SPOTSWOOD – The borough stands its first real shot at securing county money for the purchase of open space.
The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders has approved a grant request from Spotswood to purchase 5 acres at the corner of Brunswick Avenue and Old Stage Road that would otherwise be turned into a 12-home residential development. Mayor Barry Zagnit said the freeholders are now taking the next step in the process, which is to have the property appraised.
Zagnit said it is not yet known whether the county will be able to purchase the land, but borough officials have their fingers crossed and are hoping to fend off a housing development that officials fear will further burden the school district and borough services and infrastructure.
Spotswood is one of the only towns in Middlesex County that has not received grant money from the Middlesex County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Borough officials spoke out earlier this year about the issue, noting that borough residents have collectively paid about $1.13 million into that fund since 1996 when it was created. County officials responded that they have solicited grant requests from Spotswood over the years, and that the county has unsuccessfully made offers to purchase parcels requested by the town.
The property now being considered is thought to be the last large plot of land available for development in Spotswood.
Councilman Thomas Barlow said the county freeholders have assigned the case to an appraiser, and engineers are requiring that the builder, Zigga Homes Inc., submit documents and surveys.
Zagnit said that if the land is purchased with county funds, the next question for the town would be what to do with the property. The answer would be “dictated by costs and how much money the municipality has” available to spend on its future use, he said.
The borough does have several ideas on how to use the property, including a park, playground, recreational uses or even a shared recreational senior citizen center, he said.
“We’ve always known there is a need for additional recreation and a need to provide for senior citizens, so a dual-purpose building is an idea,” Zagnit said. “Those are two uses I think are very much needed.”
Barlow said a long-term goal would be to use the property for a recreational facility, as the borough presently relies on school facilities.
“We have a complete shortage of any recreational facilities,” he said.
At the very least, Barlow said, the property would be kept as open space.
Zagnit stressed that the county “has not approved the purchase, just the process,” noting that the amount of the appraisal remains to be seen, along with whether the county is willing to pay that amount and if the owner is willing to accept it.
“Obviously open space is at a premium. … They’re not making any more land,” Zagnit said, adding that preserving the land from development “seems to be in everyone’s interest.”
Zigga Homes Inc. is the contract purchaser for the site, and the party with which the county would have to negotiate. Zigga Homes, which is purchasing the land from the DeStefano family, has received Zoning Board of Adjustment approval to construct 12 single-family homes.
Borough Council President Curtis Stollen said the residential development will create more traffic congestion, possibly cause an increase in school taxes and affect quality of life in the area.
He noted that the borough owns scattered lots in Spotswood, and despite the potential to sell them, with the revenue going toward property tax relief, he is opposed to selling them. Development of the lots would lead to more children in the schools, so the “one-shot payment” would not be worth it in the long run, he said. Also, some of the properties are in a conservation zone, he said, and the borough was able to secure them because they are not “developable.” However, willing developers could emerge and be willing to remediate the land as other more environmentally friendly properties go off the market, he noted.
Meanwhile, the borough is hoping to save the property already approved for development.
“I’m hopeful that by the end of the year we’ll have a decision on what price they will offer,” Barlow said.