County reaches deal to preserve 149-acre farm

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A 149-acre tract, known as the Barclay Farm, that grows Christmas trees, vegetables and fruit trees was entered into the county farmland preservation program Monday, creating a 440-acre contiguous area of preserved land in the township.

The Orchardside Drive tract's development rights were purchased in a joint effort between the township, the county and the state, with total costs for the development rights coming to $3,169,823.40. Of this cost, the township and county each paid $633,964.68 and the state covered the rest, though it was the county itself that technically made the purchase.

The farm, owned by the Barclay family, shares borders with four other protected areas in South Brunswick. There is the 23-acre Barclay Christmas Tree Farm, which was preserved in 2006; the 69-acre E and J Barclay Farm, which was preserved in 1993; and the 198-acre Gordon Dey Farm, which was preserved in 1995. Rowland Park, an 80-acre park that opened in October last year, also shares a small part of the border through a naturally forested area of the parcel. The park, meanwhile, is part of a 205-acre greenbelt that runs along Broadway and Friendship roads.

County officials commended the Barclays for their support of the farmland preservation program, which seeks to buy nonagriculture development rights to farms in order to reduce the impact of sprawl. Unlike simply buying the property outright, which would have been much more expensive, buying the development rights means the tract can still be used as a for-profit farm, but can never be developed for anything else.

"This is a particularly special addition to the farmland preservation program," said Freeholder Camille Fernicola, liaison to the Middlesex County Agricultural Development Board (MCADB). "Being able to preserve so many contiguous acres is a huge bonus to the residents of the surrounding area and for Middlesex County at large. With this purchase, we have a continuous swath of about 440 protected acres. That is a substantial accomplishment and I thank the Barclay family for their participation."

According to Alan Danser, chairman of the MCADB, the county has preserved 4,508 acres of farmland since the program began.

- Chris Gaetano