Vernon may have open space draft plan ready by year’s end

Vernon could have a draft of its open space plan in hand by the end of this year, Barbara Davis of the Land Conservancy of New Jersey told the township council on Aug. 23.

The township must update its plan every 10 years to continue to qualify for Green Acres funding.

Davis said Green Acres has several funding programs. When Vernon put together its original plan, its goal was to get into the Planning Incentive program, which has awarded Vernon nearly $127,000.

But with the township required to match 50 percent of the granted funds, an open space plan will allow the township to open a bank account with the state to buy the properties the township wants to acquire.

If the first property is not successful, Davis said, the township could put the money toward another property without having to reapply. There’s also a 50 percent grant program available if the township were to deplete its open space trust fund, which, as of March, contains about $566,000.

Since 2002, the Sussex County Preservation Trust Fund has contributed $361,000 to protect 152 acres of land. The fund most recently contributed $75,000 to buy 7.24 acres for the township’s proposed walking and biking trail.

“That’s a really remarkable achievement,” Davis said. “The county does not collect a lot of funding on a countywide basis, and it’s competitive to get those dollars. And you didn’t just get them at the beginning of the program. You have recently successful grants.”

The county commissioners last month established a trails grant program that will pay up to $150,000 per year to build and restore shared-use trails on open space lands.

The state Green Acres program has contributed more than $237,000 to open space and recreation.

Refining goals

Craig Williams of the Greenway Action Advisory Committee said he would take the listing of previous open space goals and see if they can be refined.

“I think there are some ideas I have in terms of simplifying the plan,” Williams said. “We have targeted areas that will allow for a clearer picture in terms of what’s required to get from Point A to Point B.”

Davis recommended that, once the plan is submitted to the township, it be sent to Vernon’s Land Use Board for review.

“They’re the body that would adopt it as an element of the master plan,” Davis said.

She said the plan should then be submitted to Green Acres, even if the township doesn’t plan to apply for funding.

“The goal is still to leverage local dollars,” Davis said. “And a non-profit organization can sign on to Vernon’s open space plan and bring its dollars into the municipality to help preserve land, whether or not the town is in the Green Acres program.”