WE GROW AGAIN!
GIBBSBORO RECEIVES $200K FOR OPEN SPACE
FROM CAMDEN COUNTY
GRANT WILL FUND 36.7 ACRE ACQUISTION
Gibbsboro and Camden County got a little greener
today thanks to the Camden County Open Space Preservation Trust
Fund. Camden County Freeholder Annette Castiglione-Degan presented
a symbolic check for $200 thousand to Gibbsboro Mayor Ed Campbell.
The cash is earmarked for the acquisition of the Samost Tract
in Gibbsboro.
The $200K is available as a result of the
November 1998 passage of a referendum authorizing an open space
levy to fund open space, historic property and farmland preservation
activities as well as the development of recreation facilities
in Camden County. Freeholder Director Jeff Nash and Freeholder
Annette Castiglione-Degan have aggressively overseen the implementation
of the trust, leading to the first awards. Recommendations flow
to the Freeholder Board from the Open Space Preservation Trust
Fund Advisory Committee, chaired by Peter Fontaine. The committee
includes preservation leaders from throughout Camden County.
The property, which runs from Haddon Avenue
to Farwood Road along the borough's border with Voorhees Township
(parallel to Winding Way), was part of the former Laurel Oak
golf course. This tract is a key component of the Gibbsboro Greenway
Plan and will complement the hundreds of acres of natural areas
already preserved in Gibbsboro. The clearly identifiable fairways
of the golf course, defunct for more than twenty years, are the
last remaining vestige of the popular course that covered portions
of Voorhees Township and Gibbsboro. The parcel is very near the
new Flyers Comcast Ice Rink.
The Nicholson's Branch runs along the edge
of the tract, forming Gibbsboro's western border with Voorhees
Township. The acquisition furthers the efforts of Gibbsboro,
Camden County and various other groups to protect the Cooper
River watershed. The headwaters of the south branch of the Cooper
River can be found in Gibbsboro and include Nicholson's Branch.
The cost of the acquisition will be funded
through the New Jersey Green Acres program, the Camden County
Open Space Preservation Trust Fund and the Borough of Gibbsboro.
Settlement on the tract is expected in mid-November.
The Gibbsboro Greenway is included as a formal
component of the Borough's Master Plan (The Recreation and Open
Space Element) and identifies potential open space for future
preservation. Included are most of the stream corridors that
run through and around Gibbsboro. The Borough also seeks to encourage
neighboring Voorhees Township and Lindenwold to acquire land
along the border, generating a larger greenway with minimized
cost to each municipality.
Gibbsboro has preserved ground through direct
acquisition and through the negotiation of conservation easements,
whereby the property owner agrees to restrict development of
ground. Gibbsboro has even negotiated development restrictions
on property in Voorhees Township!
The strategic preservation of open space contributes
to increased property values, control of the growth of services,
stable taxes and lower overall crime rates compared to densely
populated areas. The Gibbsboro local purpose tax has remained
unchanged for seven consecutive years, during which more than
15% of the town has been acquired for preservation.
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