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255 Acres Of Farmland Will Soon Be In County's Hands
By Bill McLaughlin
The largest privately held parcel of land in Ocean County will soon be owned by county residents. At a meeting earlier this week, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders announced the deal to buy the 255 acres for $6 million.
Negotiations had lasted for more than a decade before the freeholders recently fi- nalized the agreement to buy Grant farm, a working business in the shadow of the Fort Dix-McGuire AFB military complex.
The purchase through the county Natural Lands Trust Advisory will add 255 acres to the buffer zone around the military bases. As the federal government plans the military bases' future survival and growth, undeveloped land surrounding military bases is considered imperative.
A current land lease agreement enables a tenant farmer to harvest the land. The Grant family will be entitled to live in the house on the property for their lifetimes. The leased lands will continue to be farmed with the proceeds to be paid to the county.
The residents of Ocean County will now officially own the land outright.
With the purchase, about 3,000 acres of land will now be preserved from development throughout the county.
Freeholder John Bartlett said the county got a break on the deal "because we paid cash from the trust fund."
A public hearing and final vote on the transaction will be held Tuesday, November 20.
"It's a very visible piece of land along Route 539 with rolling hills," said David McKeon, assistant directory of the county planning board. "It is the largest farm not preserved in Ocean County."
In answer to a jibe by another board member, Bartlett said, "No, it's not a Christmas tree farm." The reference was to former Governor Christine Todd Whitman's sweetheart tax deal for farming a couple of trees each year.
In addition, there would be a substantial savings in infrastructure costs for the 500 to 600 homes that could have been built had the deal not gone through, according to Freeholder Joseph Vicari.
Bartlett said he found it reassuring that preserved lands will give future generations an insight into what life was like in the county long ago.
"This is real farmland," he said. "Just about 20 minutes from here, and you can be out on the farm."
"It's near a lot of ready-to-pick farms," added Freeholder Gerry Little.
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