Township Council still hopes to buy 20-acre tract.
By: Sharlee Joy DiMenichi
Negotiations to buy an approximately 20-acre property high on the township open space committee’s wish list are stalled because the lot’s price might be too expensive for the township, Mayor Frank Gambatese said Tuesday.
Mayor Gambatese would not specify the property’s appraised value or the owner’s asking price. He did say, however, that the proposed price was beyond the means of the township open space trust fund. He said the tract was third or fourth on the open space committee’s list of desirable properties.
The property is southeast of Kendall Road and northwest of the Woodgate development. The property is adjacent to the Halsey Road and Tulsa Court cul de sacs.
The Planning Board is considering an application to build 14 houses on the tract, known as the Weisenfeld property. The application will be discussed Dec. 10, according to Assistant Township Planner Bryan Bidlack.
Mr. Bidlack said residents have expressed concerns about cut-through traffic caused by development on the property.
Mr. Gambatese said that the township has been promised in writing $600,000 from the state Green Acres program to be applied to the open space purchase of the township’s choice, but that no decision has been made about how to spend the money.
Mr. Gambatese said an appraiser for the state Green Acres program and two independent appraisers hired by the township had assessed the value of the property. He said one independent appraisal was close to the owner’s asking price but declined to elaborate.
"The problem that we’re having is price-wise," Mr. Gambatese said.
Mr. Gambatese said the council had agreed in executive session to request that township open space attorney Bernie Hvozdovic ask the property’s owner to agree to what Mr. Gambatese described as a serious price.
Councilman Ed Luciano said the owner would have the option of selling the tract and receiving payment immediately or waiting for Planning Board approval and selling the land and the development rights as a package.
Mr. Luciano said Planning Board approval would increase the value of the tract but he would not say what the appraisal value or asking price were.
Open Space Advisory Task Force Chairwoman Jane Snyder said Tuesday the difficulty in negotiations underscores the need to find alternative sources for open space funds.
The current open space tax rate is 4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, with ½ cent going toward park development and the remainder going toward acquisition. The fund generates about $1.2 million a year.
Ms. Snyder suggested in a written statement Wednesday that the township pursue supplemental open space funding from private environmental groups in the state.