Hearing Tonight on Maple Lake Grant Application

Residents interested in the future of Maple Lake can have their say before the Township Committee Tuesday night.

The governing body will hold a hearing during its business meeting about the possibility of acquiring county Open Space grant funds toward the purchase of the private property off Maple Drive. Meanwhile, the township also will solicit comment on a plan to acquire county money toward the installation of pathways and a viewing area at the township-owned Gardens of Wyckoff.

"The Township Committee believes we should pursue any available monies to try to keep (Maple Lake) preserved as open space," Committeeman Chris DePhillips said.

"We're all just looking for an opportunity to tap into any grant funding that's available," Committeeman Brian Scanlan said.

Maple Lake

The planned hearings are mandatory aspects of submitting applications to the Bergen County programs, township Administrator Robert Shannon said.

The application to the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund Land Acquisition Grant Program seeks a to-be-determined amount of money, up to $7.4 million, pending an independent appraisal of the Maple Lake property, Shannon said.

The appraisal is legally mandated but otherwise key toward facilitating a possible future purchase of the property, which has been targeted for development.

"We haven't yet dealt with the value of the property," DePhillips said.

The township, per a tax assessment in 2006, has had the 26.5-acre parcel of land valued at $7.4 million, although the Canterbury Development Corporation, which owns the property, has said the tract could be worth much more on the open market.

The potential price tag has led the committee to seek all the outside funding it can in an attempt to preserve the property. A public hearing in July led to the application of $11 million in state Green Acres funding toward the purchase of both Maple Lake and the Russell Farms property, which remains in negotiations. The $11.14 million included estimates on the value of Maple Lake, Russell Farms and the potential costs of environmental remediation at the former apple orchard off Russell and Sicomac avenues.

Shannon said the township has not yet been notified of the status of its Green Acres application but decided to seek the Open Space money to keep all options available should an opportunity to buy Maple Lake arise.

Similarly, the township also received $1.86 million in county Open Space funding earlier this year that must be applied toward Russell Farms. Approximately $900,000 that has been collected municipally via open space taxation also is available for such purposes.

Russell Farms and Maple Lake are similar in that both could potentially be developed as housing if the township is not able to preserve the properties.

Russell, which would be developed by Barrister Home Construction Inc., has already been targeted for a subdivision, although indications are that housing isn't likely. Negotiations between the township and Barrister's Robert Milanese continue, although the successful remediation of the site is vital toward any township purchase.

Maple Lake, which was once a recreational area home to a swim club, has been owned by Canterbury for decades and currently exists as mostly wetlands and woods and is home to two species on the state's endangered list. The dam was breached in 1993 and the lake drained, facilitating its current mostly overgrown condition.

The township changed the zoning on the property in recent months, with high-density affordable housing being abandoned in favor of market-rate, single-family housing. Canterbury representatives have said they remain open to negotiations with the township, although they've estimated the vast acreage could fetch as much as $20 million on the open market.

Should the township acquire sufficient Green Acres and Open Space funding to purchase Maple Lake, the tract would likely be preserved as a passive recreation area.

"It's very clear that given the topography of the property, the wetlands that exist, and the fact that nature has reclaimed much of the lake bed, it would be ideally suited for passive recreation," Scanlan said.

Gardens of Wyckoff

The township's second hearing will concern possible enhancements to the Gardens of Wyckoff, located off Crescent Avenue.

The 12.8-acre natural sanctuary was deeded to the township in 1993 and is a public space where residents can enjoy the beauty of the gardens.

Wyckoff seeks $15,000 under the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Development or Redevelopment of Municipal Recreation Facilities Grant Program, with plans to supply a 100 percent municipal match on the $30,000 project.

"We're hoping to receive full funding," Shannon said, while noting that only $275,000 is available this year to 13 northwest Bergen municipalities.

If the grant application is successful, the township would build "nice, meandering brick pavers from the sidewalks to the rose garden," Shannon said.

The hearings will be held at 8 p.m. in the Municipal Courtroom at Town Hall. The Township Committee expects to vote to authorize the grant applications following the hearings.