After
half an hour of spirited bidding, the Jim Durr family
of North Hanover Township, Burlington County, became
the proud owners of the former Smylie-Gottlieb farm
located in the Township. Durr knew the property well,
having rented a small portion of the property for
his flower farm.
The 77.56-acre property was auctioned
back into private ownership by the State Agriculture Development
Committee (SADC) with deed restrictions that will permanently preserve
it as farmland. The sale price was $305,000. The preservation of
this farm complements the farmland preservation efforts of the Burlington
County Agriculture Development Board and North Hanover Township.
To date, through the Farmland Preservation Program (FPP), Burlington
County has preserved 45 farms totaling 7,455 acres of which 11 farms
totaling 2,237 acres are in North Hanover Township and adjacent Chesterfield
Township. The picturesque property includes about 40 acres of tillable
ground with the remainder in woodland. The farm, which was originally
slated for residential development, was purchased by the SADC from
the Smylie-Gottlieb Partnership on January 20, 1998, with funds provided
by the Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation
Bond Act of 1992. This is the eleventh farm which the SADC has preserved
in this manner.
Statewide, the FPP has preserved 283
farms totaling 44,107. Another 72 farms totaling 8,973 acres are
pending permanent protection in the months ahead.
|
|
|