By Taylor McFarland • NJ Sierra Club Chapter Conservation Program Manager
When the news broke that a farm in Cranbury Township, New Jersey, was threatened by eminent domain for housing, it felt like a gut punch. But in late October, the public outcry against this action succeeded in getting Cranbury to back away from taking the land.
The 21-acre farm is owned by Henry Realty Co., run by brothers Andy and Chris Henry. It has been in their family since the 1850s. The farm survived the Great Depression, and for a while after their grandfather died, it was run by Andy and Chris’ grandmother and mother.
Cranbury was up against a state-imposed deadline to identify land for 265 units of affordable housing under New Jersey’s Fair Share Plan. It designated the Henry Farm—located in Cranbury’s warehouse district—as a suitable tract for about 130 units.
In an ordinance it adopted on April 25, 2025, the township committee resolved to first seek a negotiated sale before pursuing acquisition through eminent domain. Opponents argued that the farm was too remote for residential use and inconsistent with the township’s master plan, while township officials maintained that the site satisfied infrastructure requirements, including access to sewer, water, and public transit.
For decades, the Henrys said, they refused generous offers from developers because they believed in preserving farmland in New Jersey. In response to Cranbury’s eminent domain action, Henry Realty Co. filed a lawsuit against the township to stop the move.
It wouldn’t have been right to build housing on top of a historic farm whose livestock has made it something of a tourist attraction. It would also violate some principles of smart growth practices, such as preserving open space and fostering community and stakeholder participation in development decisions. These things can’t be overlooked in an already overdeveloped state such as New Jersey, where farmland and green space are dwindling.
Our Sierra Club Chapter staff and volunteers visited the farm and met with the current tenant, Tom O’Donnell, who raises Scottish Highland and Belted Galloway cattle on the farm. The cattle and sheep are raised without hormones or antibiotics, and their pasture is never treated with chemical fertilizers, or pesticides. This was farmland that our Chapter knew we needed to help protect.
As a grassroots organization, we leveraged our strength in the Cranbury area and flooded the phones and inboxes of the township committee, urging them to find alternative housing locations to satisfy their obligations under New Jersey’s Fair Share Plan. We coordinated with Cranbury Housing Associates President Mark Berkowsky and former Cranbury Councilman Jay Taylor, who had already identified alternative locations for housing that were in residential areas, walkable to town.
On July 14, Andy Henry filed an application to permanently preserve his family farm through New Jersey’s Farmland Preservation Program. We mobilized, again, our grassroots power and had our members and supporters call and email the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) and urge them to approve the request.
We lobbied through press releases, letters to the editor, social media, and more. Finally, on October 25, we received the good news that, with pressure also from both the state and federal governments, an agreement between Cranbury officials and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs had been reached. The Henry farm in Cranbury will be preserved, and the township will explore alternative sites to fulfill its affordable housing mandate.
While this is something to celebrate, the Henry family should never have been in this situation. Cranbury Township should never have resorted to using eminent domain to build affordable housing.