$150,000 sought now for farm preservation

BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

HOWELL — Councilman Joseph M. DiBella says he will ask the Township Council to appropriate money needed to secure the development rights of a township farm that is already certified for farmland preservation. While the farm is certified, the owners have not yet received payment from the county and state.

DiBella said he will ask the council to appropriate about $150,000 to secure the development rights for the 9-acre Ference farm on Casino Drive as long as Township Attorney Thomas Gannon signs off on the proposal.

The farm, known as the Casino Horse Resort, is a working farm that belongs to John and Sally Ference. It already has been certified by Monmouth County and the state as being eligible for inclusion in the farmland preservation program and, therefore, eligible for available county and state funding.

John Costigan, chairman of Howell’s Preservation Task Force, said health concerns have made it hard for the Ferences to continue operating the farm. He said getting the money would allow them to secure their future and the time they want to spend with their great-grandchild, while also securing the development rights of the property.

"We’re looking to accelerate the process so that if the farm gets sold, it’s already preserved," Costigan said.

DiBella said providing the money is a win-win situation for both parties.

Since the Ference farm has already been certified by the county and state for funding, DiBella said it is just a matter of waiting for the bureaucratic red tape to be worked through and the town to be reimbursed "dollar for dollar."

"We can’t sit back and wait," DiBella said. "We cannot afford to lose this opportunity. Any short-term move we need to take is well worth it."

Once a farm is certified and has received its funding, that means it has sold the future development rights of the property, eliminating any possibility of residential or commercial development of the land.

The property, which can still be sold, remains encumbered by a deed restriction that confines its future use to stay within the parameters of its past and present use.

Howell voters passed a referendum in 1999 approving a 1-cent tax for the purpose of farmland preservation, followed in 2001 by another 1-cent levy that also allows the money to be used for open space acquisition in addition to farmland preservation.

There is $1 million in Howell’s land preservation fund as a result, Costigan said.

DiBella said Howell officials can use the preservation fund money or issue bonds in order to advance the Ferences the $150,000. Either way, he said, the money provided by the township would be reimbursed by the county and state.

Costigan said that to date, Howell already has about 478 acres of farmland with signed options in the preservation program.

He said when all is said and done, the estimated cost for the 22 farms optioned for the program will be $8.6 million, with $5.4 million coming from the state, $2.1 million from the county and $1.4 million from the township.