Historic farm among sites for possible sports fields

Need for an indoor athletic facility discussed.

By: David Campbell
   The 28-acre portion of the historic Gulick Farm off Princeton-Kingston Road, which Princeton Township acquired as open space a year ago, is among the sites being tentatively considered by the Princeton Joint Recreation Board as the location for an indoor athletic facility or soccer fields.
   Upon learning that a potentially 25,200-square-foot facility could be proposed for her neighborhood, Herrontown Road resident Jo-Ann Munoz said, "I will be the first neighbor to organize an incredible coalition to fight it."
   Recreation Board Chairman Mike Finkelstein said the idea is just a preliminary one and that the Gulick site is among several that will be considered. Other potential sites include land adjacent to the National Guard Armory on River Road; the Tiger Garage, which currently is used by the township’s Public Works Department; and Community Park South.
   Mr. Finkelstein said talks with neighbors and the community are needed.
   "I’d like the Recreation Department to meet with the typically interested parties before this becomes an issue," the board chairman said. "I don’t want anybody to think we’re forcing anything down people’s throats. There is no plan now, just a conceptual possibility."
   Recreation Director Jack Roberts told the board Thursday night, "What we’re trying to do is assess what our options are," and added, "Needless to say, we would have to go out into the community and sell these concepts."
   Mr. Roberts acknowledged that there are residents who regard the Gulick land as "hallowed ground," but said, "This is a battle that may be worth fighting."
   The recreation director is expected to make a presentation tonight to the Princeton Borough Council on the current status of Princeton’s recreation facilities and current and future needs.
   Princeton Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said, "Considering the needs we have for recreation and public-school playing fields, we need just about any bit of open space we can get our hands on."
   Township Deputy Mayor William Enslin said the Gulick land was bought with the understanding that it could host soccer fields at some point to address Princeton’s deficit of fields. But he said he had no knowledge of the proposal to build an indoor facility there and could not comment without more information.
   "It’s always been clear that our policy about preserving open space has been that any preserved land must serve more than one purpose," the Mr. Enslin said. "The historic part of the farmland has been preserved and will be preserved under any plan."
   Rosemary Blair, Princeton Environmental Commission member and a Princeton-Kingston Road resident who lives near the Gulick property, said she had been led to believe the township would use the open space solely for passive recreation.
   "I have concern about how far this is going to go," Ms. Blair said. "We have done a lot to provide sites for playing fields in this town."
   Ms. Blair said portions of Coventry Farm and Greenway Meadows have already been set aside for sports fields, and that while soccer leagues and other community sports groups decry a shortage of fields, she said, they do little to acquire and pay for land for them.
   "Until we see some demonstration on their part other than coming to the township and demanding fields, I have lost sympathy with their needs," Ms. Blair said.
   Mr. Finkelstein countered that groups like the Princeton Soccer Association, which expressed interest in seeing practice fields built at the Gulick site when it was acquired a year ago, have worked "cordially and constructively" with the recreation department toward mutual goals.
   Ms. Munoz and Ms. Blair said some residents had been led to believe that because the township sought state Green Acres funds for the land, which they said precludes building on the land, that it would be conserved for passive recreation only.
   Township Attorney Edwin Schmierer said active recreation facilities are permitted to be built on land bought with state Green Acres money, citing Coventry Farm and Greenway Meadows as recent examples.
   Ms. Munoz said she would be happy to work with the township to find another, more appropriate location for a sports facility.
   "I have young children and I understand the need for active recreation, but historic land that was preserved to be open space is not the place to build a gigantic gym or put in lighted ball fields," Ms. Munoz said.
   "There may be areas where access won’t be an issue, and where parking and quality of life won’t be an issue," she continued. "You can’t put a facility of that size and magnitude in a quiet residential area."
   The township announced its acquisition of about 28 acres of the Gulick Farm as open space and the preservation under a historic-conservation easement of the remaining 11 acres of the property in April 2002. The purchase price was $2.7 million, paid for largely through the township’s open-space fund.
   At the time of the sale, Mayor Phyllis Marchand indicated that the township had no immediate plans to build on the 28 acres, but said the land would eventually be used for passive or active recreation, or a combination of both.
   The recreation board said Thursday night that in budget talks with the municipalities, the $740,000 proposed this year for the indoor facility has been deferred due to fiscal constraints.