MIDDLETOWN, NJ —The Township Committee approved a bond ordinance this week to fund acquisition a 12-acre portion of 72-acre Reid farm located off Whippoorwill Valley Road near Kings Highway East.

The Township Committee agreed to preserve the land under the municipal open space program in March as part of an agreement an agreement struck between property owners James and Doris Reid, Middletown Township and the Monmouth Conservation Foundation. Under the agreement, the township will purchase the 12 acres for $1.4 million under the municipal open space program. Meanwhile the Monmouth Conservation Foundation will purchase the development rights for the remaining acres, said Committeewoman Rosemarie D. Peters, who chairs the township’s Open Space Committee.

Without the agreement, the property was likely to be subdivided for construction of single family homes. The owners already had approval to subdivide the 72-acre farm in accordance with the R-220 zoning, explained Planning Director Anthony Mercantante.

Preservation of the Reid property will bring the number of acres preserved in the Chapel Hill section of Middletown to more than 110 contiguous acres. The 72-acre Reid tract abuts a 44-acre tract located off Mohican Drive and Mannitto Place that the Township Committee agreed to preserve under the municipal open space program in 2002. The township currently holds a contract with heirs of the Tretter estate to purchase the undeveloped parcel, Mercantante said.

“We’re very happy that we’ve been able to reach agreements with these neighboring property owners,” said Peters. “Preservation of contiguous properties affords residents greater protection from development, as well as future access to more land for active or passive recreation.”

Whippoorwill Valley Road, off which the Reid Farm is located, is one of the few unpaved roads left in Middletown. The road, which runs between Chapel Hill Road and Kings Highway East, has changed little from the 18th century when the Lufburrow Mill was located there along what is known today as McClees Creek. The dirt road follows its original course through the woodlands to Navesink and is the site of the former Haskell Estate, the Lufburrow Miller’s house and several historic farmhouses.

Since the Open Space Preservation Program was established in 1999 with voter approval, the township has been able to preserve nearly 200 acres throughout the municipality. Properties can be preserved in a number of ways. In some cases, such as this latest preservation agreement, the township works with organizations and municipalities that share the township’s interest in land preservation. Other properties are preserved through municipal acquisition, using funds collected through the two-cent voter-approved open space tax. Examples include preservation of 10 acres located adjacent to Bicentennial Park off Route 35 and a 6.5 acre parcel located near Middletown High School North.

Properties are also preserved through other techniques, such as land swaps, donations, and conservation easements. Examples include a five-acre tract at Route 520 and Phalanx Road acquired through a land swap with Brookdale Community College, as well as six acres located along the Swimming River behind Extended Stay America on Route 520 that were donated to the township. Meanwhile, the 31.31-acre McCormack farm on Tindall Road and the 10-acre Lincroft Christmas Tree Farm are protected against development for eight years through the owners’ entry into the Municipally-Approved Farmland Preservation Program.