The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will purchase a farmland preservation easement on a tract at Route 34 and Pleasant Valley Road in Marlboro and Holmdel.
The members of the county’s governing body passed a resolution authorizing the release of funds during a meeting on Nov. 26.
According to the resolution, the Monmouth County Agriculture Development Board deemed it “necessary and advisable to acquire and preserve a development easement for
agricultural purposes” in Holmdel and Marlboro.
The 60-acre property is known as the H.M.F. Associates Inc. property. The parcel is on Route 34 in Holmdel and on Pleasant Valley Road in Marlboro. The two roads intersect.
A formal offer for the purchase of a development easement in the total amount of $2.38 million has been accepted, contingent upon satisfactory title of the property, and subject to adjustments for taxes and other closing costs, according to the resolution.
The freeholders said the cost to purchase the easement, which will preclude the land from being developed, will be divided as follows: New Jersey share, $1.427 million (60%), Monmouth County share, $570,751 (24%), and Holmdel share, $380,500 (16%).
The funds for the purchase of the development easement are covered under the Monmouth County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Account. The county will receive payment from the state and from Holmdel.
The easement is being purchased for agricultural preservation purposes and the funds are available in the county’s 2019 budget, according to the resolution.