West Amwell to buy 130 acres for $1.5 million

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   WEST AMWELL — Toll Bothers has inked a deal to sell the township slightly more than 130 acres on Route 179 for $1.5 million.
   Once settlement is completed, the township plans to auction the land as a preserved farm, according to Open Space Committee Chairman Sean Pfeiffer.
   The township’s plan also calls for a public access trail, 75 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, that will link current and proposed open space lands from Route 179 to Route 518.
   Two appraisals agreed the Toll Brothers land is worth $17,000 an acre or $2,216,120. Toll Brothers agreed to sell it for $11,506.60 per acre.
   ”It’s a very good deal,” Mr. Pfeiffer said. “The fact is, Toll Brothers was willing to work with us because they knew funding (from the state) is very limited right now.”
   ”Mr. Pfeiffer explained, “Due to the fact the Garden State Preservation Trust is nearly depleted, funding for farmland preservation from the sate Agriculture Development Committee is currently very limited.”
   Toll Brothers was aware of the limited availability of funding and was “willing to offer us a generous discount on the appraised value in order to help qualify for state farmland preservation funding,” Mr. Pfeiffer added.
   An $825,000 grant secured with the aid of the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance from the State Agriculture Development Committee will pay for more than half of the purchase.
   West Amwell has six months to come up with the balance of $675,000. The township plans to ask Hunterdon County to kick in half.
   The township has open space trust funds available to fund its portion, and no new taxes or bonding will be required, Mr. Pfeiffer said.
   When the land is auctioned, the funding partners — the state, the township and the county if the freeholders agree to kick in the funding — will get back a percentage of the sale equal to the percentage they contributed.
   The deal with Toll Brothers was “cooperative,” but lengthy, according to Mr. Pfeiffer.
   The township’s attorney for open space acquisitions, Sharon Dragan, had to go through 14 drafts of the contract over “very minor points,” Mr. Pfeiffer said.
   The problem cropped up as attorneys tried to reconcile the stock language in the township’s contracts with the language in Toll Brothers’ contract format.
   Toll Brothers is selling the land outright to the township. However, the cost compares favorably with the recent purchase of several preservation easements. The township purchased two easements for $11,000 an acre and a third for $14,000 an acre, according to Mr. Pfeiffer.
   When only an easement is purchased, the farmer retains title to the land but he sells his development rights. This prevents it from ever being developed.
   Committeeman Ron Shapella said, “Preserving this property will add a true jewel to West Amwell’s open space inventory. This is an area that was within the sewer service area, and, for years, it was in jeopardy of being a site for high-density development.
   ”But a combination of factors — the removal of the sewer service area, the protections against high-impact development we have enacted in the last couple of years and the national economy — all worked in our favor.
   ”Toll Brothers was very cooperative, too, otherwise this project would not have been possible. In addition, our Open Space Committee chairman, Sean Pfeiffer, made this project a priority, and his perseverance and attention to detail was instrumental to its success.”
   The 130.36 acres sit on the south side of Route 179 with approximately 2,205 feet of road frontage. There also are about 280 feet of road frontage on Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
   Toll Brothers bought the land in the 1980s. About 70 percent is used for agriculture, and the rest is wooded.
   During the 1990s, Toll Brothers approached the township’s Planning Board to lobby for sewers, which would have opened the door to development.
   ”The elimination of the sewer service area helped this project come to fruition,” Mr. Pfeiffer said.
   In March, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approved the township’s wastewater management plan, leading to the removal of a sewer service area from a state map of the township.
   West Amwell has preserved more than 4,560 acres to date. In addition, more than 285 acres are under contract to be preserved, including the Toll Brothers property.
   ”Right now is a perfect time, in spite of limited funds, because of the economic downturn,” Mr. Pfeiffer said. “At least some landowners are willing to make deals.”