Ballot Question Asks Wall Residents To Create Open Space Trust Fund

WALL, NJ — Wall Township is looking to create an open space trust fund with a ballot question for the upcoming election.

When Wall residents hit the polls this week and on Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 5), they’ll be able to cast their vote on the fund.

If the referendum passes, the Township Committee will be authorized to create the fund primarily through a municipal property tax of $0.015 per $100.

This means that, for example, the owner of a real property assessed at $100,000 would annually pay $15 per year if the referendum is approved, officials said. For an average home assessed in Wall, this would increase the tax payment by $74 per year.

The fund will be used for the “acquisition, development, maintenance, and preservation of lands for recreational and conservational purposes.”

The referendum will appear on the ballot as follows:

• “Shall the Township of Wall, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40: 12-15.7d(1), adopt an ordinance authorizing the creation of an Open Space, Recreation, Farmland, and Historic Preservation Trust Fund (hereinafter, ‘Wall Township Open Space Fund’) through the establishment of a municipal property tax of $0.015 per $100.00 of assessed real property value to be used for the conservation and preservation of land and open space, and to protect water quality in the rivers, streams, and other waterways. The Wall Township Open Space Fund would be authorized to use monies for the acquisition, development, and maintenance of lands for recreational and conservational purposes.”

In addition to the Wall referendum, Middletown and Atlantic Highlands residents will also face questions about open space on their ballot.

William Kastning, the executive director of the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, is urging residents to vote “yes.”

"Based on the increase in residential and commercial developments anticipated in Monmouth County over the next decade, preserving our remaining, unprotected land now is imperative," Kastning said. "Once a farm, forest, natural habitat or meadow is developed, it is lost forever."

For more information on the referendum, you can click here.

Read: Ballot Question Asks Middletown To Again Pay More For Open Space