Thursday, May 24, 2007

Atlantic County Acquires Hamilton Township Open Space and Hammonton Farmland

Atlantic County will add 154 acres of open space in Hamilton Township and preserve a 217 acre farm in Hammonton after making settlement on two properties this week.



On May 22, the county settled on 153.917 acres in Hamilton Township (block 1127, lots 2,3,10,22,24) with Lenape Land, LLC for $1.5 million with funding from the Atlantic County Open Space Trust Fund and the New Jersey State Green Acres Program. 



The county is scheduled to purchase the development rights to 217.753 acres of farmland in Hammonton (block 4901, lots 25 & 26; block 5302, lot 7; block 5402, lot 1) on May 25. The county will pay $1.465 million to the Trust of John Bertino. Nearly 64 percent of the funding was obtained through a grant from the State Agriculture Development Committee. 



"The goal of both our Atlantic County Open Space Acquisition and Farmlands Preservation programs is to help offset the detrimental impacts of growth and development by protecting lands that remain untouched," stated County Executive Dennis Levinson. 



"Development puts a burden on our towns and municipalities with a need for new schools, roads and enhanced public infrastructure. Our efforts are intended to not only preserve our natural resources but also our quality of life."



These acquisitions bring the total amount of preserved land within Atlantic County to over 90,000 acres, including open space and farmland. 



For more information, please contact Howard J. Kyle at (609) 343-2368.

County News