Government

Brick Plans For More Open Space, With 25 Lots Eyed for Preservation

by
Daniel Nee
January 24, 2025

Hank Waltonowski Park (Photo: Brick Township)

Nearly two years after Brick and county officials worked together to preserve Breton Woods, dozens of acres off Drum Point Road where 59 single-family homes were proposed by a developer, the township has heard the calls for more land preservation to stave off overdevelopment. A committee that was founded under the administration of Mayor John Ducey, the “Brick Open Space Savers,” has continued on under Mayor Lisa Crate’s tenure at town hall with the aim of identifying additional properties ripe for saving.

Crate said this week that Brick residents should expect two additional properties to be announced for acquisition soon, but in all, a total of 25 properties have been identified as areas that may be candidates for preservation. Since 2001, Brick has levied a small open space tax alongside the traditional property tax assessment, generating millions of dollars that have been solely dedicated to the purchase of land for open space. Oftentimes the purchases are covered in part – or sometimes in total – by state Green Acres funding or partnerships with Ocean County, which has its own open space fund. Both the township and county open space taxes were approved by voters.

The Brick Open Space Savers, known by their catchy nickname “BOSS,” began when the controversy over the Breton Woods development was peculating, but has since evolved into a committee of residents and officials who have garnered institutional knowledge on the most viable parcels for preservation. Crate, upon taking office in 2023, said her efforts to help the committee have come in the form of solidifying criteria for the selection of which properties hold the characteristics that would make them good candidates.

“There’s go to be some kind of criteria, so we broke down what that would look like and, if it’s an obvious commercial piece in a commercial zone surrounded by other commercial things, it’s not something the committee can consider,” she said. “But if it’s linked to green space, a large property near homes, would qualify for Green Acres funds, or could be added to our parks trail system, that’s a good fit.”

Brick, like the county, does not condemn properties in order to turn them into open space, and works with willing sellers. Occasionally, the township will even be approached by property owners who seek to donate land for preservation. Usually, these are properties covered in wetlands or other environmentally-sensitive areas where development would not be allowed.

The committee, armed with solid criteria, will also reach out to property owners to find out if they are amenable to a purchase or donation.

“What we’re doing this year, now that we’ve actually finalized what the criteria is and we can score each of the properties, is reaching back out to the highest-scoring properties that we think would be the best and easiest to obtain, and see if the owners of the properties will work with us,” said Crate.

The Breton Woods property where 59 homes have been proposed as part of a new development, Dec. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Last month, the township’s planning board approved the Open Space and Recreation Master Plan, a document which plots the township’s open space plan for years to come. The plan shows that after nearly a quarter-century of the open space tax being in place, Brick has preserved 731 acres of land. When combined with federal, state and county preservation projects, the amount of open space preserved in Brick doubles to 1,570 acres.

Tara Paxton, the township planner, echoed the mayor’s priorities for open space preservation, including the acquisition of properties that are environmentally sensitive, “fill in” existing preserved areas, link to bike trails or parks, and meet the criteria of partner agencies that may defray the cost.

Crate said that while most of the township’s busiest corridors are already developed, and usually run along county or state highways, cutting down on traffic – or at least preventing it from getting worse – is another factor.

“I know traffic is a huge concern for residents,” she said. “But every little bit we’re able to preserve helps, and it’s going to continue. We have two pieces of property we’re probably going to be closing on in the next couple of months, and we want to do more outreach to residents who may want to donate land we can add to the list.”

The 25 Properties

The BOSS group has identified 25 properties – part of a running list that changes over time – that likely fit the criteria. While there are no guarantees that the property owners are willing to sell (or donate), or that the financial pieces of the puzzle will fit together, the township will be reaching out with the goal of coming to an agreement.

The potential properties are listed below and can also be found in the linked map chart. Some do not carry postal addresses as they are not developed: