 Posted: Mon, Aug 11 2008, 11:36 am EDT Post subject: Preservation fund running out of money |
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| Preservation fund running out of money
Thursday, August 7, 2008 2:01 PM EDT By Davy James, Staff Writer It may be open season on open space in New Jersey. That’s because the Garden State Preservation Trust, which finances preservation of open space and historic sites, will have no money left by the end of the year once appropriations are made for current projects and officials don’t expect any new funding for next year. Cranbury Mayor David Stout said the consequences for open space and farmland projects are worrisome because of the benefits the program has had for the township. ”Preservation is something we’ve always been behind and it’s one of our major planning objectives, so this loss of funding takes the opportunity away,” he said. “I don’t expect it to have an impact on farms who already applied. We’ve always tried to maintain our agrarian history in Cranbury, but our job isn’t complete.” In Monroe, officials are also troubled by the situation. ”We have one of the most aggressive farmland preservation programs in Middlesex County so this really concerns us,” said Monroe Township Business Administrator Wayne Hamilton. “We try to encourage as many farms as possible to go into the program and this would have an impact. The trust is one of the few tools we have to preserve open space with developers gobbling up farmland.” The trust will distribute $91 million in farmland preservation, $109 million for open space preservation and parkland development and $11 million for historic site preservation by the end of the year. But there will be no funding for any new projects next year, according to Garden State Preservation Trust Executive Director Ralph Siegel. ”I tell people it’s like a train that still has coal and is banging along with appropriations approved in previous years,” Mr. Siegel said. “The problem is when the train reaches the next station.” Mr. Siegel said projects that already have funds appropriated will continue for the next few years, but there will be not be any funds available once those projects are completed. ”Conservation will continue because of appropriations dating back four or five years because real estate transactions can take two or three years,” Mr. Siegel said. “Land preservation and conservation is among the most complicated acquisitions the government makes. There is money in the pipeline that will take a few years to move through, but there will be no new money moving through the pipeline next year. We don’t have the capacity to appropriate funds for new projects.” Mr. Siegel said the public could see open space projects being closed years from now because of the nature of real estate. ”Real estate is not like the police purchasing new cars, which are then delivered right after,” he said. “Some projects are closed within a three to four months and others are closed within three to four years. That’s just how real estate works.” Locally, the bigger threat to open space than the lack of new funding in the township could be from the Council on Affordable Housing, according to Cranbury Township Councilman Wayne Whittman. ”There’s talk that we’ll have to change zoning to accommodate COAH on land where we wanted to preserve,” he said. “Money could be diverted to pay for COAH that would’ve gone to preservation. The nonfunding of the program is a concern because open space preservation is one of my top priorities.” Mr. Whittman estimated that approximately 1,500 acres of farmland and open space has been preserved in Cranbury so far, with one farm in the pipeline. He said the loss of funding is representative of the current attitude of state lawmakers. ”You can see where certain people in the state’s head is at because they’ve put agriculture way down on the list,” Mr. Whittman said. “First they tried to eliminate the Agriculture Board and now this. It’s a shame because there’s still a lot of land left and agriculture is still a viable land use and economic source.” In Monroe, there has been approximately 1,200 acres of open space preserved with one farm in the pipeline, according to township Environmental Commission Chairman John Riggs. ”We have one farm online for this year and funding exists for that one, but new farms coming online is where the effect will occur,” Mr. Riggs said. “We hope to maintain as much farmland and open space as possible, but this will affect us in 2009 and beyond.” Officials said the lack of funding is emblematic of the current economic state of New Jersey. ”I know the state is in financial straits right now,” said Middlesex County Agriculture Development Board Chairman and farmer Alan Danser, of Cranbury. “We have the funding for those in the pipeline, but we just don’t know what kind of funding will be available in the future.” Mr. Danser said he’s confident there will be a solution. ”I think a way will be found to fund projects before everything dries up,” he said. “We have to operate that way. When push comes to shove I believe that cooler heads will prevail and recognize the importance of open space preservation.” http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/08/07/cranbury_press/news/doc489b2c67632af551888411.txt |
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