Town gets state aid for land

Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund announced.

By: Josh Appelbaum
   Cranbury will get $400,000 to help pay for current and future open space acquisitions and park development projects, the Green Acres Preservation Trust Fund announced this week.
   The money is part of a statewide program that gives money to municipalities to help fund preservation projects.
   Township Administrator Fred Carr said he doesn’t know how the township will use the money, but he said it could be used to buy the 53-acre Fischer property. The township and the land’s owner, Mary Angelo, tentatively agreed in the fall to sell the property to Cranbury for $3.05 million.
   On Monday, the Township Committee introduced a bond ordinance allowing it to borrow $1.1 million to complete the purchase of the Fischer property. The township plans to close the deal by the end of February and take ownership on March 1.
   The $400,000 is part of $1 million in grants approved by Green Acres for Cranbury to be used for open space preservation, said Mr. Carr.
   "This is the next round of funding for our planning incentive plan, by which we requested (Green Acres) funds in 2001," Mr. Carr said.
   Green Acres also said the Delaware and Raritan Greenway would receive a portion of a $2.5 million Green Acres grant, some of which would be used for open space and farmland preservation projects in Cranbury.
   D&R is central New Jersey’s regional land conservancy. It protects and preserves central New Jersey’s open space and the land along the Delaware & Raritan Canal and the streams flowing through the surrounding 1,000-square-mile region. It also protects woodlands, wetlands, stream corridors, scenic vistas and open fields.
   Mayor Becky Beauregard said continued open space and Green Acres funding is important to continue Cranbury’s preservation initiatives. She said she sees D&R as a useful tool to accomplish those goals.
   "The township thinks it is important to fund land preservation, and Green Acres is a wonderful thing for Cranbury," Ms. Beauregard said. "I’m also happy that money is being made available through D&R."