Farm preservation committee formed in Montgomery

Seeking to preserve what remains of the township’s farmland.

By: Paul Sisolak
   MONTGOMERY — With its skyrocketing population growth — an 82-percent increase from 1990 to 2000 — Montgomery has been widely recognized as a township that is in the midst of a giant residential-building boom. And yet, during that time, an official committee dealing exclusively with the preservation of its farmland in the face of rapid development was never formed — until now.
   The startup of the township’s new Agricultural Advisory Committee will "keep agriculture strong and viable in Montgomery," according to Mayor Louise Wilson.
   The three members of the Agricultural Advisory Committee were appointed at Thursday night’s Township Committee meeting and were selected for their strong agricultural backgrounds, said the mayor. To establish a strong farming interest on the committee, two of the three members are required to be active farmers.
   "We have tried for the last year and a half to take advantage of more open-space tools and opportunities," said Ms. Wilson. "This is another way of doing that."
   The mayor began the formation of the committee in January. Its duties will include working to preserve the township’s remaining farmland, and giving advice to the Township Committee, the Open Space Committee and the Planning Board in identifying possible farming areas.
   The committee, she added, was also formed for financial reasons. In order for a municipality to legally qualify for a planning incentive grant, or PIG grant, which the state Agriculture Development Committee gives to towns that want to protect those farming-identified areas, the municipality must have an official agricultural advisory committee.
   "Montgomery still has a number of family farms that are wonderful candidates for preservation," said the mayor, "and (the committee) plans to vigorously pursue those preservation dollars."
   "I think it’s significant for the mayor to reach out to the agricultural community," said member Bill Randolph. "Preservation is the right way to go."
   Mr. Randolph is president of the Somerset County Board of Agriculture and owner of the Millstone Valley Nursery on Route 206.
   Zoning and down-zoning, he said, sometimes has a negative impact on the value of farmland.
   Committee member Jay Johnson agreed.
   "You’re ruining farmland by doing it," he said, noting that tracts of farmland are preserved by down-zoning, but also limited by it because it leaves farmers little to work with. Down-zoning takes place when the minimum lot size is increased, reducing the residential density of a development.
   And with only 5,000 acres of woods and farmland left in Montgomery, Mr. Johnson believes the committee is something that should have been formed 10 years ago.
   "Most of the land now is developed," he said, adding he hoped the committee can work toward preserving farmland through the state-planning incentive grant program.
   Mr. Johnson’s farmland overlooks the historic Mill Pond stone bridge.
   Kim Rowe, the third Agricultural Advisory Committee member, is also a member of the Montgomery Friends of Open Space, and helped organize a farmers’ forum held April 5. She noted that one of the difficulties Montgomery farmers face in raising crops profitably is the rising land and home values in the township, making it difficult to resist offers from developers.
   In addition to coordinating events like the farmers’ forum, where those in the agriculture industry can have their voices heard, Ms. Rowe said the committee would also help channel input from the farming community to the Township Committee and Planning Board.
   Farmland is becoming scarce in Montgomery, said Planning Board Chairman Steven Sacks-Wilner, who applauded the mayor in her efforts in forming the committee.
   Members of the Agricultural Advisory Committee have not yet scheduled any meetings.