E.B. likely to get funds
for Giamarese farm
N.J. awards $29M to
farmland preservation
projects statewide
East Brunswick will receive $825,000 from the state to be used toward preservation of the Giamarese farm.
Money for acquisition of the 35-acre parcel on Fresh Ponds Road has been made possible under new legislation passed by state Assembly officials last week.
On Nov. 20, the Assembly approved three bills that would provide a total of more than $29 million for farmland preservation projects across the state.
Funding for this project will be taken from the Garden State Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.
The first bill, A-2846, would appropriate $10 million to provide grants to counties and municipalities for up to 80 percent of the acquisition cost of development easements on farmland.
Assemblymen Jack Gibson (R-District 30) and Joseph Malone (R-District 1) jointly sponsored this bill.
"This legislation represents our continued commitment to protecting and preserving New Jersey’s farmland for future generations," said Gibson.
The second bill, A-2847, sponsored by assemblymen Samuel D. Thompson (R-District 13) and Leonard Lance (R-23), would appropriate $11.1 million for the state Agriculture Development Committee to purchase development easements on various farmland.
"The farms earmarked in this measure have already been approved for preservation by both the state Agriculture Development Committee and the Garden State Preservation Trust," said Thompson.
"They are all worthy projects and we are proud to sponsor the bill that provides the funding needed to ensure their protection," he said.
The Giamarese family decided to sell its farm’s development rights to the township in September for the sum of $1.7 million.
The township will be compensated for just under 50 percent of this cost.
"Purchasing the [Giamarese] property was a good investment on our part; however, we are extremely pleased with the help we’ll be receiving," said Mayor Bill Neary in a recent statement. "This money can now be put back into funds for obtaining other land."
The last bill, A-2848, would appropriate $8,280,300 from the Garden State Farmland Preservation Trust Fund for farmland preservation.
All three bills were approved in the Legislature by votes of 74-1-1 and will now be sent to Gov. Christie Whitman for consideration.

