State unlikely to OK Cottrell Farm purchase Developer moving ahead with plans for housing, retail BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer The hopes of some that the Cottrell Farm in Old Bridge would be preserved through the state Farmland Preservation Program have apparently been dashed. The farm, which dates to the 1700s, may instead become home to a large-scale development of housing and retail. State and county officials recently informed the developer, Jerald Development Group Inc., of Wall, that its request to have the land preserved in the state program is likely to be rejected because of a high asking price. "I am serious about preserving the Cottrell Farm," Mayor Jim Phillips said. "If he's serious, he should come up with a realistic price." Jerry Cernero, president of Jerald Development Group, announced in June that instead of moving forward with his townshipapproved general development plan (GDP), he would attempt to have the farm, at Route 516 and Cottrell Road, preserved in the state program. However, County Agriculture Development Board (CADB) Administrator Ryan Rapp informed Jerald in an Aug. 14 letter that the asking price per acre was more than the program could afford. Jerald's price was $900,000 per acre, according to the Middlesex County Planning Department, which serves as staff to the CADB. According to the letter, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) recently made amendments to the Farmland Preservation Program's rules, which are followed by the CADB. The new state rules brought large decrease in funds allocated for the program. Jerald was told to inform the county in writing of whether the developer wishes to continue pursuing its inclusion in the preservation program. "It is important that you be aware that during preliminary discussions with staff of the SADC regarding your application, they noted that the price per acre of your property is significantly beyond what the SADC has traditionally approved," Rapp wrote. "This next funding round would be unlikely to be an exception, given the question of future funding for farmland preservation at the state level, and the SADC's desire to do more with less available funding." Cernero said the farm was appraised with the GDP approval taken into consideration. "Their requested price per acre was very high, there's no doubt about that," Phillips said. "It is my fervent hope that Jerald Development will see the error of their ways." Phillips said officials are hoping Jerald will lower the price on the land, or pursue having it preserved as open space by selling it to the township or county. According to Cernero, the question of whether the township will purchase the land to preserve should be directed to Phillips. "He has an offer in front of him right now, and it's not $25 million, either," Cernero said. "We never offered it to him for $25 million." Phillips, however, said he has no offer from Cernero for the property. "He has to come back with a reasonable offer to the township," Phillips said. "It's simply a matter now of negotiation." The GDP, approved in 2003 and valid until 2013, allows for a "town center" development known as both The Crossings at Old Bridge and Carriage House Crossing. Now that the farm is unlikely to be preserved through the state program, Cernero is seeking preliminary site plan approval from the township Planning Board for a slightly altered plan. "We anticipate hopefully being on the October agenda," Cernero said. The Crossings would include 82 active adult townhouses and 128 marketrate condominiums, along with 119,000 square feet of retail space. "The most traffic-congested area in our town is at Cottrell Road and 516," Phillips said. "He's trying to put 10 pounds of potatoes in a one-pound bag, and it simply doesn't fit." The farm, long owned by Herbert Cottrell Jr., consists of an apple orchard, outbuildings and a farmhouse that dates to 1831, when it was built to replace an earlier structure destroyed by a fire. The land, which was once part of a larger property whose parts were sold for development over time, is included on both the township and county lists of historical sites. The buildings of the Cottrell Farm would remain standing, Cernero said. "[The farmhouse] could be used for a restaurant, an office building, or some type of mom-and-pop retail store," Cernero said. The number of age-restricted units was decreased at the request of the Planning Board, Cernero said, which brought about the other changes to the plans because of state regulations. "Unless he comes with a site plan that is in accordance with their general development plan, his GDP approval will be invalidated," Phillips said. "This development is wrong. It is wrong in its scope, and its wrong in its location. The people who approved this were simply out of their minds." The township granted GDP approval to Jerald in 2003, but the builder had yet to move forward with plans. Some town officials and residents were opposed to the development, and in 2005, Phillips began efforts to save the farm. The Township Council approved a resolution at the time in support of preserving it, possibly with Green Acres funding. Middlesex County officials expressed interest in preserving the site as well, according to Phillips. If the tract were accepted into the state preservation program, it would only be able to be used for farming. The house would likely have been used for a residence or museum, according to Phillips. No retail or residential development would have been permitted. In terms of preservation, the county is transitioning to the County Planning Incentive Grant (PIG), which could potentially give Middlesex County an annual base grant of $2 million, with the possibility of up to another $3 million annually in competitive grant monies. These amounts are still contingent upon approval of a statewide ballot question in November. Under the state's PIG program, the intent is to preserve significant areas of reasonably contiguous farmland and promote long-term viability of agriculture as an economic industry. These "project areas" will be identified in a forthcoming update of the county's Farmland Preservation Plan.