Bill > A981

Introduced Session

This bill would appropriate $8,000,000 from the Property Tax Relief Fund to the Monmouth County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund to meet the $25,000,000 needed to purchase the Stein property in Upper Freehold Township, New Jersey. Preservation of the property would prevent construction of an obstructive warehouse on the property. The Stein property is a historic Revolutionary War site, providing a campground for 10,000 British soldiers as they retreated from Philadelphia before the Battle of Monmouth. The proposed development would split the farm into two properties, each to contain a 50 foot warehouse with loading docks. The Upper Freehold Planning Board members estimated that, during a 24 hour period on an average weekday, a total of 790 vehicles (including trucks) might enter and leave the site. Residents most affected would be those living along the property's neighboring border with Allentown Borough, where the construction would allow for 100 feet of space between warehouse properties and adjacent Allentown Borough residents. Local property owners express concern that the warehouse plans will threaten local open space, generate air pollution, disrupt the natural ecosystem, and contaminate water sources with industrial runoff. Stormwater flooding already presents an issue at sewage plants and in private basements in Allentown Borough. The proposed construction would necessitate a water mitigation and sewer system to support the warehouse's infrastructure. The New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has also urged Upper Freehold Township to preserve the land.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Margie Donlon (D)*,  Carol Murphy (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document