Holmdel Plans Vote To Begin Acquisition Of Historic Horn Antenna Site

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Township Committee will take action Tuesday to start the process of acquiring the site of the historic Horn antenna.

Responding to a "ground swelling" of public opinion and fulfilling the open space imperatives of the township Master Plan, the committee will consider two resolutions leading to the acquisition of Crawford Hill, site of the antenna.

They are listed on the agenda as Crawford Hill Resolutions 2023-168 and 2023-169.

Resolution 2023-168 authorizes appraisal for "potential condemnation and acquisition of Crawford Hill property. (Pages 61-67 of the agenda.)

Resolution 2023-169 "modifies past authorizations of redevelopment investigation." (Pages 68-70 of the agenda.)

The 43-acre Crawford Hill site at 791 Holmdel Road is owned by a private developer who is considering a townhouse project there - a plan that has met with much opposition from land use and historic preservation groups concerned about the landmark Horn antenna on the site.

Mayor DJ Luccarelli said he will make a formal statement on the Township Committee action on Tuesday, but he said the resolutions are self explanatory.

The public session of the meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Other business will also be conducted.

The proposed resolutions elicited praise from Citizens for Informed Land Use, one of a coalition of preservation groups advocating for the protection of the antenna:

"It is wonderful to see Holmdel residents and our Township Committee united in defense of Holmdel's open space, watershed, mature forested areas, and historical and scientific legacy," Julie Roth, president of the group, said Saturday.

The Horn antenna has been standing undisturbed on Crawford Hill for decades, in the midst of woods on the steeply graded property.

It was built by Bell Labs on this highest point of land in Monmouth County and was used in satellite research there - research that took on a broader significance when the antenna detected background cosmic microwave radiation, providing "irrefutable evidence" of the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe, the township notes in Resolution 168.

This led to Nobel Prize-winning research, and the antenna was named a National Historic Landmark in 1989. Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978. Wilson still lives in the township.

But the site was sold by Bell Labs to Nokia, which then sold it in 2021 to the private owner who has developed plans for an 88-unit townhouse project at the site.

That project has not formally come before the township, but the prospect of it has set in motion that groundswell of support for preserving the site.

Calls for preservation

The Horn antenna should be untouched and the property used for open space that could also accommodate an educational center about cosmology and the Horn's history, preservation advocates urge.

They note that moving the antenna - even on the current site, as the developer has suggested -could negate its National Landmark status.

The Township Committee at public meetings has heard hours of comment from the public about the importance of preserving the antenna, what one scientist from Wall's InfoAge Museum called "a shrine to cosmology."

A coalition of preservation groups circulated a petition to protect the antenna and presented the petition to the Township Committee a few months ago. That petition now has more than 8,000 signatures from around the world, according to Roth, of Citizens for Informed Land Use.

Holmdel school students write essays about the history of the Horn, also urging the Horn antenna's preservation.

The township late last year had the Planning Board Look into the area as one "in need of redevelopment" as a way to exercise more control over the site, even though it is not zoned for residential use, but rather office/research.

The action on Tuesday, however, could be the definitive step in acquiring the land and preserving the Horn antenna and the open space of Crawford Hill - and it will rescind the redevelopment study, except for a study of the vacant Nokia building at the site.

The resolutions

The first resolution notes that the updated Master Plan calls for, among other things, "preserving the unique character, heritage, and identity of Holmdel for the benefit of future generations, by protecting . . . sites notable for their historic or architectural attributes."

Here are the actions outlined in the resolution:

1. The Township Committee desires to acquire the Crawford Hill Property for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes.
2. The Township Committee notes that the Crawford Hill Property is uniquely suited for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes as it includes a peak that constitutes the highest point in Monmouth County and houses the Horn Antenna, a National Historic Landmark.
3. The Township has received a ground swelling of public support for preservation of the Crawford Hill Property at meetings of the Township Committee, through electronic submissions, and other outreach from residents.
4. The Township Committee finds that acquisition of the Crawford Hill Property for open space, recreation, and historic preservation purposes is consistent with its current Master Plan.
5. The Township Committee finds that acquisition of the Crawford Hill Property is consistent with the 2019 recommendation of the Holmdel Environmental Commission specifically enumerating this property for acquisition.

The resolution also noted that under the state Eminent Domain Act of 1971, the township must enter into negotiations with the property owner and a basis for that would be an appraisal.

The resolution authorizes the township to have an appraiser “enter upon any property which it has authority to condemn for the purpose of making studies, surveys, tests, soundings, borings and appraisals.”

It notes that at its reorganization meeting, the Township Committee awarded a professional services contract to Gagliano & Company as real estate appraisal consultant to the township, and it authorizes the company to "formally prepare an appraisal for the potential condemnation area consistent with the requirements of the Eminent Domain Act, in an amount not to exceed $7,000."

The resolution would take effect immediately.

The second resolution deals with previous action the committee took to study the site as one "in need of redevelopment."

This resolution would rescind the redevelopment investigation of the open space parcel, but would keep in force the redevelopment study of the approximately 50,000-square-foot building that is vacant and was most recently occupied by Nokia. The Local Redevelopment and Housing Law provides a means for municipalities with tools to address buildings with a "discontinued use," the resolution notes.