Legislation paves way for farmland preservation Whitman visits Roosevelt where nonprofit group has worked to save land

Legislation paves way for farmland preservation
Whitman visits Roosevelt
where nonprofit group
has worked to save land

MARIE ORTIZ Students at the Roosevelt Public School sing “I’m Proud to Be a New Jersyan” to Gov. Christie Whitman (l), who came to the borough on Tuesday to sign farmland preservation legislation.

Fresh off a trip to Washington, D.C., to discuss a possible position in the administration of President-elect George W. Bush, Gov. Christie Whitman was in town on Tuesday to sign historic legislation to preserve farmland.

In a morning ceremony at the Roosevelt Public School, Whitman signed legislation that would appropriate $8.3 million to help counties, towns and nonprofit groups keep the best lands from being developed through open space preservation.

Funding from the legislation will help to preserve land in Roosevelt near Nurko Road and Route 571.

"We are working hard to make sure in this state that we are preserving as much open space as possible," Whitman said. "We’re working to strike a balance between building where it makes sense and preserving as much land as we can."

MARIE ORTIZ Gov. Christie Whitman talks to students and other members of the Roosevelt community before signing farmland preservation legislation.

The ceremony was attended by state Secretary of Agriculture Arthur Brown, Assemblyman Joseph R. Malone, Roosevelt Mayor Michael Hamilton, trustees and officials of the Fund for Roosevelt and members of the community.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, "one of the things this bill will do is to help pay for preserving 240 acres of farmland in Roosevelt."

The legislation was sponsored by senators Robert E. Litell and Martha W. Bark as well as Assembly members Connie Myers and Melvin Cottrell.

Whitman spent Monday in Washington, D.C., meeting with officials in Bush’s transition team. Her visit to Roosevelt — which had been planned several weeks ago — drew a large media contingent anxious to question her about her possible role in the Bush administration.

MARIE ORTIZ Among the Roosevelt residents on hand to greet Gov. Christie Whitman during her visit to the borough on Tuesday was artist Bernarda Shahn (bottom photo, right).

Whitman refused to comment on speculation about a possible position in the Bush administration. One position to which her name has been linked is administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Questioned about her qualifications for that post, Whitman defended her environmental record as governor.

"I am very proud of the environment in New Jersey. Fines are down because pollution is down," the governor said. "Our air quality is better than it’s ever been and we are preserving open space at a record pace."

The Fund for Roosevelt, an organization created to help preserve open space in the borough, began after a zoning ordinance was adopted on Dec. 30, 1998, that permitted the construction of up to 350 age-restricted homes in the borough. However, an application for such an adult community has never come before the Planning Board.

According to a release from the fund, "In 1998, residents of the borough became aware that the farms in town were actively attracting development on a scale that some viewed as potentially socially destructive to the town."

The fund does not hold on to the farmland that is purchased. After land is purchased, the fund works to sell the land. Fund President Rod Tulloss told the Examiner in October 1999, "The development rights for these properties will be purchased through New Jersey state programs and permanently retired."

On Oct. 23, 1999, administrators of the fund signed the organization’s first option agreement to purchase farmland. The property is west of Route 571 on both sides of Nurko Road. The land on the northern side of Nurko Road is approximately 90 acres, which currently has a buyer lined up.

The southern tract of land is still without a buyer. The real estate agent representing the fund, David J. Ennis, of Pittstown, has been in contact with prospective buyers.

"This land will have a house built on a single acre, set back from the road and shielded from view by trees," said Tulloss.

In addition to seeking a buyer for the southern tract of farmland on Nurko Road, members of the fund will continue their fund-raising activities.