Kendall Park tract is desired by township.
By: Sharlee DiMenichi
The last large parcel of open space in Kendall Park is high on the township Open Space Advisory Committee’s preliminary wish list for 2003.
The 101-acre tract across from Woodlot Park on New Road, behind homes on Wheeler Road, is zoned for residential development. Last year, it was ranked highest on the committee’s list of desired properties because it is close to a park and is in a densely populated section of town.
This year’s rankings have not been finalized but the committee still considers the tract highly valuable , Mayor Frank Gambatese said. The land, which is owned by Robert Stanton has been appraised at approximately $9 million, according to Bernie Hvozdovic, the open space attorney for the township.
The township has approached the Middlesex County Freeholder Board to ask for money from the county open space trust fund to purchase the property and is waiting for a decision.
Freeholder Director David Crabiel said Wednesday a decision on whether the freeholders will contribute county open space money to purchase the land could be made in 60 days. Mr. Crabiel said the county plans to borrow $80 million for open space and has not determined how to spend it.
According to Jane Snyder, chairwoman of the Open Space Advisory Committee, the other parcels on the draft wish list include: the 25-acre Byron-Hill property near South Brunswick High School; the 35-acre Wiesenfeld tract off Sand Hills Road; the 191-acre Pulda property on Davidson Mill Road; the 50-acre Duval tract on Culver Road across from Tall Timbers Park; the 10-acre Cronheim property across from Harvest Woods Park on Culver Road; a 400-acre tract on Route 1 that would have held the proposed Metroplex development; and the 5-acre Applegate property on Broadway Road, near Rowland Park.
Committee members use an evaluation sheet that requires them to assign a point values to 37 property characteristics in six categories.
For example, in the category of Environmental/Natural Resource Protection, committee members consider whether the tract is home to endangered wildlife and whether the parcel falls inside an aquifer recharge area. In the category called Significance to South Brunswick Township, committee members evaluate characteristics such as the land’s accessibility to the public and whether it can be developed for multiple recreational facilities, according to the sheet.
A parcel could receive as many as 80 points, with up to 15 points awarded in the Significance to South Brunswick Township category. A maximum 10 points are available in the Project Characteristics category, which includes size and whether the space can be used for recreation. Up to 20 points are available for location; up to five points for accessibility; as many as 10 points for how likely the land is to be developed; and 20 points in the category of Environmental/ Natural Resource Protection.
Committee members use the scores to rank the properties in order of desirability and will present the final list to the council after their meeting in June, Ms. Snyder said.

