New Park May Be Coming Soon To Chatham

CHATHAM, NJ - A representative from a group that protects land recently spoke with the Chatham Township Committee about its Morris County Open Space Trust Fund application, submitted for a piece of property in Chatham Township.

The Trust for Public Land submitted the application to the County of Morris Open Space Board for $350,000, to purchase the land, with the intention of eventually transforming it into a park.

The organization plans to fundraise to buy the approximate 17-acre tract off of Southern Boulevard, ideally transferring it to the township, said Greg Socha, senior project manager from The Trust for Public Land, who spoke to the Chatham Township Committee about the open space grant application and timeline at their most recent meeting.

The property is intended to become an addition to Nash Field, with it adjacent to the field. Socha said the County of Morris asked the organization to present some information about the potential acquisition to the Township, which is why Socha attended the July 15 Township Committee meeting. Following the meeting and as part of the process, Socha said he would provide the county with any questions or comments from the township about the proposed property acquisition.

More About The Property

“The property is important, it was brought to our attention by another partner organization,” Socha told Chatham Township’s Committee. “It has good potential to connect not only to the adjacent Nash Field property owned by the township, but it’s also adjacent to the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge.”

Socha said the acquisition would help to protect and buffer the wetland areas and provide general watershed protection. Rare and endangered species may also be protected as a result, he added.

Questions And Feedback From The Committee, Public

Mayor Stacey Ewald described the tract as “on everyone’s radar” for some time, because of its environmental sensitivity.

Committee Member Mark Hamilton asked Socha for next steps.

Socha said the group is “very early in the process” at this stage, with the county application process happening once annually. Socha said he’ll stay in touch with Township Administrator Bob Hoffman with updates. Socha, however, said his next steps will be to provide the County of Morris with supplemental information on the intended land acquisition, which would include a timeline provided to the county. The county and organization will make a site visit together, with the county making more decisions from there, Socha said.

“All in concert with that, I will be continuing to work with the land owner, negotiating and hopefully getting under contract,” said Socha.

If the county decides to fund the acquisition and the land owner consents to a contract, The Trust for Public Land will continue its due diligence with surveys, appraisals, title searches, environmental site assessments and the like.

If the process reaches that stage, Socha said he’d make contact with Hoffman again with a simple transfer agreement, with intent to transfer it to the township.

Deputy Mayor Kathy Abbott described the tract as a “piece of property people have hoped wouldn’t be developed” for a long time.

“There were some questions if it would be, so I’m glad it seems to be going towards the open space direction,” she remarked.

Jessica Romeo, a resident who spoke during the public session from the Zoom audience, described the acquisition as “exciting."

“This is a really important piece of land for us to have as open space,” Romeo said. “I think this is really promising, so I’m excited to hear.”

More Information About The Process, Organization

In addition to the county grant to make the purchase, remaining funds needed may be coming from Green Acres in the form of a grant directly to The Trust for Public Land, Socha added.

Chatham Township, he said, has donated funds to their organization to help appraise the property.

Socha explained The Trust for Public Land is a non-profit 501c3 conservation organization with a mission to “create parks and protect land for people.” He works in New Jersey, partnering with counties, municipalities and other not-for-profit groups, he said, to protect tracts of land.

The organization contracts with the property owner, does its due diligence and fundraises by public and private grants, Socha also said. From there, the entity strives to transfer the land to public ownership, whether municipal, county, state or partner organizations.

The Chathams are rated on The Trust for Public Land’s website as having 74 percent of its residents as living within 10 minutes walking-distance of a park, which outpaces the national average, of 55 percent, according to its website. Click here for a map that outlines suggested priority areas for parks within the Chathams.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.