farms, which will continue to be privately owned. The farms are: the 70.7-acre Jones farm on Ye Greate Street in Greenwich Township, the 45-acre Newton farm on Old Mill Road in Greenwich Township, the 38-acre Garton farm on Northville Road in Upper Deerfield Township and the 17-acre Kacewich farm on Drunken Bridge and Stow Creek roads in Stow Creek Township.
Through this preservation, the owners have agreed to keep them in agriculture forever, according to a New Jersey Conservation Foundation media release distributed Wednesday.
“We’re very pleased to help Cumberland County preserve these farms, which will maintain the area’s rural, agricultural and scenic character,” said Greg Romano, assistant director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation and head of its land preservation program.
The farmland easement on the Jones farm was purchased for $274,000; the Newton farm easement for $195,850; the Garton farm easement for $195,202 and the Kacewich farm easement for $135,704, totaling $800,576 paid by Cumberland County for farmland easements on the four farms.
These costs were offset by a $358,389 contribution from New Jersey Conservation Foundation and a $100,065 SADC contribution. The county expects to be reimbursed for the balance of its contribution when more state funds become available.
“We’re glad to have that (federal) money to help preserve farms, especially in the wake of New Jersey not freeing up any bond money yet,” said Cumberland County Freeholder Tom Sheppard, referring to the $400-million bond referendum that was approved by voters in November 2009.
The farmland easements were purchased using part of New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s federal Farm and Ranch Lands Preservation Program (FRPP) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. The FRPP funds were matched by Cumberland County farmland preservation funds for the easement on the Newton, Jones and Kacewich farms and by SADC funds for the easement on the Garton farm.
“The goal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Protection Program is to protect the long-term production capacity of our state’s prime agricultural lands,” said Janice Reid, assistant state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. “We are especially pleased to help preserve these four farms, which encompass some of the best soils in Cumberland County.”
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Over 500 Acres Preserved in Vineland!
This is a biggie. 519 acres are being preserved in Vineland, Cumberland County. Under the agreement with the seller, about 42 acres have been earmarked an "exception area," which he can then develop. Maybe the housing market will continue to suck and he'll eventually preserve that, too! In either case, 500-plus acres is a big, big get.
As an aside, one wonders if the writer of this piece, Joseph Smith, is not a fan of such big purchases. Instead of focusing on the land preservation aspect, he chose to focus on the amount of money allocated for the purchase when writing the headline.
Check out the original article here. Photo credit: Joe Moore
VINELAND - New Jersey now owns the development rights to a tract of East Vineland farmland once slated to host a massive music festival.
The 519 acres, off Hance Bridge Road, now are restricted permanently by deed to strictly agricultural uses. That category doesn't include festivals, according to the State Agricultural Development Committee.
The state Farmland Preservation program paid $2 million for the rights, closing the deal Dec. 17, state agriculture department Secretary Douglas H. Fisher announced Monday.
The farm acreage is among about 563 acres that the Elwyn Institute sold in July 2009 to Vineland businessman Daniel Cervini for $4 million. The nonprofit institute has owned the land since 1981, when it took control of what then was known as The Training School at Vineland.
Cervini, who owns an automobile design business, did not return a phone call for comment about the transaction.
In 2009, Cervini obtained city zoning board approval to turn former cottages on the historic property into single-family housing. He also obtained approval to subdivide two small lots from the property for construction of a single-family house on each lot.
Fisher noted that the purchase was the largest farm rights purchase ever in Cumberland County. It also is the fourth largest acquisition New Jersey has made itself.
"The preservation of the Cervini farm represents a significant state investment in the future of agriculture in Cumberland County and in the community of Vineland," said Fisher, a former Cumberland County freeholder.
The acquisition also is notable in the context of the Vineland farming community, where farms tend to be small. Preservation efforts had netted only eight farms and 315 acres until the Cervini deal.
Mayor Robert Romano thought Cervini made the right choice to preserve the land. He knew Cervini had been considering either putting a solar field on the land or giving it to the state for farm preservation.
"I'm glad that's what the property is going to be used for because that's land preservation for Vineland," Romano said.
Hope Gruzlovic, a spokeswoman for the State Agricultural Development Committee, said Cervini applied to the state in March 2008 after signing a purchase contract on the land with Elwyn. He had first sought to enroll in county government's preservation program but the transaction was too large for the county to finance.
The city had been pegged to play host to what was to be called the Vineland Music Festival, to be held in the summer of 2009. But the plan fell apart following vocal opposition from residents in the area.
Gruzlovic said the sale agreement allows Cervini to carve out a 42-acre "exception area" around existing buildings on the land he bought from Elwyn. The exception area is adjacent to the 519-acre tract.
Cervini can subdivide and sell that exception area. He is allowed to have up to 10 single-family residences there.
Vineland Planner Steve Hawk said Cervini's zoning approval allows him to convert five old cottages on the property and three other buildings into housing for a total of eight dwellings. A former chapel may be turned into a community center.
"The remaining lands would be this big open (farm) piece," Hawk said. "However, he does have the ability to subdivide two lots off Hance Bridge Raod for single-family development. They are roughly 3.2 acres and 2.2 acres."
That area of the city is zoned for farms and woodlands.
"To have that preserved is in the spirit of those zones," Hawk said of the Farmland Preservation deal.
As an aside, one wonders if the writer of this piece, Joseph Smith, is not a fan of such big purchases. Instead of focusing on the land preservation aspect, he chose to focus on the amount of money allocated for the purchase when writing the headline.
Check out the original article here. Photo credit: Joe Moore
N.J. spends big on Vineland land
The 519 acres, off Hance Bridge Road, now are restricted permanently by deed to strictly agricultural uses. That category doesn't include festivals, according to the State Agricultural Development Committee.
The state Farmland Preservation program paid $2 million for the rights, closing the deal Dec. 17, state agriculture department Secretary Douglas H. Fisher announced Monday.
The farm acreage is among about 563 acres that the Elwyn Institute sold in July 2009 to Vineland businessman Daniel Cervini for $4 million. The nonprofit institute has owned the land since 1981, when it took control of what then was known as The Training School at Vineland.
Cervini, who owns an automobile design business, did not return a phone call for comment about the transaction.
In 2009, Cervini obtained city zoning board approval to turn former cottages on the historic property into single-family housing. He also obtained approval to subdivide two small lots from the property for construction of a single-family house on each lot.
Fisher noted that the purchase was the largest farm rights purchase ever in Cumberland County. It also is the fourth largest acquisition New Jersey has made itself.
"The preservation of the Cervini farm represents a significant state investment in the future of agriculture in Cumberland County and in the community of Vineland," said Fisher, a former Cumberland County freeholder.
The acquisition also is notable in the context of the Vineland farming community, where farms tend to be small. Preservation efforts had netted only eight farms and 315 acres until the Cervini deal.
Mayor Robert Romano thought Cervini made the right choice to preserve the land. He knew Cervini had been considering either putting a solar field on the land or giving it to the state for farm preservation.
"I'm glad that's what the property is going to be used for because that's land preservation for Vineland," Romano said.
Hope Gruzlovic, a spokeswoman for the State Agricultural Development Committee, said Cervini applied to the state in March 2008 after signing a purchase contract on the land with Elwyn. He had first sought to enroll in county government's preservation program but the transaction was too large for the county to finance.
The city had been pegged to play host to what was to be called the Vineland Music Festival, to be held in the summer of 2009. But the plan fell apart following vocal opposition from residents in the area.
Gruzlovic said the sale agreement allows Cervini to carve out a 42-acre "exception area" around existing buildings on the land he bought from Elwyn. The exception area is adjacent to the 519-acre tract.
Cervini can subdivide and sell that exception area. He is allowed to have up to 10 single-family residences there.
Vineland Planner Steve Hawk said Cervini's zoning approval allows him to convert five old cottages on the property and three other buildings into housing for a total of eight dwellings. A former chapel may be turned into a community center.
"The remaining lands would be this big open (farm) piece," Hawk said. "However, he does have the ability to subdivide two lots off Hance Bridge Raod for single-family development. They are roughly 3.2 acres and 2.2 acres."
That area of the city is zoned for farms and woodlands.
"To have that preserved is in the spirit of those zones," Hawk said of the Farmland Preservation deal.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Citizens United rips into strategic land sale in Millville (04/14/10)
Citizens United rips into strategic land sale in Millville, Cumberland County News
By Jason Laday
April 14, 2010, 9:46PM
MILLVILLE, N.J. — The Public Board of Utilities on Wednesday gave the green light to a land sale transferring 1,350 acres of city forest and wetlands from Atlantic City Electric to a private developer, setting off a fire storm of criticism from state and local environmental groups.
The tract, called Holly Farms, located just east of Holly Heights School and bordering a stretch of preserved land between the Manumuskin River and Menantico Creek, has been a major concern of multiple conservation groups since the 1980s.
The BPU voted 3-1, with member Nick Asselta abstaining, in favor of the sale, which will see Jackson,-based developer RWV Land & C.M. Livestock purchase the land for $4 million.
“The land is extremely important — it is situated between two scenic rivers,” said Jane Galetto, president of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries, in reaction to the decision.
“The ecological characteristics of this property are unparalleled in New Jersey,” added Galetto in a preparted statement. “The site is bordered by federally-protected Wild and Scenic Rivers, and is needed to help protect those public investments.”
Representatives from the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club lambasted the BPU’s decision, calling it “the worst example of destructive sprawl.”
In addition, Sierra Club officials argued that the BPU ignored a bid submitted by the state Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program to purchase the land.
In a statement, New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said Green Acres’ offer boasted a greater return on investiment for rate payers — full protection for the site and a greater financial reward — than the plan that ultimately gain the BPU’s approval.
“The sale of this land sells out the environment and sells out the rate payers of New Jersey,” said Tittel. “If this land were bought for preservation, the rate payers of New Jersey would get the money up front.
“Putting this environmentally sensitive land up for development, means that rate payers won’t get paid for years, and we will lose an environmental gem.”
According to BPU spokesman Greg Reinert, the NJDEP offered Atlantic City Electric approximately $2.5 million in one lump sum, as opposed to RWV’s bid of $4 million over a period of four years.
The spokesman added the BPU’s sole duty regarding the land deal was to represent the interests of utility payers.
“The board’s job here was to make sure rate payers are getting the best deal,” said Reinert. “That’s the extent of our responsibility.”
He later stated that, even with interest over four years, the NJDEP’s offer of $2.5 million “in today’s market” would still fail to measure up to the private developer’s offer, even if paid out over time.
RWV Land and C.M. Livestock has previously presented to the Millville Planning Board a general development application to build approximately 900 residential units and a golf course on 400 acres of the property.
However, BPU and environmental representatives alike stated the developer still has many hurdles to clear before making such a plan a reality.
“Any development there would have to be approved by the DEP and the (Environmental Protection Agency), as they would have to confirm any reports of endagered species in that area, as some groups have said there are,” said Reinert. “Also, they would have to go through regular planning board approvals.”
Galetto said the developer has still yet to gain water and sewer access to the area — a prospect she described as a particularly large stumbling block for the company.
“They still have a number of hurdles, yes,” she said. “There are still many planning board stages they have to go through, at least. And sewer and water will be a big thing for them.”
In a statement, she added, “The decision by the BPU only strengthens our resolve to see that this property is placed in public ownership in order to protect the interests of the people of our state and to leave an important legacy for their children and grandchildren.”
By Jason Laday
April 14, 2010, 9:46PM
Dossier:
Cumberland County, in the south-central portion of New Jersey, is one of the more rural and least populated counties in the state. As of 2000, its population was 146,438 over 489 sq. miles of land (by way of comparison, Monmouth County, Acre Whore's home county and home to Upper Freehold, the township with the most preserved farmland in the entire state, reported a population of 642,030 over its 472 sq. miles of land by 2007). Millville (44.5 sq. miles) is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 26,847. Its population has risen by 5-percent, in 2006, to 28,194. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses those cities and all of Cumberland County for statistical purposes.
The tract, called Holly Farms, located just east of Holly Heights School and bordering a stretch of preserved land between the Manumuskin River and Menantico Creek, has been a major concern of multiple conservation groups since the 1980s.
The BPU voted 3-1, with member Nick Asselta abstaining, in favor of the sale, which will see Jackson,-based developer RWV Land & C.M. Livestock purchase the land for $4 million.
“The land is extremely important — it is situated between two scenic rivers,” said Jane Galetto, president of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries, in reaction to the decision.
“The ecological characteristics of this property are unparalleled in New Jersey,” added Galetto in a preparted statement. “The site is bordered by federally-protected Wild and Scenic Rivers, and is needed to help protect those public investments.”
Representatives from the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club lambasted the BPU’s decision, calling it “the worst example of destructive sprawl.”
In addition, Sierra Club officials argued that the BPU ignored a bid submitted by the state Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program to purchase the land.
In a statement, New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said Green Acres’ offer boasted a greater return on investiment for rate payers — full protection for the site and a greater financial reward — than the plan that ultimately gain the BPU’s approval.
“The sale of this land sells out the environment and sells out the rate payers of New Jersey,” said Tittel. “If this land were bought for preservation, the rate payers of New Jersey would get the money up front.
“Putting this environmentally sensitive land up for development, means that rate payers won’t get paid for years, and we will lose an environmental gem.”
According to BPU spokesman Greg Reinert, the NJDEP offered Atlantic City Electric approximately $2.5 million in one lump sum, as opposed to RWV’s bid of $4 million over a period of four years.
The spokesman added the BPU’s sole duty regarding the land deal was to represent the interests of utility payers.
“The board’s job here was to make sure rate payers are getting the best deal,” said Reinert. “That’s the extent of our responsibility.”
He later stated that, even with interest over four years, the NJDEP’s offer of $2.5 million “in today’s market” would still fail to measure up to the private developer’s offer, even if paid out over time.
RWV Land and C.M. Livestock has previously presented to the Millville Planning Board a general development application to build approximately 900 residential units and a golf course on 400 acres of the property.
However, BPU and environmental representatives alike stated the developer still has many hurdles to clear before making such a plan a reality.
“Any development there would have to be approved by the DEP and the (Environmental Protection Agency), as they would have to confirm any reports of endagered species in that area, as some groups have said there are,” said Reinert. “Also, they would have to go through regular planning board approvals.”
Galetto said the developer has still yet to gain water and sewer access to the area — a prospect she described as a particularly large stumbling block for the company.
“They still have a number of hurdles, yes,” she said. “There are still many planning board stages they have to go through, at least. And sewer and water will be a big thing for them.”
In a statement, she added, “The decision by the BPU only strengthens our resolve to see that this property is placed in public ownership in order to protect the interests of the people of our state and to leave an important legacy for their children and grandchildren.”
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