New plans sounds
like better land use

Word of a proposed change in the environmental status of the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital property on Route 520, Marlboro, should come as good news to Monmouth County environmentalists.

Ever since the hospital was closed by the state in 1998 and Marlboro officials announced their intention to buy the tract and redevelop the site, environmental groups have stated their concern that development of the land would have a negative impact on waterways on the site that eventually feed the Swimming River Reservoir, a source of drinking water for thousands of county residents.

Recently it was revealed that Big Brook and its tributaries which traverse the hospital land have been designated to receive Category 1 designation from the state. That designation would strictly limit the type of development allowed on the site and near the waterways.

While the redevelopment plan that was approved by the Township Council in March 2002 did not envision large-scale housing development on the hospital property, it remained our concern that a developer would somehow gain approval to build many homes on the 411-acre site.

What the council did envision was a conference center, a hotel, a golf course, some retail space and about 20 single-family homes on the tract.

To this point, negotiations have not produced an agreement that would allow the state to sell the land to Marlboro.

A consultant hired by the council is now proposing a redevelopment plan that calls for more open space preservation (approximately 50 percent of the tract), land for a public school and various recreational facilities.

While the latest plan may not be a revenue producer for the township, it certainly sounds more like a use that is in keeping with the location of the site — the two-lane Route 520 — and the needs of the community.

Given the state’s expressed desire to limit development on the hospital property, township officials should press for the best price the Treasury Department can accept to sell the land and let it remain in as natural a state as possible.