Hunterdon County Commissioners act to preserve Raritan Township property zoned for housing subdivision
RARITAN TOWNSHIP, NJ (Hunterdon County) – A 48-acre land parcel in Raritan Township that was zoned to permit a nineteen unit subdivision will instead be preserved as open space, under a $437,500 Green Acres grant to the Township and a preservation grant in the same amount approved by the Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners, at the July 6 board meeting.
Board of Commissioners Director Susan J. Soloway said, “The nearly 75% wooded lot will be maintained as a forest and a park, managed by the Township. This is the exact reason the county’s open space fund was created, for land to be preserved from development and kept in its natural state, where appropriate.”
The County Board approved an Open Space Acquisition Grant to the Hunterdon Land Trust that will be combined with the Township’s state Green Acres allocation to provide $875,000 for the purchase of the property on County Road 523 that is presently owned by Eden Holdings.
“The preservation of the Eden Holdings property is also an excellent example of the County Board and the Raritan Township Committee working cooperatively toward the common goal of land preservation. The Township and the County have had many successful joint open space and farmland preservation projects,” Soloway said.
Department of Planning and Land Use Director Carrie Fellows informed the Board of Commissioners, “The County’s Parks and Open Space Committee (POSAC) has recommended the property for preservation, noting the proximity of the local population to the area. There is easy access for Raritan and Flemington residents. Additionally, the property contains a revolutionary war era cemetery which is of historic interest to the County.”
