Mayor Calls For Open Communication With Drew University For Forest Protection

MADISON, NJ — The Borough of Madison has stated its intention to resume discussions with Drew University regarding the preservation of the environmentally significant Drew Forest, which sits between the campus and residential neighborhoods.

The Drew Forest is widely regarded as a valuable piece of land, but in recent years, developers have considered it as a potential site for new construction.

Recently, Drew University asked the Borough of Madison to rezone the forest, paving the way for the development of hundreds of market-rate homes, putting the two at odds.

Friends of the Drew Forest, a local non-profit comprised of environmental conservationists, also circulated a petition in support of preservation, which has received more than 14,000 signatures.

Mayor Bob Conley stated at the Madison Borough Council meeting that he wants to work with Drew to prepare a Morris County Open Space Grant application to purchase the land and prevent potential development.

Conley stated that the application deadline for the grants is typically in June and that a key requirement for the application is control of the property, such as a contract purchase agreement.

Drew University, according to the borough, was not ready to execute such an agreement last year but hopes that with the deadline looming, the university will be more open to negotiations and discussions.

"I have sent a request to the attorney, that goes directly to the chairmen of the board and the president of Drew University to meet with us so we can get this conversation going now. We do not want to miss another round of grant funding from Morris County Open Space, to secure the future of the Drew Forest," Conley said.

Despite the borough's claim that university officials have previously stated publicly that they are committed to preserving the forest, a recent court battle between the borough and Drew officials contradicted that statement.

Late last year, Drew attorneys argued in a hearing before Judge Stephan Hansbury that Madison's agreement with the non-profit Fair Share Housing Center to build 347 affordable housing units should be recalculated to include the Drew Forest property.

Drew officials claimed that this exclusion was intentional and that the borough concealed the existence of the land to keep it out of the settlement process.

According to the final ruling, the borough must include undeveloped acres of Drew University property in the town's calculation of land available for affordable housing if units can be built on them.

“While we are extremely disappointed in the way University Officials have handled the situation, we are still willing to sit with them and pursue a solution that saves the Forest," Conley previously said when discussing the settlement.

Dr. Douglas Tallamy, a well-known etymologist and wildlife ecologist, released a video earlier this month advocating for the preservation of the Drew Forest, which he refers to as a "regionally important biodiversity hotspot" and "an urban forest of exceptional value."