Committee: Open space tracts not worth money
Owner wants near $900K for land bought for $600K months ago
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The Open Space Advisory Committee has panned two prospective land purchases the township has been eyeing for preservation, saying that time and resources would be better spent elsewhere.

Jane Snyder, the commission's chair, said that while the organization rarely comes out against buying open space, she said that there were serious problems with the township's potential purchase of two small parcels, one off Route 1 and one on Ridge Road. One reason was that the motivation behind the two acquisitions does not fit in with the mission of the open space trust fund, which she said is only to be used for buying land for recreation, farmland preservation and the protection of historic properties.

"The money in our trust fund needs to be spent wisely. There's a limited amount available. … That same level of funding is not expected to be available in the near future," Snyder said during the public portion of the July 10 council meeting.

Another has to do with the intent of the sellers. She said that both tracts are owned by "reputable builders" whose applications for development were denied by the Planning Board but are now willing to sell the properties for open space. She said that the developers' motives might be suspect. Given the circumstances, she said it is possible they are just trying to recoup the costs of their investments or profit after their original plans were blocked by the township.

"[They] put a lot of money into that proposal, but that's not our problem, that's [theirs]. I'm sorry if they purchased land not appropriate for the development they wanted, but I don't see buying them with open space money," said Snyder.

Real estate transaction records from the Middlesex County Clerk's Office reveal that one of the properties in question, located on Ridge Road, carries a selling price of $600,000, with the last sale taking place on May 4, 2006. Mayor Frank Gambatese, who also sits on the open space committee, said that the asking price for the property the township is considering for purchase is between $865,000 and $900,000. Gambatese agreed with Snyder's assessment that the owners are probably trying to recoup at least some of their costs through the open space purchase, though their success in doing so is not guaranteed.

"They want to recover their costs. They have a right to ask [that price], but whether they can reap that is a different story," said Gambatese. "When you come before [the board] with an application, it's very costly."

The other property, located at 4084 Route 1, was valued at $90,000, with the last sale taking place March 24, 2003. Discussions on the purchase of this particular parcel are much more recent and so an initial purchase price has not yet been worked out.

The 3-acre property on Ridge Road, currently owned by Neighborhood Builders LLC, had once been the subject of a 2005 application before the Planning Board to build eight houses, but concerns that its approval would create an accident zone along the S-curve where it is located contributed to its denial. The Route 1 tract was the subject of a more recent Planning Board hearing, where an office building on an undersized 1-acre tract was proposed, and was met with fierce opposition from nearby Whispering Woods residents, some of whom would be only five feet away from the structure if it had been built.

These two rejections, along with the reasoning behind them, were cited as compelling reasons for preservation by Gambatese. He said that the conflict springs from differences in priorities between the township and the committee. The mayor elaborated by stating that the township's responsibility is to protect the safety and quality of life for its residents. Preventing the creation of an accident zone along a dangerous road was in the interests of the township, as was keeping an office building from being built in residents' backyards.

"The open space committee is looking at it from a different viewpoint, because their mission is to select properties that could be used for active and passive recreation or historical sites, and their mission is different from the council's mission. The council is looking at a different viewpoint. Now the open space [committee] is saying we only have a limited amount of money and we shouldn't be spending money arbitrarily and selecting properties that we don't want to see a development on, but that's where the difference of opinion comes in," Gambatese said.

Snyder agreed that it was a good idea to protect residents from unsafe traffic and right-in-the-backyard development, but said that if that is the township's intent, then it should use its own tax money rather than the Open Space Trust Fund, given the limited money and growing requests.

"It's been a long time since we actually came out against something, but our funds are running low and the intent of the ordinance is not just to keep development from behind someone's house," said Snyder.

Both purchases will be discussed by the township further before definitive action is taken.

Spending conflicts like this might increase in frequency as open space funds dry up. Gov. Jon Corzine recently halted new funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust, which fuels preservation efforts in towns like South Brunswick, due to his reluctance to add to the state's growing debt. A compromise with the Legislature put a final $200 million into the trust until an alternate funding system could be found. Corzine has expressed an interest in using profits from the sale or lease of state assets like toll roads and the lottery to further fuel the popular program, a proposal that has been met with skepticism from many lawmakers and civic groups.