Does anyone know if RT has applied for any of this funding for the Ford Faycsh(sp?) house or any other projects in town?

Also: Could this be our ticket to convert 140 GPR to a park, and give the land back to open space. Given the sensitivity of that land, one could craft a very compelling case for funding. The article is not clear on whether or not all funds have been allocated, or if there is still opportunity for new requests.

Codey signs bills to provide preservation project funding

Highlands region gets $55M for historic sites and open space

By Michael Daigle, Daily Record

Dozens of local projects received funding Wednesday after acting Gov. Richard J. Codey signed 12 bills dedicating $353 million to open space, farmland preservation and park projects.

Projects in Northwestern New Jersey, including Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, received about $55 million, according to the list of projects approved earlier by the Garden State Preservation Trust.

One of the projects on the list is the Greco Farm, a six-acre tract along the Pequannock River in Riverdale that contains the 1724 Van Ness House, which will get $575,000.

The site, on Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike, is targeted for a 45,000-square-foot strip mall. The owner, Taurus Management of Pompton Plains, has planning board approval for the strip mall and applied for a demolition permit. The company said it was willing to hold off on any work as long as it appeared the township was making a good-faith effort to secure the $2.6 million needed to buy the property.

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Preservation of the property became a hot issue late last year when, following denial of a $2.2 million grant by the county's open space committee, residents twice approached the county Board of Freeholders for help.

Riverdale Mayor Bill Budesheim and the residents were told by the freeholders that the country board would assist the town in its efforts, but that the township council must approve a commitment of local tax dollars to the project.

Township Councilwoman Elaine Wetzel said Wednesday that the Van Ness House committee will take up the topic on Thursday. The issue has not come to the council yet, she said.

The bills signed Wednesday reflect the state's efforts to spend at least $50 million created by last November's statewide bond issue on projects in the Highlands, a 1,000-square-mile region that provides water for half the state's residents. About 400,000 acres of the area are now in a preservation zone, where strict rules are expected to curb development. A Highlands Greenway project through 61 towns in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties is slated to get $25 million.

Municipalities and non-profit organizations in the region would get an additional $175,000 for land purchases and counties would get an extra $250,000.

Other funds in the bills are aimed at supporting new stormwater management and clean-water rules put in place by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and would support efforts to create greenways along the region's rivers, including the Rockaway, Musconetcong, Passaic, Raritan and Pequannock, and along the route of the former Morris Canal.

The Crossroads of the American Revolution, a statewide project to highlight Revolutionary War sites, many of which are in Morris County, will get $2 million.