WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. – Readington Township open space acquisitions are moving full speed ahead.Not only is the township in line to buy eight more acres next to Cornhuskers Park, but it also is partnering with Tewksbury Land Trust to look into preserving nearly 200 acres more sometime next year.“It’s fully funded by county and state,” said committeeman Juergen Huelsebusch after a unanimous vote to introduce the ordinance to buy 622 Route 523 in Whitehouse Station for a price of $98,000.The purc...
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. – Readington Township open space acquisitions are moving full speed ahead.
Not only is the township in line to buy eight more acres next to Cornhuskers Park, but it also is partnering with Tewksbury Land Trust to look into preserving nearly 200 acres more sometime next year.
“It’s fully funded by county and state,” said committeeman Juergen Huelsebusch after a unanimous vote to introduce the ordinance to buy 622 Route 523 in Whitehouse Station for a price of $98,000.
The purchase, originally expected to be fully approved at the Nov. 17 meeting had to be reintroduced because the purchase price of the property increased by $1,200. It will now be considered and up for final approval at the committee’s Dec. 1 meeting.
Additionally, Huelsebusch updated the public on a potential purchase referred to in the committee’s executive session agenda as Rockaway Greenway & Stavola on the north branch of the Rockaway River that he called a “pristine stream” that runs from Tewksbury down to Route 78.
“This is an acquisition we’re doing in tandem with Tewksbury Land Trust, and it’s for 177 acres,” he said. “We acquired a source of funding, so from Readington’s perspective the funds we need will be coming from the county, they will be coming from Green Acres, and they’ll be coming from a municipal grant program.”
He said the purchase is not expected to result in additional municipal taxes.
Huelsebusch said the hope is to get the properties involved in the purchase under contract in the next few weeks.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to close next year, maybe mid-year,” he said.
Readington has an aggressive open space program with a stated goal of preserving fully 40% of the land in the township as either open space or preserved farmland. Over 70 farms are currently preserved, as well as roughly 9,500 acres of space.
The community’s commitment to open space dates back to a 1978 open space referendum, but was cemented in its 2018 master plan, which calls for an additional 3,000 acres to be set aside by the year 2050.