State, county cut check for Wright preservation
By: Matthew Kirdahy
The township got its money for Wright.
On Monday, Freeholder Director David Crabiel presented a check to the township for $1.02 million for the preservation of the Wright North and South farms.
The money comes from the state and county for registering the 82-acre Wright North farm on Plainsboro Road and 25-acre Wright South farm adjacent to Cranbury School with the county Farmland Preservation Program.
The program ensures that no matter how many times the ownership of the land changes hands, it can only be used for farming.
Mr. Crabiel said there are now 15 farms in Cranbury that have been preserved as farmland.
Once an applicant’s farmland preservation request is approved, the applicant receives 60 percent of the cost of the land’s development rights from the state, 20 percent from the county and 20 percent from the municipality.
The price for the rights is based on a ranking system established by the county agricultural board.
The grant includes $763,763 from the state and $254,588 from the county. Cranbury didn’t have to pay because it owns the property.
The township will use the money to pay down the debt it incurred when purchasing the Wright properties for $2.65 million in October 2001. In April 2001, the committee excluded 12 acres of Wright south from preservation for township use.
In September, the Township Committee said it would consider selling the Wright North farm and hold off on selling the Wright South farm. The township could sell the Wright South farm when litigation on the Barclay farm gets resolved.
Township officials have said the smaller Wright South parcel would be more attractive to prospective buyers if the township lumped it with a larger Barclay parcel.
The Barclay properties account for 190 acres of farmland in western Cranbury, 60 acres in Barclay North adjacent to North Main Street and 130 acres in Barclay South. The township acquired the land in October 2000 for approximately $3.5 million or $18,500 per acre.
The township currently has a farmland preservation application with the state Agricultural Development Committee Direct Easement Program for the Barclay properties. Township officials have said it’s different from filing an application with the county in that the state assumes all development right costs, instead of sharing that cost with the county and municipality.
An ongoing legal dispute between the former owners and the township stalled the application and keeps the township from gaining clear title. Clear title would permit the township to sell the land once it is preserved.
Once preserved, the township could get $2.17 million for the development rights of the Barclay properties, township officials have said.
"Since 1985, when the Board of Chosen Freeholders first formed the County Agricultural Development Board, the freeholders have strongly supported preserving farmland to prevent the loss of productive agricultural land, to strengthen the agricultural industry and to enhance our quality of life," Mr. Crabiel said. "We are very pleased to be able to support this important program which adds beauty to our county and helps the agricultural economy."