30th farm preserved in town

Plumsted

PLUMSTED — The Hughes Christmas Tree Farm, owned by Linda Hughes and located on Holmes Road, became the 30th farm in Plumsted, on Dec. 7, to be officially enrolled in the township’s farmland preservation program.

According to Mayor Ron Dancer, with the preservation of the Hughes farm, Plumsted has now preserved 30 farms consisting of more than 2,500 acres that will never be developed.

To put the size of 2,500 acres into perspective, the following six Ocean County municipalities could be placed in a land area of less than 2,000 acres: Ocean Gate (320 acres), Island Heights (384 acres), Mantoloking (282 acres), Pine Beach (380 acres), Harvey Cedars (352 acres) and Seaside Heights (224 acres).

In addition to the 30 farms saved from future residential development, the Township Committee, Ocean County and the state have given preliminary approval for another five farms in Plumsted to be enrolled into preservation in the very near future, Dancer said.

Enrolling farms into the preservation program and permanently deed restricting the land from future development is a voluntary decision by the farm owners.

Since the farm owners will never be able to sell the farms for development purposes once enrolled into preservation, a farmer receives the appraised amount for the developmental value of his land and retains the agriculture value of the farmland.

The Township Committee has forged a partnership with the state and Ocean County to provide the funding for its preservation programs, according to the mayor.

Dancer said in Plumsted, agriculture is an integral part of the local economy. In addition to traditional tax ratables of commercial and light industrial uses, there are agricultural tax ratables such as farmer’s markets, barns and buildings.

According to the mayor, often times, the general public does not realize that farmers pay full taxes on the farmhouse, barns and all farm buildings. Farmers only receive a reduced assessment on the farmland itself. Farm buildings do not produce or house school children, yet, they are yielding millions of dollars in tax ratables, Dancer reported.

The mayor said Plumsted’s farmland preservation program has prevented the construction of more than 2,000 homes and saved taxpayers millions in school taxes.