74 Acres Of Bayville Land To Be Permanently Preserved

BERKELEY, NJ — More than 46 acres of land off Route 9 in Bayville will be added to the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust, part of three recent open space purchases including a land donation.

These purchases total 74 acres of land that will be permanently preserved, according to Berkeley Mayor Carmen Amato.

"This is a key acquisition for the natural lands trust program," said Ocean County Commissioner Virginia E. Haines, who is liaison to the County's open space program. "We worked closely with Berkeley Township in order to preserve this property."

Berkeley is contributing $241,000 towards the purchase of the 46.51 acres, and will also donate 18 acres of vacant Township-owned land adjacent to the County Rail Trail for preservation purposes, Amato told Patch.

In return, the County is providing five acres to Berkeley for future development of a yet to be determined park, Amato said. It could include a passive recreation area with soccer fields, he said.

The 46.51 acres, a former sand and gravel pit popularly known as the WOBM Pit, was previously set for development as Berkeley Nine Estates.

The original application for the property had 115 age-restricted units, which later became 91 single-family units and one mixed-use lot consisting of four office/retail units with five residential units on the second floor.

This acquisition was next to another partnership acquisition from 2022, which was called Victorian Pines.

It consisted of 35 single-family units and is between the Eastern Boulevard Soccer Complex on one side and the Ocean County Rail Trail on the other.

"With these three recent open space purchases, along with our land donation, we have successfully stopped a minimum of 150 homes or 190 garden apartments from being built and preserving 74 acres forever," Amato said.

The Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Advisory Committee recommended the purchase of the lands with frontage on Route 9 and Grant Concourse, and owned by two different owners for $1.9 million and $1,050,000 respectively.

On the site, there is evidence of threatened and endangered species habitat, with Barred Owl being observed in the past. Various amphibian species are also on the site.

A frequent spot for ATV riders, Berkeley has pledged to police the property with the hopes of curtailing some of the damage and public safety hazards from off-road vehicles, which are prohibited on open space properties owned by the County and Township.

"Working in partnership with our municipalities like Berkeley Township and our environmental agencies brings many benefits to our open space program," said Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners Joseph H. Vicari. "The partnerships help preserve more land and in turn protects more of our environment."