Sierra Club Opposes Cranbury Twp’s Seizure of 175-Year-Old Family Farm for Affordable Housing

Cranbury, NJ - Against the wishes of the Henry Family, Cranbury is working to use eminent domain to seize their 175-year-old farm for affordable housing.

On May 12th, the Cranbury Township Committee unanimously passed an ordinance allowing the township to use Eminent Domain to seize the local 21-acre farm to build 130 affordable housing units. The property is owned by Henry Realty Company, run by brothers Andy and Chris, and has been in the Henry family since the 1850s. The Township also approved the acquisition of the neighboring property, 1274 S. River Rd. for development.

Henry Realty Company has since filed a lawsuit against Cranbury Township challenging its decision to seize the property. On July 14th, Andy Henry filed the paperwork to preserve their farmland with the state of NJ.

In order to maintain immunity from costly developer lawsuits (builder’s remedy), under New Jersey’s Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program municipal leaders were required to vote and adopt a Housing Element and Fair Share Plan before the deadline of June 30th. The town council voted unanimously to adopt the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan. The deadline for interested parties to challenge the validity of a municipality’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan is August 31st.

Taylor McFarland, NJ Sierra Club Conservation and Program Manager, issued the following statement:

“Using eminent domain to kick a family off of their farm that they have owned for generations is despicable. Cranbury needs to do a better job of finding suitable locations for affordable housing. There is no excuse. This is a massive overreach by the Township to unjustly seize land that has been in a family since 1850, displacing their livelihood and erasing their history. It is an abuse of power that sets a slippery slope for towns trying to meet their affordable housing mandates.

Acquiring this property for affordable housing goes against established smart growth practices, which are especially important in an already overdeveloped state like NJ with dwindling farmland and green space. The property is already suffocating from warehouse development from all sides, thanks to poor planning by Cranbury. The Henry Family should not be the scapegoat for the mistakes made by the council. Cranbury needs to uphold its commitment to farmland preservation and protect the historical significance of one of the oldest towns in the state. They need to protect their residents, ones that have been there since before the Civil War.

To meet its affordable housing mandates, Cranbury must plan more effectively; this means utilizing the existing infrastructure and buildings, as well as implementing redevelopment and smart growth practices. The town should integrate affordable housing into or above existing or planned warehouses. Several warehouses are available for rent in Cranbury at this time. The township should utilize existing property for affordable housing instead of destroying a historical farm in the town.

It’s critical for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to work with the Henry family, who have already filed the paperwork to preserve and protect their farm. Development is a significant factor in New Jersey that has led to a decline in the number of farms and the total acreage of farmland in recent years. That’s why the NJDEP and our state legislators should implement programs that protect agricultural land from development and work to pass legislation and policies that support farmers and protect their farmland before it gets out of hand.”