stand on its own merit
Land purchase should
stand on its own merit
The purchase of undeveloped property for the purpose of preserving it from development is a laudable goal and one that most municipal governing bodies in western Mon-mouth County have been pursuing for several years.
A story in today’s News Transcript reports that Manal-apan officials are interested in pursuing the purchase of the 49-acre Gentile property at Tennent Road and Route 522.
The question that immediately sprang to mind upon hearing this news was this: Is there more going on here than meets the eye?
At present, the property owner is suing Manalapan. The lawsuit claims an ordinance that changed the residential zoning requirements on the tract devalued the land because fewer homes would be permitted to be constructed there. That same ordinance changed the residential zoning on a number of undeveloped tracts. Township officials said the enactment of the law was one way Manalapan could control growth.
So, if the Gentile property was rezoned and fewer homes can be built there, why are township officials now pursuing it as an open space purchase? Does it rank as a high priority piece of open space land? Would its purchase be the best use of precious municipal and state open space money?
Mayor Drew Shapiro said the tract’s proximity to the municipal complex, the recreation center and Manalapan High School make it worth pursuing. How-ever, in the recent past two development applications for the property — one commercial and one residential — were denied.
Is there really an imminent threat of development on the Gentile property or are municipal officials pursuing the purchase due to the possibility they could lose the lawsuit and see the farmland rezoning ordinance overturned? Such a defeat could be a damaging blow for the incumbent members of the Township Com-mittee who pushed the ordinance as a way of controlling growth.
One committee seat is up for grabs this year, the three-year term held by Shapiro.
The committee has already committed almost $7,000 to secure appraisals on the Gentile property. Another $8,600 is on the table for a preliminary environmental assessment of the land.
The Township Committee enacted its farmland rezoning ordinance in May 2002 and said it would reduce residential development in the community. Now, in the very first challenge to that law, the committee — by virtue of its expressed interest in making a deal — appears to be showing a lack of confidence in the defensibility of that legislation.
If the Manalapan officials who voted for the farmland rezoning ordinance — all five of whom remain on the governing body — are confident it was the correct way to control development, they should direct their attorney to defend that position in court.
A town’s open space preservation plan should stand on its own merit and seek properties that would have the most benefit to the community as preserved parcels. An open space purchase should not be a political face-saving device as this one, at first glance, appears to be.