The Evesham Township Environmental Commission is recommending the township retain ownership of a property on Church Road, but according to township officials, that discussion and decision are yet to come.
Environmental Commission member Ila Vassallo, on behalf of the commission, voiced that recommendation at the most recent meeting of the Evesham Township Council, during which she presented the commission’s end-of-year report.
Vassallo outlined the commission’s three priority goals for 2014, one of which was open space monitoring and advocacy.
The report specifically noted the Church Road property, along with Croft Farm on Tuckerton Road, the Garden State Beagle Club on North Elmwood Road and the 1,300-acre Black Run Preserve Pine Barrens parcel in the southern end of town.
Vassallo said the privately-owned Garden State Beagle Club is adjacent to a separate, permanently persevered tract of land, which borders the Church Road property, and together the properties form a continuous, undeveloped greenway — one of the largest remaining spaces in northern Evesham.
According to Vassallo, the Church Road property also harbors a tributary of the Pennsauken Creek.
“The commission would like to see the Church Road property stay in an undeveloped state if possible,” Vassallo said.
However, Mayor Randy Brown said whether the township holds on to the Church Road property is a discussion that will be taking place in the next year, and something that will be balanced with the best interests of taxpayers.
Brown said he believes in the current economic environment, the property could bring the township at least $1 million to its surplus.
“We’ve really got to make a decision,” Brown said. “It is in a residential area, it’s not like it’s in the Black Run Preserve. It’s a residential area anyway, and it already got approval for housing once before, so we’re going to really have to take a hard look at it.”
In addition to the Church Road property, Vassallo also outlined the work that took place at the Black Run Preserve in 2014.
In 2014, the commission was awarded a grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions to develop a conceptual trails master plan for the preserve. In the presentation, Vassallo also outlined two other major priority areas the commission had for 2014: sustainability and commission visibility through community outreach.
Vassallo also spoke about the commission’s work under Sustainable Jersey, the statewide program where municipalities can receive grants through completing actions that help the township become more environmentally friendly.
Evesham has a bronze certification set to expire at the end of 2016, so in 2014 the commission established a Sustainable Jersey re-certification plan.
“One of the items we are investigating as part of the re-certification plan is to possibly perform an assessment of township lighting power consumption and cost to achieve savings,” Vassallo said.
Regarding community outreach, the commission worked with the township shade tree commission to distribute seedlings, attended a Cherokee High School earth science class presentation on the effect of road salt on waterways, had a table at Harvest Fest, Marlton Business Association and MUA, and helped with a new sign for a community garden behind the Blue Barn Recreation Center.
For 2015, Vassallo said just some of the commission’s priorities and goals are to continue to monitor and advocate for open space, complete an update of the township’s environmental resource inventory, support the development of a small wildflower meadow in Evesboro Downs and work toward re-certification in Sustainable Jersey.
The Evesham Environmental Commission meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Evesham Township Municipal complex and is open to the public.
