Council to consider backing Green Acres funding

Last Updated on Monday, 28 November 2011 16:03 Written by Ann Richardson Monday, 28 November 2011 16:13

OCEAN CITY — There’s funding available to purchase open space but Cape May County is passing it up.

Ocean City Council will consider passing a resolution requesting that the county apply for their share at a Nov. 29 council meeting.

In 2009, New Jersey voters approved the Green Acres Bond Act, making $260 million in funding available for preservation throughout New Jersey.

Cape May County is eligible to apply for some of this funding, which could bring in up to $1 million to the county for locally supported open space projects. But in order to receive this funding, the county has to apply. Thus far, county officials have passed up the opportunity to acquire the funding.

Last year, the American Littoral Society and Friends of the Cape May County Wildlife Refuge sent a letter to Cape May County freeholders asking that they consider applying to the state’s Green Acres funding, which would match funding currently raised through the county’s Open Space, Recreation and Farmland Historic Preservation Trust Fund.

The Trust, established in 1989, is funded by a county property tax of 1-cent per $100 of assessed valuation. Last year, this fund raised $5.5 million for land preservation in Cape May County.

“There is absolutely no reason why the county shouldn’t be doubling its open space funds to assist with any number of municipally-supported projects, which would benefit the county as a whole,” Jessica Daher, conservation coordinator for the American Littoral Society wrote in a letter sent to Mayor Jay Gillian, dated Oct. 19, 2011.

Daher said her organization would like Gillian and City Council to consider passing a resolution urging the county to apply for Green Acres funding, which can be used for up to two years.

She noted that 19 out of 21 counties in New Jersey have applied for and received funding. Between 2005 and 2010 Atlantic County utilized over $3.2 million in Green Acres funding and land acquisition and almost $285,000 for park infrastructure.

Since the county dedicates a portion of its 1-cent tax toward the acquisition of park land and natural areas, Daher noted that the option is available to double the funding “by merely submitting a simple application.”

State funds, she said, could be utilized to acquire new or enhance existing land for recreation and conservation purposes, including playgrounds, campgrounds, camping and hiking areas, athletic fields and recreation facilities, boating and fishing areas and historic properties.

The Howard Stainton Wildlife Refuge and Corson’s Inlet State Park, she said, are examples of the possibilities.

The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, she noted, draws thousands of wildlife enthusiasts annually. A recent ecotourism report, “Economic Impact of Ecotourism Resources in Cape May County,” conducted through Atlantic Cape Community College, found that over $522 million is generated through wildlife watching alone in Cape May County.

According to Daher, Cape May County Tourism Director Diane Wieland said this is double what was spent just 10 years ago.

“Considering the accelerating economic value of ecotourism in the county, the freeholder board should be doing everything possible to advance and support open space and park development efforts throughout the county,” Daher said.

On Oct. 11, Upper Township passed a resolution supporting the county applying for funding. Upper Township noted that Cape May County has a deficit of 4,001 acres and is in need of additional public recreational land and open space. So far, four other communities in Cape May County have passed similar resolutions.

The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, Upper Township noted in its resolution, has only acquired 11,800 acres of the 21,820 acres that the U.S. Congress envisioned as being necessary to protect wetlands and wildlife resources.

Since 1961, the state Green Acres program has provided $3 billion to preserve 650,000 acres of open space. Green Acres land was “swapped” between Fifth and Sixth Streets on Atlantic Avenue in Ocean City in 2001 to permit the building of the new $242 million Ocean City High School. The land where the new high school sits included tennis and basketball courts and was part of the Green Acres inventory. The recreation area had to be moved and the school district was required to replace what was lost elsewhere.

Freeholder Susan Sheppard, a former Ocean City councilwoman, said she thinks the freeholder board should consider applying for the available funding. At this point, that could not occur until after the freeholder reorganization in early January where two new freeholders will be seated.

“I believe the freeholder board would be open to looking at purchasing suitable property in the future,” Sheppard said.

She said there is not any particular property that she is aware of that any municipality is considering, and she felt that it would be helpful to establish criteria for what constitutes a suitable open space purchase.

“There are more questions than answers,” Sheppard said.

Cape May County officials, she noted, have been reluctant to apply in the past, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future. Cape May County could be eligible for as much as $900,000, but the county would need to identify viable properties to preserve.

“Where would that be?” Sheppard asked. “We have to take a look at this. I believe the county should expand the Cape May County Park and Zoo. It’s one of the greatest assets we have. There are a lot of possibilities.

“If it’s a worthy project, absolutely,” she said. “I am going to advocate that the freeholder board look into this.”

Ocean City Environmental Commission member Ken Cooper said that Ocean City pays more into the county’s open space fund than any other in the county.

“It’s a good time to ask for it,” he said.

 

BOX:

Environmental Commission will present at council meeting

 

With open space a hot topic of late at city council meetings, council members asked the city’s Environmental Commission for input. The Commission is scheduled to make a presentation at a Nov. 29 council meeting.

At a Nov. 16 Commission meeting, board members sought to establish a criteria for potential open space purchases.

“We’re going to present a framework,” Commission Chairman Pete Ault said.

The blueprint will transcend a recommendation of individual properties, instead establishing a goal, or criteria for a potential candidate. Ault said commission members felt it was not appropriate for any one governing body or individual to say “this is the property you should buy.” Rather than individuals advocating for a particular property, a criteria would establish viability.

Pocket parks, community habitats and butterfly gardens, members said, would be desirable uses, but with limited funding, potential projects should be prioritized.

Council President Michael Allegretto said council members are looking for guidance.

“We want to do a real thorough approach,” Allegretto said.

This past summer, local resident Mary Louise Hays asked council to consider purchasing three empty, but buildable lots in her 30th Street and Simpson Avenue neighborhood.

Hays asked council to apply for funding through Cape May County’s open space funding.

Allegretto said there are many neighborhoods that could be considered.

Ault said the Environmental Commission should offer a guideline rather than reacting as properties become available. There’s a long list of unimproved properties that could be available, he said. More properties could be made available because open space possibilities wouldn’t necessarily be limited to vacant lots. Given an opportunity, some property owners might be willing to sell a coveted piece of land with a building on it if they knew if could be preserved.

A parcel located in the 30th Street and Haven Avenue neighborhood along the bike path, Ault noted, could be considered.

“It’s a low area that floods, the last thing you need is another house,” he said, adding that by abutting the bike path, this area could be more viable than the 30th Street and Simpson parcels. “This is just an example.”

Anything along the bay front would be a good candidate since preserved waterfront properties are scarce. The old Abbott sailboat building at Second Street and West Avenue could be considered, as well as anything along the Haven Avenue bike path in the area between 12th and 18th Streets.

“The area will be reviewed in the Master Plan,” Ault said. “All should be candidates. All along there they have trouble developing properties because of the zoning.”

“We have to prioritize, we all have a wish list,” he said.

During the commission meeting, resident Alex Maggitti asked that the Commission consider the controversial parcel owned by the Schilling Estate at 19th Street on the beachfront.

— Ann Richardson

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