Merrill’s proposed land donation could bring more fields to Hopewell Valley

Township official said it’s too soon to estimate how much building the fields would cost, but added that a $250,000 contribution from Merrill for recreation, which is part of the proposed out-of court-settlement, might cover all or most of the cost of building the eight new fields.

By John Tredrea
   Eight multipurpose fields that would be available for youth recreation leagues could be built on a portion of a 170-acre tract Merrill Lynch would give to Hopewell Township if a proposed out-of-court settlement of a Merrill lawsuit against the township goes through.
   Multipurpose fields could be used for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey.
   Township Deputy Mayor David Sandahl said Monday that the eight fields would be accessed from Scotch Road on land that "is very appropriate for playing fields. The land has good soils, good drainage. We could use a lot of natural materials and the cost would be quite manageable."
   Two strong points of the site, Mr. Sandahl said, are its central location in the township and its isolation from residential neighborhoods. "The nearest house is probably at least 1,000 feet away," he said. That distance means the impact of the field activities on neighbors would be quite minimal, he said. He stressed there would "absolutely not" be any lights for night games on the field, but that there would "be plenty of parking."
   Mr. Sandahl said it’s too soon to estimate how much building the fields would cost. But he did say a $250,000 contribution from Merrill for recreation, which is part of the proposed out-of court-settlement, might cover all or most of the cost of building the eight new fields.
   Joseph Cohen, Merrill Lynch vice president in charge of public affairs, said Monday that his firm is receptive to the idea of building the fields.
   "We have been sensitive to the concern about preserving open space and the rural character of the township," he said. "We’re optimistic that the proposed out of-court settlement and the idea of the fields will find favor with most of the people in the township."
   The proposed out-of-court settlement would allow Merrill Lynch to build a 1million-square-foot office park on the southern 200 acres of its 440-acretract on the west side of Scotch Road. Of that 1 million square feet,500,000 square feet would be transferred from already approved Merrill development on the east side of Scotch Road. The already approved development on the east side totals 3.5 million square feet, about half of which has been built.
   Under the proposal, therefore, the net gain of 500,000 square feet of office space would bring the grand total of permitted office space on both sides of Scotch Road up to 4 million square feet from 3.5 million.
   Also under the proposed settlement, Merrill would give the township the northern 170 acres of the 440 acres on the west side of Scotch Road, for preservation as open space. Merrill also would give the township $250,000 for recreational purposes. It is on that 170 acres that the athletic fields would go. The donation for recreation and construction of the athletic fields are not linked.
   The township has until Oct. 25 to decide whether to accept the proposed settlement. "The alternative is to go back to court," Mr. Sandahl said.
   Mr. Cohen said work on the fields couldn’t begin until a General Development Plan (GDP) based on the proposed out-of-court settlement has been approved by the township Planning Board.
   The October 2003 Kinsey Report on recreation in Hopewell Township predicted a large increase the number of participants in nonschool recreation leagues, especially soccer. The Kinsey Report also said the demand for multipurpose fields (soccer, lacrosse, field hockey) already is "out of balance" with available facilities.
   Mr. Sandahl said the 170 acres on the west side of Scotch Road could provide riding, bicycling, jogging and running trails in addition to the eight multipurpose fields.
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   In July 2000, Hopewell Township officials, under a downzoning measure that affected large sections of the municipality, changed the zoning of 440 acres of Merrill Lynch land, west of Scotch Road and north of I-95, from commercial to residential. At that time, land— north of I-95 and west of Scotch Road in the south-central section of the township — was changed from Industrial Office Park (IOP) to a new residential zone, Valley Agricultural (VA), with lots of at least 4 acres. The rezoned Merrill Lynch land is directly across Scotch Road from the Southfields office park, located on land Merrill bought from Bristol-Myers Squibb in the late 1990s.
   The 2000 rezoning eliminated the IOP zone throughout the township, the only exception being the Southfields tract, for which township Planning Board approval of the office park was obtained not long after Merrill purchased the property.
   In December 2002, when township officials revisited the downzoning law, the zoning for the 440 Merrill acres (on the west side of Scotch Road), and for most of the central one-third of the township, was changed from one residential unit per 4 acres to one per 6 acres.
   Mr. Cohen said at the time: "We’re very disappointed that the only recourse left to us now is litigation that will be costly for all parties."