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Twelve acres of open space deeded to boro
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - October 01, 2008)
What happens when a developer purchases a large swath of property and only a portion of it is buildable land? The borough of Montvale has just found out that the answer is more than 10 acres of free land. Bob Meyers Communities, a
Medford based developer, purchased a 20-acre swath of land bordering Woodland Road and later found that the property was, due to steep slopes and wetland conditions, largely not developable. So the developer has deeded the unusable portion of the property to the borough, which will declare the land open space.
Mayor Roger Fyfe stated in a phone interview that in addition to retaining a piece of virgin land, which is good for the borough from an environmental standpoint, the acquisition of open spaces benefits the borough in other ways as well. “If you can take it [the land] out of the mix and out of the calculations for COAH, it can only do good,” he said, referring to how the borough’s quota for affordable housing development is based in part on the amount of remaining buildable acreage in the municipality.
The borough does not have any plans as of yet regarding exactly what, if anything, it will do with the property. For the time being, it will remain intact in its natural state. Whether a trail could be put in place to allow the public to enter the space would be up to the state department of environmental protection. “At least part of it,” said Fyfe, “we may be able to make into a passive area.”
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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