EDITORIAL: Preserving open property would be in the best interest of the township.
The township is ready to add 90 acres to its stock of open space.
It announced last month that the township and the county had agreed to pay $9 million for the last remaining large parcel of open space in Kendall Park.
The property known as the Stanton tract is located across from Woodlot Park behind the Kendall Park Fire and First Aid buildings and stretches back to Little Rocky Hill. Under current zoning, nearly 70 houses could be built on the property, which sits at the edge of the most densely populated section of South Brunswick.
Under the terms of the deal, the township would pay $2 million, with the county footing the rest of the bill. About 10 or so acres would be retained by the owner, Robert Stanton of New York.
The council already has signed off on the deal, while the county freeholders are officially expected to approve the deal tonight. Closing on the sale should take place within a week or so.
While the deal is not perfect the removal of the 10-plus acres means there will be no direct access to New Road we think preservation of the property is in the best interest of the township.
Critics of the purchase have complained that the price tag was too high and that the council and county should have done a more detailed delineation of possible wetlands on the property.
While we generally would endorse a highly systematic approach to property purchases, we think it important to note that the Stanton tract stands out as an unusual and important parcel due to its location.
Kendall Park already is the densest area of the township, with nearly 3,100 housing units and more than 9,000 people in a 3.72-square-mile area or about 1,340 housing units and 3,600 people per square mile, according to the 2000 Census. By comparison, there were 13,862 housing units with 37,734 people in the 41.1-square-mile township in 2000 or 339 housing units and 923 people per square mile. Additional residential development even one as small as 70 units would only put more stress on local roads and in local schools.
In addition, the property is considered the last major wooded parcel in and around Kendall Park and it will serve as a buffer between Kendall Park and a planned senior housing development slated for Little Rocky Hill.
That’s one reason the township has been interested in the property for at least three years. But desire for the land has never been the issue. The question all along has been money, or the apparent high price tag placed on the parcel.
Initially, Mr. Stanton was asking $9.5 million, a figure the township could not pay on its own without cleaning out its own open space trust and putting future land buys in jeopardy.
But with the help of the county and the effort of residents living near the parcel who kept the pressure on the council and the freeholder board a deal was struck.
Residents of Kendall Park should be thankful that it was. They now can rest easy that there will be a little green left in their highly developed neighborhood.