Welcome!

Welcome to the Blog for Pemberton First. We're interested in helping to preserve the rural character of Pemberton Township that we have all come to love...join us as we petition the Township officials trying to change it.

Our Mission Statement:

The consequences of farmland development are a greater burden placed upon natural resources, increased demand on water supplies, increased housing density, congested roadways and a higher demand on all municipal services. Once we lose our farmland it's gone for good. Pemberton First is committed to encouraging the redevelopment and improvement of our neighborhoods and revitilization of the Browns Mills Town Center.
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Town Center

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Does the County & Township Plan Agree?

This may be of interest to those following the mission of Pemberton First since it entails a portion of the North Pemberton Road area and the Draft Master Plan's proposed zoning changes along 206.

At the Joint Land Use Study meeting, an official suggested that interested parties should inquire and read up on the studies listed on the Burlington County website. To do so, click here!

Draft plan approved for Route 206

By CAROL COMEGNO • Courier-Post Staff • January 8, 2009

MOUNT HOLLY — Burlington County's freeholders on Wednesday tentatively approved a draft plan to help towns along the rural Route 206 corridor balance land preservation and development.

Now the plan goes to a steering committee of representatives from 13 municipalities in the corridor for review and subsequent public hearings.

The vision statement for the Northern Burlington County Growth and Preservation Plan calls for a "balance of town and country" that will enable the communities to remain the county's last major farm belt.

It provides a framework for municipalities to address land use, housing, economic development, transportation, agriculture and other issues in a region making up nearly 150,000 acres near the Pinelands and two military bases.

"There is a dual, long-term goal here," said Freeholder-Director Joseph Donnelly. He said the plan should guide towns in their own land preservation and development efforts, while also helping them avoid land-use conflicts with neighboring municipalities.

"We can't dictate but we can work with the towns toward their individual goals," said Freeholder William Haines, who noted community goals can differ.

For example, he said, Springfield has 10-acre zoning for homes in order to avoid development but other towns would like to see some growth within their borders.

The plan was four years in the making, and reflects input from residents and officials in the affected area.

The plan calls for concentrating development into existing or new villages, said Mark Remsa, the county director of economic development and regional planning. That approach will avoid sprawl and preserve farmland and open space, he said.

He said that goal can be reached through a planning and zoning tool known as Transfer of Development Rights -- a tactic already adopted by the townships of Chesterfield, Mansfield and North Hanover.

County officials, who have focused on farmland preservation in this corridor, will continue to target an additional 10,000 acres. Of the 28,000 acres the county has preserved over the past 20 years, 21,000 are in this region.

The area also has strong potential for housing and commercial growth, according to the report. Under current zoning rules, the number of housing units could reach 39,363 units by 2035, an increase of 19 percent from the present.

"The question is not whether that is good or bad but how you plan for it if it happens," Remsa said.

If the corridor plan eventually is approved by the state, municipalities will be eligible for state planning grants to help reach goals.

Reach Carol Comegno at (609) 267-9486 or ccomegno@courierpostonline.com

Can we take the situation under control?

Hopefully our Township will go after the money.... take some of the properties and improve them so they can be utilized to meet, what the Mayor says, is a need for housing in our community.

$51.4M approved to help stabilize real estate market

By DEBORAH HIRSCH • Courier-Post Staff • February 4, 2009

The federal government Tuesday approved $51.4 million for stabilizing New Jersey neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures, the state Department of Community Affairs announced.Quantcast

Forty municipalities across the state, including 11 in the tri-county area, considered statistically at risk of continued market deterioration are eligible to apply for the grant until Friday. The money can be used for acquiring, demolishing or rehabilitating property, as well as land banks.

Even though the funding was just officially approved, the program was announced last winter as part of a state Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Along with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding, the state allocated $12 million in grants for certified counseling agencies to help homeowners restructure their mortgages in order to stay in their homes and $500,000 for the state Administrative Office of the Courts to provide foreclosure mediation services.

According to the N.J. Administrative Office of the Courts, nearly 48,000 residential properties filed for foreclosure in 2008. Of those, 2,552 were in Burlington County, 3,302 in Camden County and 1,693 in Gloucester County.

At least five local municipalities are already finalizing applications for a cut of the stabilization funding.

Lindenwold Mayor Frank Delucca said the program seemed custom-designed for some of the apartment complexes on Gibbsboro Road. Two of the five complexes are very close to foreclosure, he said. The town has been trying to find money to fix up those properties for at least five years, he said.

"This just didn't come overnight," he said.

Through this program, he said, the city could theoretically join with a designated developer to take over the property and "get it back on its feet."

Bill Jenkins, director of housing and community development for Burlington City, said he's hoping to take over seven vacant homes and an abandoned eight-unit apartment complex in the historic Yorkshire neighborhood. With the federal grant money, he said, the city could rehab those homes and sell them at market rate. The apartment building could be converted into four, two-bedroom condos.

"In a good market, a property like that, an investor comes along and buys it," Jenkins said. "Then with the rising cost of real estate, he enjoys a rental or a flip. In the last year and a half, there's no juice for that type of industry."

Willingboro Township Administrator Joanne Diggs said officials there were also planning to apply for money to renovate single family homes that had been abandoned.

Olivette Simpson, director of housing for the Camden Redevelopment Agency, said the city was requesting about $1 million to acquire up to 50 properties in the Cramer Hill neighborhood. They selected that neighborhood because there's a lot of other redevelopment efforts going on there, she said. Simpson said she'd also heard of two other nonprofits and a private developer in Camden that were thinking about applying for the grant.

Elwood Martz, the housing administrator for Pennsauken, said the city could potentially rehab as many as 20 homes and raze four or five with the grant money.

Other eligible towns in the area are: Clementon, Lawnside, Paulsboro, Pemberton, Pine Hill and Winslow.

Local governments, developers and nonprofit organizations may apply for the grant. The state plans to award the funds before the end of March.

Reach Deborah Hirsch at (856) 486-2476 or dhirsch@camden.gannett.com

Will clustering help save our Pinelands?

A new fight over how to save the Pinelands

By Jacqueline L. Urgo

Inquirer Staff Writer

The commission governing the New Jersey Pinelands has approved a measure aimed at preserving more open space by clustering residential development, triggering a battle with environmentalists who say the policy would damage the region.

A Sierra Club leader said clustering may pose "the single largest threat ever" to the ecologically sensitive forests and farmlands.

The amendment to the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan will take effect in April if Gov. Corzine approves. It mandates that municipalities approve new homes on smaller lots than are typically used now.

The master plans of some municipalities in the seven-county, 1.1 million-acre Pinelands reserve currently require that homes be built on more than one acre - which spreads development over larger areas.

Clustering homes allows the rest of a development's land to be preserved, owned and maintained by a homeowners' group, a nonprofit agency, or a municipality, according to the amendment.

Another provision permits existing farmland to be used for clustered development while the rest of the property remains agricultural. It also says agricultural use on property may be expanded up to 50 percent if conditions are met.

The Pinelands Commission says the rules would conserve space and leave larger parcels for preservation in areas already designated "forest" and "rural development," and direct growth to "appropriate" areas such as those close to roads and other infrastructure, commission spokesman Paul Leakan said.

There are 35 municipalities in "forest" areas and 27 in "rural development" areas spread throughout Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean Counties. More than 53 percent of the Pinelands reserve is already considered permanently preserved.

"The idea is to avoid fragmentation of the forest and, in the long run, allow for development within these classified areas that makes more sense environmentally," Leakan said. "Our goal is to protect the resources, not degrade them."

John C. Stokes, executive director of the Pinelands Commission, called the measure essential to maintaining the character of the region.

"These changes will be vital to helping to preserve and maintain the essential character of the Pinelands environment, while preventing the proliferation of homes on large lots scattered through the Pineland 'forest' and 'rural development' areas," Stokes said in a statement.

"By requiring the clustering of residential development in these areas, we will permanently protect large contiguous areas of environmentally sensitive land that contains high water-quality resources and protects important habitat for characteristic and rare Pinelands plants and animals," Stokes said.

But critics say the plan could spur greater residential development in the environmentally sensitive zone. And clustering could increase groundwater pollution, said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club.

He said he was working with the New Jersey Conservation Fund and other groups to fight the new regulations.

"With this plan we're seeing the biggest threat to the Pinelands we've ever seen in the history of the Pinelands," Tittel said. "It actually promotes growth in areas where growth should not promoted."

He said he the plan contradicted the Pinelands Commission's mission by allowing more homes on smaller lots.

"You could have a piece of land where, before, you had three or four houses that could be built because of master-plan restrictions, that now could have 11 or 12 houses built," Tittel said.

He also contended that building homes closer together in rural areas - which rely on individual septic systems rather than public systems to dispose of human waste - could leach greater concentrations of nitrates and other harmful matter into the environment more rapidly.

Septic systems have been used for decades in rural areas because homes and businesses are usually farther from one another than they are in urban areas, and the separation allows for the slower absorption of nitrates, Tittel said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection, however, has indicated the new clustering regulations would meet its requirements for septic systems in rural areas, according to the Pinelands Commission.

Leakan said the commission staunchly supported the new measure because - contrary to environmentalists' concerns - it is meant to preserve the Pinelands, not to promote growth. "It does not disrupt large parcels with scattering development but clusters it into smart-growth areas," he said. "With this new measure we are still talking very moderate amounts of growth. The density in these areas is still extremely low compared to the rest of the state."

Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky called the new regulations a step toward smart growth in his Cape May County borough. By clustering homes, he said, the municipality can save on road construction and maintenance and on fuel for services such as trash pickup and school buses.

But Hammonton Mayor John DiDonato said that until the new measure was in place, it would be hard to know what effect it would have on his municipality. Hammonton, in Atlantic County, is a combination of forested and farm areas.

"We are certainly opposed to massive amounts of growth in those areas, but that's not to say that this would promote that," DiDonato said. "We just have to remain mindful of what any growth can do to an environmentally sensitive area like the Pinelands."

The Pinelands Commission unanimously approved the measure Jan. 16, but it won't take effect until Corzine approves the minutes of that meeting, probably in early April, Leakan said.

A spokesman said that only in very rare cases would the governor not accept meeting minutes, thereby vetoing them. The Governor's Office had no comment on the Pinelands case while it is being reviewed.


Contact staff writer Jacqueline L. Urgo at 609-823-9629 or jurgo@phillynews.com.

Is farmland protection positive to our future?

Sustaining Agriculture in Urbanizing Counties (extremely large .pdf), released on December 16, 2008, sought to identify conditions under which farming may remain viable in agriculturally important areas that are subject to substantial development pressures.

The report is comprised of 15 county level case studies from 14 different states, and is arranged into chapters covering production inputs, marketing, farmland protection and outlook for the future. Some of the key findings and recommendations to emerge from the report include:

• Farmers were more likely to be positive about agriculture’s future in their county, if they regarded local government as sympathetic, or at least even-handed in resolving conflicts between farmers and non-farmers.

• State governments should enable, and local authorities should operate, effective programs for purchasing development rights to farmland, thereby, either adding to the base that agricultural zoning supports, or, achieving what zoning fails to realize.

• Local governments should apply zoning policies (e.g., large minimum-lot requirements, cluster zoning, urban growth boundaries) that help to preserve an adequate land base for farming.

• There are often insurmountable obstacles to young or beginning farmers purchasing and renting land, especially if they are not related to the current farm owners .* Public and private agencies should encourage farm families to plan carefully for the transfer of ownership and management to their children or other relatives.*

• Public and private agencies should encourage the launching and sustainability of farm enterprises likely to be profitable on the urban edge and on small acreages- such as high value specialty crops or livestock.

Click here to view the American Farmland Trust report.

County Farmland Acreage Decreases

Two news articles address the decrease ... is this a positive or a negative? You decide!

Burlco leads drop in farm acreage

CourierPOstOnline.com • February 5, 2009

TRENTON — Farm acreage in the Garden State fell by 9 percent from 2002 to 2007, with the steepest drop in Burlington County, the state Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
Across the state, 733,450 acres were used for farming in 2007, down from 805,682 acres five years earlier, according to new figures from the U.S. Census.

Burlington County saw a 23 percent decline, falling from 111,237 to 85,790 acres in the five-year period. Farmland fell by 15 percent in Camden County, to 8,760 acres, and by 8 percent in Gloucester County, to 46,662 acres.

The average size of a farm fell in each county, but the overall number of farms increased slightly, the figures showed. The agricultural census is conducted every five years.


Census: County farmland vanishing
By: DAVID LEVINSKY
Burlington County Times


Burlington County officials say preserving farmland and supporting local farmers is more important than ever in light of a new federal agricultural census that indicated the county lost nearly a quarter of its farmland over a recent five-year period.

Released Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture census shows Burlington County's total acreage of farmland dropped 23 percent from 111,237 in 2002 to 85,790 acres in 2007.

Total acreage of farmland decreased in 16 other New Jersey counties as well, but Burlington County's was the largest drop, according to the census.

Statewide, the total acreage of farmland decreased 9 percent from 805,682 acres in 2002 to 733,450 acres in 2007.
Burlington County Freeholder William Haines Jr., a cranberry farmer who oversees the county's Department of Resource Conservation, said the loss of farmland was further proof of the importance of the county's farmland preservation program.

The program uses money from a countywide dedicated tax to purchase easements from farmers that permanently protect their land from development. The farmers continue to own and operate the farms, but deed restrictions prevent the land from being used for anything but agriculture.

During the same five years measured in the census, the county preserved a total of 7,825 acres of farmland, officials said. Through last year, the county had preserved some 28,000 total acres.

"What this tells me is that we were right to start (preserving) years ago," Haines said about the census results. "We need to continue to be aggressive because the housing market will return. All this does is motivate me to work harder."

Despite the loss of acreage, the census showed the county remains a top producer of fruits, berries and other agricultural products.

The county's total acreage of soybeans ranked second in the state and its acreage of berries ranked second, according to the census.

The total market value of all agricultural products grown or raised in the county was $86.3 million, ranking the county fifth among the 21 New Jersey counties.

"County farmers don't have the massive land base to grow on, but they are still producing plenty with the land they have," said Ray Samulis, county agricultural agent with the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.

He said county farmers are growing diverse and highly valued crops that are in demand. Many county farms have also developed agri-tourism attractions such as corn mazes, markets and farm tours as a new source of revenue.

The census calculated that county farmers earned $1.9 million in revenue from agri-tourism in 2007, up from $1.09 million in 2002.

Samulis said close to half the full-time farmers in the county now sell products at farm markets or their own farm stands.

Haines said the county is home to a strong group of skilled farmers who want to keep the industry alive.
"We've got people who know how to farm and will do it," Haines said. "That's why land preservation is so important. We need to maintain as large a land base as we can."

He said non-farmers benefit from the farmland preservation because farms generate tax revenue but require few costly public services.

Pemberton Planning Board Draft Master Plan

At the last meeting of the Planning Board they once again discussed the draft master plan as presented to the board and made (almost in its entirety) available to the public on the township website. The board directed Ragan Design Group to summarize the changes that are to be proposed for the draft plan and present them to the Planning Board members at the regular meeting for April 2nd. It is not anticipated that these comments will be provided to the public in a manner that encourages comment at the meeting on the 2nd, but we can cross our fingers!

We encourage everyone to attend to hear whether or not their comments have been considered and implemented within the proposals to be presented that night. The regular board meeting begins at 7:30 pm. We hope to see many residents at the April 2, 2009 meeting at 7:30 pm in Room 10 of the Municipal Building.

Impact of Age-Restricted Housing Changes??

State may lift age-restrictions on some housing
Monday, March 16, 2009
BY RYAN TRACY
Special to the Times


As developers across the state hesitate to break ground on projects that looked more profitable in better economic times, experts say housing reserved for residents "55 and older" is in all-too abundant supply in New Jersey.

The glut has led state lawmakers to consider a bill that could allow developers to remove age limits on already-approved housing without starting the municipal approval process anew. Picture (Metafile)

If the state tosses builders a lifeline and allows them to market the homes to a wider market, supporters of the proposed law say, 55-and-over projects that currently stand dormant could become active construction sites, creating much-needed jobs.

Yet in advance of a vote on the measure in the state Assembly today, some local officials are crying foul.
They say such age-restricted developments were often approved because of their relatively low impact on local schools and other taxpayer-funded government services. Remove the restrictions, they argue, and property owners will foot the bill.

In Hamilton, Mayor John Bencivengo drafted a letter last week pleading with state lawmakers to vote against the plan.
He said age restrictions on two Hamilton developments with a combined 431 housing units could be removed under the proposed law.

"This is absolutely ridiculous. We don't have any more room in these schools," Bencivengo said in an interview last week. "What's the sense of having the planning board in the local town if this is what the state can do? The reason we approved this in the first place is be cause it was senior housing."

Under the proposal, developers who already have approval for a 55-and-over community would have a two-year window during which they can apply to the local planning or zoning board for removal of the age restrictions.

To be eligible, "a developer must agree to set aside a percentage of the units in the development, not to exceed 20 percent, for the provision of affordable housing," according to a summary of the bill. Developments would only be eligible if the owner has not se cured a single deposit on any of the homes.

Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-Bordentown, one of the bill's sponsors, said the legislation wouldn't allow for major changes to the housing projects, but rather allow the developers to market homes to "middle-income" residents.

"There's no demand for senior housing. Nothing is being built," Malone said. "The most important economic engine in the state of New Jersey is the housing industry. If we can give them a small incentive to start going back to work, you'll see a massive difference in the economy of the state."

According to Jeffrey Otteau of Otteau Valuation in East Brunswick, age-restricted "homes that are being built now or that have approvals but have not yet been built account for somewhere between 15 and 18 years of supply in the market."

"Right now, these projects are not even financeable (with) the age restrictions in place," Otteau said.
Stephen Shaw, past president of the New Jersey Builder's Association and owner of Shaw Built Homes, said the "the project is going to look the same from the street ... it's just you're able to market it to a much broader segment of buyers."

He said towns could expect residents with "one or no kids," leaving a minimal impact on schools.
Otteau agreed, saying that "households with children do not want to live in small, two-bedroom homes" like the ones found in the 55-and-over communities.

But Bencivengo said Hamilton "can't afford one more kid."
"I'm sorry that the market changed, but we can't pay the bill for people that are in the development business," Bencivengo said.

Enchantment Villas, a 123-unit project on Kuser Road and the 308-unit Brandywine project on Klockner Road are the two age-restricted communities currently approved but not yet built in Hamilton, according to the township.

Malone said the township's planning board would have the option of rejecting a developer's request to convert the age-restricted units.

Bencivengo said he feared that if Hamilton did so, it could face a battle in the courts.
Contact Ryan Tracy at (609) 989 -- 5723 or rtracy@njtimes.com.

Slight Increase in State Aid

County hit hard by budget cuts

By: DAVID LEVINSKY
Burlington County Times

All but three Burlington County municipalities will receive less state aid in the 2009 fiscal year than they do in the current year - and 30 will have their aid reduced by more than the state average of 2 percent under Gov. Jon Corzine's budget proposal.

The figures were released Friday by the state Department of Community Affairs, three days after Corzine unveiled a state budget that cut state aid for municipalities by $32 million.

Information released by the DCA indicated the cuts were based largely on each town's wealth and existing tax rates. Towns considered wealthy, and with low tax rates, received the largest percentage cuts - 5 percent. Towns with what the state considers high tax rates and low wealth received no reduction in aid.

In Burlington County, the largest aid cuts were the 4 percent decreases to Chesterfield, Cinnaminson, Hainesport, Mansfield, Moorestown and Mount Laurel. All six were labeled as having high incomes and moderate taxes, according to the DCA.

The smallest aid reductions were the 0.5 percent cuts to Beverly and Willingboro. Both those towns were labeled low income, with moderate tax rates.

Bordentown City, Mount Holly, Palmyra, Pemberton Borough and Riverside made up the remainder of county towns with aid cuts below the state average.

Bass River, Pemberton Township and Woodland Township received net increases in total aid because all or large amounts of their territory is in the protected Pinelands Reserve. That qualified them for additional municipal aid to offset the loss of tax revenue there.

Burlington City received the most state assistance, with $5.8 million in state aid, followed by Burlington Township, with $5.3 million, and Willingboro, with $4.4 million.

Fieldsboro's $11,504 in total state aid was the lowest amount among Burlington County towns.

DCA Commissioner Joseph Doria defended the governor's budget Friday by stressing that the cuts were necessary, while still protecting the most needy.

"While this budget is lower than the one the governor proposed in his first year in office, it does reaffirm his commitment to maintaining essential services and protecting those in need of assistance during these difficult economic times," Doria said in a statement.

Cinnaminson Committeeman Anthony Minniti lashed out at the Democratic governor for the decrease to his town, arguing the governor was penalizing municipalities that have managed their finances well.

"Cinnaminson has worked tirelessly to keep our taxes in check and we've been a leader in shared services; the reward we've received from Corzine is to be further penalized," the GOP committeeman said Friday. "It shows how upside down the priorities are in the state of New Jersey and why change is needed in Trenton."

Moorestown Mayor Dan Roccato also criticized the aid cuts, which he said would force Moorestown residents to pay for poor fiscal management by state lawmakers.

"The system in Trenton is so broken and the financial decisions are so out of step with reality that we at the local level end up having to fix their mess," said Roccato, a Republican.

"We're at the end of a very bad food chain and I find it insulting that their action or inaction means Moorestown taxpayers will pay more."

Evesham Mayor Randy Brown, a Democrat, defended the governor's budget and said Evesham's 2.5 percent aid cut was manageable.

"In the economic environment we're in today, to only lose $100,000 [aid] is a bit of a relief," Brown said, adding that Corzine didn't reduce state aid to school districts.

"We know the local taxpayers in Evesham won't be looking down the double barrel of a large tax increase from the schools or municipality," Brown said.

Pemberton Township Mayor David Patriarca, a Democrat, said he was relieved his town escaped a decrease, particularly since the local budget he proposed already called for a local purpose tax increase.

"We were glad not to see the 2 percent cut," Patriarca said. "If we had that on top of what we're already facing, I don't think we could take it."

Town /2008 /2009/ % change

Bass River $394,683 $528,224 +33.8

Beverly $347,161 $345,425 - 0.5

Bordentown City $483,158 $475,798 - 1.5

Bordentown Twp. $1,163,352 $1,127,048 - 3.1

Burlington City $5,971,008 $5,821,737 - 2.5

Burlington Twp. $5,470,151 $5,333,397 - 2.5

Chesterfield $697,686 $669,778 - 4.0

Cinnaminson $2,479,985 $2,417,073 - 4.0

Delanco $520,653 $507,671 - 2.5

Delran $1,649,352 $1,608,305 - 2.5

Eastampton $550,464 $536,703 - 2.5

Edgewater Park $871,620 $849,830 - 2.5

Evesham $4,149,298 $4,046,956 - 2.5

Fieldsboro $114,363 $111,504 - 2.5

Florence $1,742,318 $1,698,760 - 2.5

Hainesport $517,789 $497,168 - 4.0

Lumberton $1,654,401 $1,613,055 - 2.5

Mansfield $673,667 $646,720 - 4.0

Maple Shade $2,204,261 $2,149,154 - 2.5

Medford $2,637,430 $2,578,988 - 2.2

Medford Lakes $373,383 $364,048 - 2.5

Moorestown $2,444,470 $2,346,536 - 4.0

Mount Holly $1,911,826 $1,873,590 - 2.0

Mount Laurel $3,700,262 $3,552,296 - 4.0

New Hanover $1,013,321 $980,388 - 3.3

North Hanover $1,014,011 $981,056 - 3.2

Palmyra $686,561 $676,263 - 1.5

Pemberton Borough $126,758 $124,909 - 1.5

Pemberton Twp. $3,605,825 $3,610,367 +0.1

Riverside $993,179 $973,316 - 2.0

Riverton $297,283 $289,851 - 2.5

Shamong $811,017 $783,309 - 3.4

Southampton $1,618,089 $1,557,224 - 3.8

Springfield $550,259 $536,509 - 2.5

Tabernacle $868,915 $838,325 - 3.5

Washington Twp. $1,267,597 $1,231,715 - 2.8

Westampton $843,724 $822,807 - 2.5

Willingboro $4,405,460 $4,383,433 - 0.5

Woodland $1,376,813 $1,388,531 +0.9

Wrightstown $489,060 $476,833 - 2.5

County total $62,690,613 $61,354,600 -2.1

State total $1.611 billion $1.578 billion - 2.0

Source: New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

Email: dlevinsky@phillyBurbs.com

March 14, 2009 06:25 AM

Local Farm PRESERVED!

County preserves 90-acre alpaca farm
By: DANIELLE CAMILLI
Burlington County Times


The freeholders Wednesday approved the preservation of a 90-acre alpaca farm in Pemberton Township.


The board purchased the development rights for a permanent easement and deed restriction that will ensure Fenwick Manor Farm on Pemberton-Browns Mills Road remains in agricultural use, officials said.

The total easement value is about $265,083 and is owned by Stephan and Katherine Thompson.
They raise alpacas and produce grain crops on the farm.

The county will use U.S. Department of Defense grant funding to offset Pemberton Township's share of the purchase. The land is near Fort Dix, making it eligible for the grant, which funds preserved farms in a military buffer zone, officials said.

"Our farmland program has been effective in preserving land in the buffer zone which contributed to saving the bases from closure by reducing conflicting land uses," Freeholder Bill Haines Jr. said.

Last year, the county received more than $1 million in federal funds to continue preservation around Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base. Those funds are being used to preserve about 800 acres on several farms in the "the most critical areas of the buffer zone," officials said.

Democratic Freeholder Mary Anne Reinhart voted against the purchase. She said she did not have enough specific data on the land deal and was uncomfortable taking a position. She also said she wants to further familiarize herself with the county's farmland preservation program.

Email: dcamilli@phillyBurbs.com
March 12, 2009

County Officials Question Farm Program

Farm auction under scrutiny
By: DANIELLE CAMILLI Burlington County Times


When the Burlington County Board of Freeholders auctioned off eight preserved farms last month, the sales generated more than the professional estimate.

The auction, and the funds it raised, however, came under scrutiny Wednesday at the board's meeting as its members voted to authorize acceptance of the winning bids and execute the contracts of sale.

Freeholder Mary Anne Reinhart either abstained or voted no on each of eight resolutions. Her fellow Democrat, Freeholder Chris Brown, joined her in voting against two of the bids.

He questioned whether the bids were high enough to warrant the sale of the parcels. Brown said he would have liked to see additional appraisals on the properties to better determine the value of the land now that it is deed restricted and cannot be developed.

The bids, however, were accepted by a majority vote.
The county purchased the eight farms, with a total of 715 acres, for nearly $16.7 million. Last month, it sold the land with deed restrictions that prohibit development unrelated to agriculture for about $3.5 million at the public auction.

County officials set confidential minimum bids for each and then auctioned them to the highest bidder. The minimum bids were set after considering the appraised values of the deed-restricted farms, which were assessed at the time the county purchased them, officials said. The county also consulted with farmland and real-estate professionals to come up with the number.

Most were sold for more than the minimum bid, but the county did accept two under the threshold. Brown and Reinhart voted against accepting those bids. Reinhart abstained on the other six contracts.

Brown said he didn't think the county should be buying land for $6 million and selling it at auction for about $625,000, as was the case for the former Pettit Farm in Pemberton Township.

He said determining the value of the land once the development rights are removed "seems to be subjective rather than empirical. I think we could have received more funds."

Reinhart also took issue with the properties that were sold for less than the minimum. She said she feared the county was "not getting top dollar" for the land because of the recession in the real estate market.

Reinhart, who took office in January with Brown, also said she did not have a full understanding of the program and wanted more information.

County officials have said the bids that didn't meet the minimum were only slightly lower.
Freeholder Jim Wujcik said he was confident the county was fairly compensated.
"We relied on the best information from our professionals," he said. "+An open, public auction is the best indicator of what the market would bear."

Freeholder Bill Haines agreed, adding it was never the goal of the program, and specifically the auction, for the county to recoup its cost for the land purchases. The land has a lower value because it no longer can be developed.

He also said that, unlike the fluctuating value of home prices in the economy, farmland assessments do not change drastically.

In addition, Haines said there are other benefits to the sale, including returning the properties to the tax rolls, making the land productive again and turning over maintenance to private owners. In addition, the proceeds of the auction are returned to the county's farmland preservation program and used for additional acquisitions.

"I'm entirely satisfied we achieved all of our program visions," Haines said.
Last month's auction was the second the county has held. In 2006, the freeholders sold six farms totaling 964 acres for $6.5 million.

Email: dcamilli@phillyBurbs.com
March 12, 2009

School Funding Remains Constant

Ten school districts to get more state aid
By: DAVID LEVINSKY AND DAVID MACCAR
Burlington County Times
Others will receive the same amount as last year under Corzine's proposed budget.
dlevinsky@phillyBurbs.com
dmaccar@phillyBurbs.com


Ten of Burlington County's 41 public school districts will receive small increases in state aid under Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed state budget, and the remaining districts will receive the same amounts.

The state aid figures were released Wednesday afternoon by the state Department of Education and are based on a new school funding formula instituted last year, officials said.

No districts received cuts, and 170 districts statewide got increases, according to Lucille Davy, state commissioner of education.

In Burlington County, Bordentown Regional, Burlington Township, Chesterfield, Delanco, Delran, Eastampton, Florence, Medford Lakes and Riverside will receive 5 percent increases in their total state aid, according to the figures.

The Burlington County Institute of Technology will receive a 2 percent aid hike.
Pemberton Township will continue to receive the most state assistance in the county with $83.1 million in total aid, followed by Willingboro with $39.9 million and Lenape Regional High School District with $30.9 million. All three are receiving the same amounts of aid as last year.

Chesterfield's $380,242 in total state aid is the smallest amount among Burlington County school districts.
Statewide, Corzine's budget calls for an estimated $300 million increase in aid to school districts, Davy said.
"Despite the global economic crisis, [Corzine] has protected education and made clear that educating our children to the high standards we expect here is a top priority," Davy said.

Eastampton Superintendent Robert A. Krastek said Wednesday that he was pleasantly surprised by the increased financial help, but he warned that cuts still might be needed in the district budget. He said he planned to discuss the cuts at a board meeting next week.

"Obviously [the aid increase] will help our budget this year," Krastek said. "We were expecting for it to be a difficult year because of the economic climate and this will certainly help."

Rancocas Valley Regional Business Administrator Robert Sapp said he was thankful his district received the same amount of aid as the previous year.

"You're always hoping for more, but I'm not complaining," Sapp said.
Municipal aid amounts for towns and cities are expected to be announced today.
March 12, 2009 02:20 AM

Preschool Program Gets a Boost

Preschools to get $77 million more in state funds

By MICHAEL SYMONS
Gannett State Bureau

Noticeable among the reams of spending cuts being unveiled in Gov. Jon Corzine's new state budget is a $77 million jump in spending on preschool programs.

Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said $52 million will expand existing programs for 3- and 4-year-olds in the so-called Abbott districts. Another $25 million will be dangled as an incentive to other districts to improve or introduce pre-K.

The state's school funding formula adopted last year requires pre-K programs to be phased in over a six-year period, for all students more than 100 districts and for any students eligible for free- or reduced-price lunches in all districts by 2013.

Districts that commit to using some of the extra federal Title I aid being awarded through the recently enacted federal stimulus bill for preschool can also receive a portion of that $25 million, Davy said.

"If they're willing to use some of their new money from the feds, then we're willing to provide them with additional money to help them begin that expansion," Davy said. "This definitely allows for the beginning of the phase-in, which is how this was contemplated when the governor talked about this last year."

In all, 310 New Jersey school districts are projected to be sharing less than $183 million in stimulus-related Title 1 grants. Another 265 are receiving nothing from that aid category.

The state share will probably exceed the federal contribution, Davy said. No local money would be needed in 2009-10, she said.

"It is going to be funded without local resources," Davy said. "We're not asking the local community to commit any money locally to these programs. They are going to be state-funded in this case and federally funded with some of these new dollars that are flowing in directly to the school districts."

Davy said incentive funds can help districts expand preschool programs to full-day, hire certified teachers or adopt a research-based curriculum. Such programs would not be mandatory for children to attend.

Davy said she and other state education chiefs met Tuesday in Washington and that most of the talk was about surviving budget cuts, not expanding programs.

"I actually didn't hear any of my colleagues yesterday talking about expanded early childhood right now," Davy said. "Most people are trying to hold down what they have in place. We are very, very fortunate. That's not to say that no one else is going to expand pre-K next year. But I'm telling you that most of the conversation that I heard was, 'How will we maintain what we have right now?' "

Reach Michael Symons at msymons@gannett.com

How Will Our Septic & Sewer Be Changed?

WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PLANNING

The state has adopted new rules that affect all of us and how our sewerage (public & private septic) will be handled. Please take a look at the new rules by visiting the DEP website.

New Rules