Township will ask state to overrule decision excluding 85 acres from proposed agricultural preservation zone
By: Matthew Armstrong
South Brunswick will ask the state to overrule a county decision to exclude 85 acres from a proposed agricultural preservation zone.
The Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board approved the designation of approximately 2,700 acres on the eastern side of South Brunswick as an Agricultural Development Area on July 19.
However, after hearing objections from the N.J. Turnpike Authority, which has plans to build Route 92 through a section included in the application, the agricultural board removed 85 acres from the application. The board will make its decision official Aug. 18. It then will be sent to the state Agricultural Development Board for final certification.
If approved by the state, the zone will create the potential for a contiguous greenbelt stretching from the Plainsboro border to Sondek Park on New Road and Tall Timbers Park on Culver Road, as well as other properties in the township that are being pursued for open space preservation. The zone is in the vicinity of Broadway, Rowland and Friendship roads.
Hope Gruzlovic, a spokeswoman for the state Agricultural Development Board said the state would listen to South Brunswick, but that most of the decision-making is left in the hands of the county.
"It’s the county’s decision where farmland is best located," said Ms. Gruzlovic.
Creation of an agricultural development area would allow property owners to apply to the county Agricultural Development Board for farmland preservation. Once preserved, the property will be deed-restricted to prevent development. The restriction would remain on the property no matter who owned it.
The proposed Route 92 is a four-lane, 6.7-mile, limited-access toll road linking Exit 8A of the Turnpike to Route 1 near Ridge Road. The Army Corps of Engineers is reviewing the proposal to determine whether environmental permits should be issued.
Farmers who own land excluded from the preservation application have said the highway would render their property worthless for future agricultural use and preservation.
While the Turnpike Authority has the right to purchase the land through eminent domain, South Brunswick officials fear excluding the 85 acres from the application could render more than 200 acres of surrounding farmland ineligible for preservation because it would lose its prime rating, which is required for land to be moved into farmland preservation.
To earn its prime rating, each farm is examined individually in terms its size, soil quality and proximity to other farms, according to Linda Busch, the county’s principal environmental planner. The development rights for the farms are then purchased based on that rating.
Joseph Kremer’s 40-acre nursery operation on Friendship Road is one of the farmers whose land was removed from the application.
"My property is dead," said Mr. Kremer. "I can’t preserve it, and I can’t sell it because of this road. Route 92 will destroy my livelihood. All I can do is hope that it doesn’t get built."
South Brunswick said Route 92, a road proposed in various forms since the 1930s, should not be an issue in farmland preservation or in designating an Agricultural Development Area, said Bernie Hvozdovic, the attorney representing South Brunswick.
"One of the criteria for the land to be preserved is that it must be free from commercial development," he said. "Route 92 is not commercial development."
However it is unclear whether this guideline is meant to be taken literally, Ms. Gruzlovic said.
"I don’t think that the language is meant to be that limiting," she said. "If industrial property was to be built, that would be sufficient reason to stop it."
Ms. Busch said no one has appealed a county agricultural board decision since it was formed in 1986. She also said farms along roadways usually have a higher value.
In addition, Ms. Gruzlovic said Route 92 would not prevent surrounding farms from being accepted into farmland preservation. She said preserved farms already exist along portions of Route 195 and the NJ Turnpike and are used to fight additional commercial development.
"We like to see these buffers around roads to control development," said Ms. Gruzlovic.
The state will review the county’s resolution to determine if it meets the standards of an agricultural development area and whether proper procedures were followed. Public hearings will be held throughout the process, allowing South Brunswick to present its case.
If the disputed 85 acres were to be included in the Agricultural Development Area, it would not stop the Turnpike from petitioning the state to use the power of eminent domain to acquire the land. Then the Turnpike would have to receive approval from the state Agricultural Development Committee to overturn the deed restriction.
"It would not stop the Turnpike from building the road, but it would present some extra hurdles," said Ms. Gruzlovic.
The state Agricultural Development Board’s next meeting will be Aug. 24. If the county’s resolution does not get to the state in time for that meeting, South Brunswick’s appeal will be heard at its Sept. 28 meeting.