Somerset County to seek purchase of two open-space parcels in Hillsborough and South Bound Brook; resolutions added to March 25 consent agenda

Somerset County officials said the county will pursue two open-space purchases — one in Hillsborough Township and one in the borough of South Bound Brook — and voted to add the acquisition resolutions to the board’s March 25 consent agenda.

County planning staff said the Hillsborough purchase, Resolution 25-600, would authorize the county to buy two lots identified as Block 171, Lots 99 and 100, owned by Samuel Schwartz, for a total amount not to exceed $735,000. Planning staff said one lot is vacant and wooded and the other contains a dilapidated residential structure; a stream that traverses the larger parcel was described as a Category 1 stream. “We’ve been negotiating for this property since 2002,” planning staff said during the workshop.

The staff presentation said the Hillsborough parcels are important to preserving the wooded character of the area and to protecting and buffering the Sourland Mountain Preserve (the county’s preserve name used in the presentation). The staff memo said preservation would provide additional buffers between the county park and local residences and would protect the brook.

Also presented was Resolution 25-601, to participate in the borough of South Bound Brook’s acquisition of a 0.89-acre former GAF industrial site at the intersection of Canal Road and Main Street. The borough’s plan, as described in the county presentation, is to demolish an approximately 9,000-square-foot concrete industrial building that has been vacant for years and restore the site for open-space uses. The presentation said the project would increase public access to the D&R (Delaware & Raritan) Canal Park, create walking-distance park space for downtown neighborhoods, improve the gateway aesthetic at the intersection, and reduce impervious coverage in the flood zone. The county’s proposed grant assistance for demolition and acquisition would be not to exceed $580,000.

Commissioners moved to add both resolutions to the March 25 consent agenda; roll call on the motion recorded Commissioners Drake, Singletary and Sui and Director Robinson as voting in favor. Final approval and any funding commitments will be considered at that regular meeting.

Why it matters: The two purchases aim to expand or protect county parkland and waterfront access, preserve a Category 1 stream corridor, and remove a blighted industrial structure adjacent to a state canal park. Both items were presented as consent-agenda additions rather than items for immediate final action at the workshop.

What’s next: The resolutions were added to the March 25 consent agenda for formal consideration and final vote. The county presentation noted the Hillsborough negotiation traceable back to 2002; staff did not provide firm closing dates at the workshop.