June 15, 2010
Mayor and Council, City of Clifton
900 Clifton Avenue Clifton, New Jersey 07103
Re: Schultheis Farm
Dear Mayor and Council:
The Sierra Club strongly opposes the proposition to lease Schultheis Farm to Montclair State University for "organic farming and/or sustainability education with public access". Schultheis Farm is a Green Acres funded parkland and should not be diverted for use by the University. Leasing the property to Montclair State will restrict public access for recreation and conservation purposes, the key element of the Green Acres program.
Montclair State University has become a developer on its own property and now the college wants to annex Schultheis Farm. The University is building on every inch of its campus. Currently Montclair State has a proposal to construct a 2,000 unit condo project and increase parking. Once it has control of Schultheis Farm, who is to say that the college won't add more development to that property.
The University intends to use Schultheis for agricultural and educational activities which include constructing three additional greenhouses, as well as converting the existing farmhouse to offices for professors. Additional greenhouses on the property will increase impervious cover and impact water quality and again, deny public access. The Green Acres project application states that the land may be used for public gardens but that all plants grown in the greenhouse must be planted on municipal land and that existing buildings must be used in support of outdoor recreation and/or conservation programs. Montclair State's intention for the property does not conform with the Green Acres project application.
The Sierra Club is deeply concerned that Schultheis Farm proposal is out of compliance with Green Acres, the most successful environmental program in state history. For more than 40 years, Green Acres has helped protect hundreds of thousands of acres of open space in New Jersey that provide recreational as well as conservation opportunities to the public. Schultheis Farm was purchased by the public trust for the benefit of the people of New Jersey, not to be leased to a university that has paved over their own property.
Sincerely,
Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club Director
Christine Guhl Program Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club
145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618 Tel: (609) 656-7612 Fax: (609) 656-7618 christine.guhl_at_sierraclub.org
Received on 2010-06-15 09:24:05