On Thursday, the State Agriculture Development Committee finalized the $27 million purchase of what was formerly known as the Jaindl Lot, nearly 600 acres of arable farmland in Warren County. The Buckhorn Creek Farm, as it’s now known, will now remain warehouse-free as preserved farmland.
Many residents were furious that Jaindl, a Pennsylvania-based developer, planned to build a large warehouse after buying the land in 2019. Four years of protests followed, as residents, in their ubiquitous orange attire, packed planning board meetings and kept heat on local politicians. Some were overjoyed to see their efforts to pay off.
“I’m still emotional about it because it’s a great win for us,” said Tom Bodolsky, vice president of Citizens for Sustainable Development, a group dedicated to fighting the warehouse plan. “It’s a great win for Warren County.”
“It’s a tremendous amount of money for one piece of land, but it’s worth it,” said Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Hunterdon). “We do not want New Jersey to become one big suburban tract of houses and shopping centers.”
This was the last major purchase made by Susan Payne, the committee’s executive director, before she retires at the beginning of June. While she concedes that checks worth $27 million won’t be written every week, Payne said communities should reach out to her office if they think land can be preserved.
“We can help assess whether anything’s possible or not,” she said. “We definitely don’t have the financial resources available to buy every warehouse proposal in the state. We’ve really tried to be strategic and only do those that make a lot of sense.”
