Official seeks to create greenway linking Holmdel, Raritan Bay

Photo by Val Ann of BRWC

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/17/06 BY JOE PIKE KEYPORT BUREAU

The discussion came almost one year after plans fell through for Hazlet to sell the property, which Hazlet Deputy Mayor Scott Aagre said is worth between $400,000 and $417,000.

The property is actually located within the Holmdel boundary but is owned by Hazlet. It is located on the border of the two townships, south of Leocadia Court in Hazlet and north of Maria Court in Holmdel.

Aagre said Hazlet was reluctant to sell the property because residents feared future development on the property by Holmdel.

"We are not selling that property and have no intentions on developing the property," Aagre said. "We didn't want to sell it to Holmdel because we had a lot of residents who were concerned that it might be developed. Although they (Holmdel officials) didn't want to develop it, you never know. Administrations change."

The latest plan, which Remaud said will be ongoing, would give Holmdel the property's development rights, which Aagre said is worth about $200,000. Hazlet would retain ownership rights, which would block both townships from developing the land without mutual consent, Aagre said.

The importance of the land, as well as the reason for Remaud's involvement, has to do with plans for the implementation of a greenway. A greenway is a corridor of open space in and around metropolitan regions and rural communities.

Remaud has proposed creating the Waackaack Creek Greenway, which would be a multiuse recreational route that spans six miles of eastern Monmouth County, linking headwaters in Holmdel with the Raritan Bay in Keansburg. Remaud presented his report on the greenway to the Hazlet Township Committee at a workshop meeting Dec. 20.

Remaud became involved in the greenway proposal after the Hazlet Environmental Commission brought concerns of possible development surrounding the creek to the Hazlet Township Committee in December 2004, said Annie Eng, a Hazlet resident and member of the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council.

Watershed council member and Hazlet resident Joe Pobega said Remaud, who monitors and oversees Raritan Bay, was contacted to see what Green Acres funds are available to assist in creating the greenway. Those available funds are still unknown, Pobega said.

Waackaack Creek consists of two "high priority" preservation sites, known as the Waackaack Meadows and the Mahoras Preserve, Aagre said. Both of these tracts contribute to the protection of the creek watershed and habitat functions while providing improved public access and recreational opportunities, Aagre said.

Once established, the Waackaack Creek Greenway will form a connection to the Henry Hudson Trail, which runs 10 miles from Atlantic Highlands west to Aberdeen and includes a 12-mile extension to Freehold, according to the report.

Within Keansburg, there are at least 15 tax parcels, containing 32.8 acres, each characterized as "vacant land" but serving collectively as a valuable creek buffer. In Hazlet, the situation is much the same with 25 qualified "vacant land" parcels, containing a total of 136.2 acres. About half of these tracts should be investigated and considered for acquisition as Greenway sites, according to Remaud's study.

"Once we know what the land is characterized as, I hope Hazlet and Holmdel can come to an agreement as quickly as possible because time is of the essence," Pobega said. "This is a tract of land that we need to have protected."

The Waackaack Meadows consists of three parcels and is about 11 acres with 70 percent of it encumbered by freshwater wetlands and tidal wetlands, Aagre said. It is bounded by Hazlet-owned property and Green Acres property.

"It's wetlands and probably cannot be developed, but rules have a habit of changing over time, so we want to ensure that it can't be developed no matter what," said Hazlet resident Annie Eng, a member of the watershed council. The reason to protect the privately owned parcels of land, according to Remaud's report, is that they are situated within the creek's floodplain and provide buffer, watershed and habitat values, while also contributing to the community's character.

"Many concerned residents think it's critical that we preserve this land one way or another," Eng said.