When West Windsor revealed it had struck deals to add two properties, totaling nearly 40 acres, to its open space inventory, it marked the township’s first significant open space purchase since acquiring a 27.6-acre portion of the JCC property, adjacent to the Windsor Athletic Club, four years ago.
The Akselrad property is an 11.47-acre parcel on the northbound side of the railroad off of Normandy Drive, accessible through the Windsor Ponds townhouse development. The $626,500 purchase was finalized in December, with the township paying twice the appraisal price to end longstanding litigation with the Akselrad family.
The purchase of the 27-acre Rosen property, located off Meadow Road and adjacent to the railroad bridge there, is expected to be completed this year at a final price of $1,050,000. The 35-acre Thompson tract would have increased the recent tally, had not the deal fallen through after the adjacent gun club and township administration failed to reach a compromise last summer (The News, August 22).
The township has become increasingly adept at minimizing acquisition costs, often partnering with the nonprofit Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS). Mercer County open space assistance grants and state Green Acres open space grants are expected to offset half the cost of both purchases. A $152,500 county grant to fund the Akselrad purchase was approved by Council on January 28, and a $500,000 county grant application for the Rosen property is pending.
The total size of West Windsor is 16,830 acres and around half the township has been developed. The township open space plan has preserved more than 10 percent of the total acreage and Mercer County Park accounts for another 15 percent of open space, or roughly 2,500 acres. Combined with 1,400 acres of public school, private recreation, and deed-restricted open space, roughly 40 percent of West Windsor has been preserved.
The township’s open space acquisition targets properties that are readily developable and situated in environmentally sensitive locations, and there are roughly 500 acres that fit those criteria. There are multiple ongoing negotiations, which can extend for years.
West Windsor adopted an open space “Acquisition Plan” in 1998 that targeted 99 parcels of land, totaling almost 2,600 acres, for preservation. According to land use manager Sam Surtees, roughly 1,700 acres have been preserved through the township open space fund. That still leaves 900 acres on the original acquisition list, though Surtees says only 500 acres remain purchasable, as the other 400 acres have since been privately purchased and developed.
However, the remaining 500 acres of land are not the only potentially developable land in West Windsor. “There’s also a lot of undeveloped land in West Windsor that is not on the wishlist,” says Alison Miller, the president of FOWWOS and a former Council member. “For instance Howard Hughes, the property next to Howard Hughes. All farmland that is not preserved is potentially developable.”
In all, Surtees estimates more than 2,000 acres of land in West Windsor remain potentially developable. Sarnoff Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of SRI International, Princeton University, and the Howard Hughes Corporation collectively own 1,500 of those acres.
According to Miller, the township drives a hard bargain when negotiating property acquisitions. One tactic is to encourage owners to accept a price that is lower than the appraisal value. The difference is then considered a gift and eligible for a tax write-off. Property owners in need of upfront payments may also be motivated to sell to the township, instead of relying on the pace of development when contracting with a developer.
“People in West Windsor have over the years somehow have gained an unusually high opinion of what their property is worth,” Miller says. “The township has to be very careful about paying more than the appraised value. There has to be an extra value, like ending a lawsuit or some particularly delicate environmental situation.”
In order to qualify for state and county funding, the municipality cannot pay higher than the certified appraised value. In the Akselrad and Rosen acquisitions, state and county grants are expected to offset half the purchasing price. Miller says many properties acquired earlier were purchased with state fund from the Green Acres Program, which operates under the Department of Environmental Protection to preserve open space in New Jersey, though funding has been down the last few years. Voters approved a statewide referendum last November to shift funding from existing environmental programs and replenish the Green Acres program.
The township Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund is supported by a dedicated open space tax. A shrinking pool of properties to acquire — nearly 70 percent of the 1998 acquisition list have been preserved — as well as rising property values have led to a lower open space tax rate. The rate dropped from seven cents to three cents after the 2006 property revaluation. A lower tax rate yields similar revenue in light of the raised assessment values. The 2013 open space tax rate was two cents per $100 of assessed property value, yielding nearly $1.2 million in revenue.
In recent years the township staff has taken the lead in property negotiations. Miller says past FOWWOS presidents Bernt Midland and Michael Shuit did plenty of negotiating in the organization’s earlier days in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some property owners may be more comfortable negotiating with West Windsor residents, as opposed to government representatives, says Surtees, and he may ask FOWWOS members to talk to an owner.
A private, 501(c)3 non-profit, FOWWOS works closely with Surtees and township staff. According to Surtees, the organization’s non-profit status allows property owners to turn the difference in a below-market sale into a tax-deductible donation. FOWWOS is also eligible for grants not available to the township. Property purchased by FOWWOS is also turned over to the township. “We do not own property, we are not big enough to be a land trust,” Miller says.
FOWWOS may also pay for appraisals, surveys, and environmental studies. In the case of the proposed Thompson purchase, FOWWOS paid for the land survey and an environmental study, and the organization paid for the Akselrad property appraisals.
Donations are the source of funds that FOWWOS uses for appraisals and such. “We’re more flexible than the township,” Miller says. “When the township is stuck and needs $11,000, and it’s not in the line item, they have to go to the Council. I just call my people and get a majority vote. It takes a lot less time. We’re not a government, approval of expenditure can be a simpler process.”
When a property acquisition does not succeed and it is developed, one method of salvaging preservation is through cluster zoning methods in which the township allows housing subdivisions in exchange for set-asides of open space.
“When we can’t buy it, we try to encourage clustered development so as much property as possible is preserved,” Miller says. “If houses are closer together, bringing utilities and internal road systems is cheaper.” The township changed the zoning in the course of the development of Elements, the senior community on Old Trenton Road, and the clustered smaller lots resulted in more open space preservation than a single family home development.
“The Zaitz preserve is part of the Elements, and it is now an amenity for those who want to live there,” Miller says.
On the question of how to utilize preserved open space, Miller sees no need for immediate decisions for every preserved parcel. A property may become a much needed park in a certain section of town, but Miller also wants to allow future generations to determine the use of a preserved property.
“I don’t think that we today have to decide every piece of open space,” Miller says. “Nobody knows the region’s needs in 20 years or more. But if we preserve land now, we are giving our heirs the flexibility to use the land as they see fit. I don’t have a problem with not knowing, but some people do.”
Farming has been a stable open space use the past several years. The township has been leasing more than 900 tillable acres for at least the past 10 years. According to Surtees the township leased 950 tillable acres last year, collecting $52,000 in revenue. Of the 950 tillable acres, 450 acres are deed restricted farmland, meaning it will be farmed in perpetuity, while the other 500 acres are preserved open space that can be converted to other uses.
Most of the township’s farmland is located in the south, adjacent to Robbinsville, part of the West Windsor/Robbinsville agricultural development area. Surtees says the township’s approach to farmland preservation, established under Mayor Carole Carson, differs from that of neighboring Robbinsville. West Windsor keeps and leases the acquired farmland, while Robbinsville acquires and then deed-restricts a property before turning around and auctioning the land.
Farmland preservation may provide a clue to which properties the township is targeting for acquisition. The Agricultural Advisory Committee prioritized six farmland parcels, totaling 186 acres, along South Lane. These properties are part of the 900-acre Assunpink farm enclave. Another farm enclave on Old Trenton Road is 418 acres and mostly township owned.
The idea of preserving corridors of linked properties has also been a factor in open space efforts. Corridors allow wild life to travel, supporting biological diversity, and West Windsor’s master plan includes a green belt conservation component.
“Preserving open space is not just a matter of not developing, it’s an environmental statement,” Miller says. “We are very flat in West Windsor, and we have to think about groundwater contamination. The more open space we can preserve, the better it is for our groundwater and aquifers.”
