State urged to preserve nursery land

UPPER FREEHOLD - District 30 legislators want the state to save Princeton Nurseries' land.

The company, which is the largest landowner in Upper Freehold, with over 1,800 acres, has announced that it will close by spring 2010.

Sen. Robert Singer and Assemblymen Joseph Malone III and Ronald Dancer, all Republicans covering parts of Monmouth, Mercer, Ocean, and Burlington counties, have asked state officials to make preserving Princeton Nurseries a top priority, according to an Oct. 3 press release.

"Thanks to the three-year notice given by the nursery's owners, the state has plenty of time to accumulate the resources to preserve this property as open space," Singer said in the press release. "We have a chance to set a large amount of land aside so it can be used wisely and enjoyed for generations to come."

Last week, Singer, Malone and Dancer sent a letter to Susan Craft, executive director of the State Agricultural Development Committee, urging that she immediately begin the process to conserve the nursery's land through the state's Green Acres and Farmland Preservation programs, according to the press release.

"This is a spectacular opportunity to prevent unwelcome residential or commercial development," Malone said in the press release. "It's rare to have one owner of a piece of property this size and to have so much time to put a careful and wellthought out plan together."

The nursery's property includes 1,820 acres in Upper Freehold and another 700 acres in Hamilton and Chesterfield townships.

Earlier this year, the company sent invitations to every resident in Upper Freehold and placed ads in local newspapers for a series of public meetings it held. The sessions were devoted to establishing a dialogue with the community about its concerns and recommendations regarding the township's ongoing land-use planning process and the potential for the company's land.

Upper Freehold has been trying to revise its master plan, which regulates land use in town, for about three years but has made little progress with the effort. A recent master plan draft of revisions included designating some of Princeton Nurseries' acreage off Ellisdale Road as a village center for large-scale commercial and residential development.

The current zoning designation in Upper Freehold would permit up to 500 homes to be built on the nursery's land.

"The open space programs were created for situations just like this," Dancer said in the press release. "The property's owner has said they would like much of the land to be preserved for agriculture or open space uses. The three of us will do all we can to facilitate this property being preserved."