A Review of NJ Open Spaces Programs

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State of New JerseyState of New JerseyDepartment of Law & Public SafetyDepartment of Law & Public Safety

New Jersey’s Open SpacePreservation Programs: A Reviewof County Grants Under theFarmland Preservation Program

A Program Review for Attorney General John J. Farmer, Jr.byThe Office of the Inspector General

Edward M. Neafsey, ADAGInspector General

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................... iSTATEMENT OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL................................. 1I. NEW JERSEY’S OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION PROGRAMS................... 9Introduction......................................................... 9The Garden State Preservation Trust..................................... 13The Green Acres Program............................................. 15The Farmland Preservation Program..................................... 20The Public Benefits of Supporting Private Land Owners................. 20Historical Overview of Farmland Preservation........................ 24The State of Farming in New Jersey................................ 31The Farmland Preservation Application Process....................... 34II. GENERAL ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT EASEMENT PURCHASES............. 40Easement Sales by Members of County Agriculture Development Boards......... 42The Crucial Role of Appraisals in Evaluating Development Easements............ 50The Appraisal Process.......................................... 51The Effect on the Value of Easements of Wetlands and Other Impedimentsto Development ............................................... 55Land Unlikely to be Developed.................................... 57Discussion................................................... 58Development Pressure and Rising Prices.................................. 61Valuations of Development Easements.................................... 65Identifying Issues and Recommending Solutions: The Role of the Garden StatePreservation Trust............................................. 72III. RECOMMENDATIONS................................................ 77Introduction........................................................ 77Enhanced Ethical Requirements......................................... 78Enhanced Openness.................................................. 80Obtaining Appraisals................................................. 81Purchase of Easements on Estate Homes.................................. 89Composition of the County Agriculture Development Boards................... 90The Need for Continuous Oversight by the Garden State Preservation Trust....... 90

TABLES

Table 1:Farm Operators by Age Group.................................... 12Table 2:Size of New Jersey Farms........................................ 32Table 3:New Jersey Farms by Value of Sales (1997).......................... 33Table 4:Cape May County Certified Easement Values Per Acre................. 68

TABLE OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX I ............................................................ 96A.Comments of Robert C. Shinn, CommissionerDepartment of Environmental Protection............................... A1-A3B.Comments of Christopher Daggett, Chair and William Brooks, Jr., Vice-Chairon behalf of the Garden State Preservation Trust........................B1-B15C.Statement of Arthur R. Brown, Jr., Secretary of Agriculture, Chairman, StateAgriculture Development Committee (SADC)...........................C1-C61.Comments on behalf of the SADC............................Ca1-Ca512.Comments on behalf of the SADC re Appendix II..................Cb1-Cb7D.Response to Comments by OIG......................................D1-D4

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