In recent years the preservation of farmlands and open space has become a top priority for towns throughout densely populated New Jersey. But East Amwell in southeastern Hunterdon County was well ahead of the curve, laying the groundwork in the early 1980s for what has remained a largely rural community. At a time when other towns were “chasing ratables” in the form of housing developments and commercial growth, Mayor Larry Tatsch said, East Amwell was creating a master plan that “promoted agriculture and recognized the unique and delicate nature of the Sourlands.”
Through restrictive zoning more than a third of the 28-square-mile township is now preserved. Another third remains as open space, consisting in part of 296 farms — some are home to alpacas, others to retired horses — that range in size from half an acre to 261 acres. The open space also includes a 350-acre golf course, and swaths of privately owned mountainous land too rocky for development.
“We could well have gone the way of neighboring townships if we hadn’t had the visionary perspective way back when,” Mayor Tatsch said.
The township became a case study in farmland preservation 12 years ago when it increased minimum building lots to 10 acres from 3. A group of farmers sued, saying the ordinance would reduce the value of their properties and create a patchwork of 10-acre gentleman farms. In 2005 an appellate court upheld the new zoning. It was about that time that minimum building lots in the mountain region were increased to 15 acres, from 5. The current plan allows for “cluster development” — combining smaller building lots with contiguous open land — but no developers have built in the last decade or so.
The emphasis on preservation has altered life for the 4,013 residents of East Amwell, who have a single schoolhouse and limited public services, and who often rely on volunteers. The town has no water or sewer service; all houses use wells and septic tanks. There is no police force; public safety is provided by state troopers. Two weeks ago, roadways were cleared of litter by dozens of families taking part in the 24th annual roadside clean-up.
It was this slower lifestyle that appealed to James Rizza and his family when they moved here from Franklin Township five years ago. And though moving at that time meant “paying high and selling low,” Mr. Rizza said, he doesn’t regret the $565,000 he paid for his four-bedroom house on two acres.
“My 13-year-old son now leases a cow that he’s going to show at the county fair,” said Mr. Rizza, a landscape contractor. “He wouldn’t be doing that in Franklin.”
When Joanne Hall and her husband paid $175,000 for their four-bedroom colonial in 1986, Ms. Hall recalled, they predicted that in 5 to 10 years the township would be built up. “And here we are, 25 years later, and it’s the exact same as when we moved in,” said Ms. Hall, a broker with Weidel Realtors. Her husband, a computer software consultant, regularly travels into New York City via buses that Ms. Hall describes as crowded with commuters.
“Everybody’s relaxed,” she said. “They’ve got their iPads and laptops, and they’re there in an hour and a half.”
WHAT YOU’LL FIND
Most visitors are struck by the stunning vistas, particularly when coming from more congested neighboring areas like Flemington or Raritan, or from Princeton, which is also nearby.
“People are astounded when they see there’s this much open space in this part of New Jersey,” said Cynthia Bruning, an agent with Weichert Realtors who has lived in East Amwell for 13 years. “If you’re interested in rural living, but still want to be close enough to everything, it’s feasible here.”
The housing stock is as varied as the terrain. In the valley section of the township, where farms dominate the landscape, older farmhouses with two or more outbuildings crop up here and there. In recent years, horse farming has grown in popularity, and there are several large farms where one can board a horse, ride or take lessons. The Amwell Valley Trail Association has pieced together 75 miles of private trails where East Amwell residents can ride or hike for a nominal annual fee.
Smaller farms come on the market fairly regularly, as do houses on 10 to 15 acres. A 12-acre horse farm with a four-bedroom house and stables is on the market for $599,000, as well as a 1998 four-bedroom colonial on 15 acres, listed at $649,900. Scattered throughout the valley are a handful of small developments of 20 to 30 houses, mostly built in the 1980s before new zoning laws took effect; each is on 1.5 to 2 acres.
The Sourland Mountain section, on a ridge 500 feet up, offers a mix of modern architecture, older farmhouses and contemporary log cabins. The former Lindbergh estate, now a boys’ home, is in this area. (In 1932, the 20-month-old son of the aviator Charles Lindbergh was taken from the house by kidnappers. The child’s body was found in the woods two months later.)
The township’s more historic houses can be found at intersections in some of the four or five hamlets that fall within its boundaries — Wertsville, Hamilton’s Corner and Reaville, for instance — and in the village of Ringoes, an unincorporated section of East Amwell with a few stores and about 250 residences. Historic markers note the house on Old York Road where during the Revolution Lafayette convalesced from an illness, as well as the site of the 19th-century Black River and Western Railroad station, which still runs tourist rides on the weekends. There are no rental or multi-unit properties.
WHAT YOU’LL PAY
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