N.B. collects 75 small tracts in Hidden Lake BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer "The goal was to assemble a contiguous township-owned tract which at the very minimum can be used as open space with potential other plans." - Robert Lombard Township Business Administrator NORTH BRUNSWICK - The township adopted an ordinance to acquire 75 properties by purchase or foreclosure in order to increase open space within the township. Approved on June 5, the ordinance seeks to acquire roughly 405,000 square feet, or about 9 acres, of land in the Hidden Lake section of town. "The goal was to assemble a contiguous township-owned tract which at the very minimum can be used as open space with potential other plans," Township Business Administrator Robert Lombard said. The township made offers to every property owner based on fair market value, according to Lombard, and nine owners decided to sell their land to the township. Twenty-one other properties were in lien against the township, mostly due to the nonpayment of taxes, so the municipality was able to foreclose against them. "It was done mostly through friendly means or through land swaps. It was an effort to acquire all of the parcels," Lombard said of the area between Herald Street and Hidden Lake Drive, around the conservation area. Although there is no specific plan yet for the land area, past discussions have suggested active recreational areas or a potential school site. However, at this time no formal plans are set in place, especially since 70 percent of the area is impacted by wetlands. "That will severely limit any possibility for development," Lombard said. "I think the idea right now is to just assemble as much land as we can." In either case, the township expects to benefit greatly from the conserved areas around the historic and aesthetic section of town. "This is part of a larger plan to provide open space in that section of the township," Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack said. "It is an opportunity for us to consolidate property already owned by the town with other properties in town without condemnation. It provides a large tract of land, undeveloped, which will be used for open space."