OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PLAN for Township of Franklin County of Warren “A Clean, Agricultural, Community” Compiled by Morris Land Conservancy a nonprofit land trust with the Township of Franklin Environmental and Open Space Commission January 2006 - This Page Intentionally Left Blank - OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PLAN for the Township of Franklin “A Clean, Agricultural Community” January 2006 Compiled by: Morris Land Conservancy a nonprofit land trust with the Township of Franklin Environmental and Open Space Commission Cover Photograph: Banghart Farm and Scott’s Mountain from Good Springs Road, September 2005 Franklin Township Open Space and Recreation Plan Produced by: Morris Land Conservancy’s Partners for Greener Communities Team: “Partnering with Communities to Preserve Natural Treasures” David Epstein, Executive Director Barbara Heskins Davis PP, AICP, Municipal Programs Director Victoria Maroldi CLA, ASLA Planning Manager Tanya Nolte, Mapping Director Tricia Aspinwall, Land Preservation Specialist Tara St. Angelo, Intern Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved Including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form without prior consent For further information please contact: Morris Land Conservancy 19 Boonton Avenue Boonton, NJ 07005 (973) 541-1010 Fax (973) 541-1131 www.morrislandconservancy.org Acknowledgements Morris Land Conservancy would like to thank the following staff and volunteers of Franklin Township for their help in providing information, materials and guidance for the Open Space and Recreation Plan. Franklin Township Environmental and Open Space Commission: Beth Styler Barry, Chair Bonnie Butler Gary Corde Mark Fitzsimmons Bob Hood Suzanne Macaoay Dave Werkhiser Roger Woolf Mike Zawacki Franklin Township Committee: Larry Adams, Mayor Mark Blaszka Bonnie Butler Jeff DeAngelis Mike Ferri Denise Cicerelle, Municipal Clerk George Buniak, President, Franklin Township Youth Association Jeff DeAngelis, Franklin Township Youth Association Kathy Dossena, Administrative Clerk, Open Space Clerk Michael S. Finelli, Township Engineer Eloise Hagaman, Tax Assessor Henry Meltzer, Chairman Land Use Board, Chairman Historic Preservation Commission Joel Tietz, Vice Chairman Land Use Board The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) has contributed a Smart Growth Planning Grant, with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, to help fund the development of this Open Space and Recreation Plan. - This Page Intentionally Left Blank - Table of Contents Page Executive Summary Community Resources 3 Natural Resources 3 Historic Resources 9 Recreation Resources 14 The Built Environment 18 The Open Space Program 23 Inventory of Outdoor Resources 29 Outdoor Needs 35 A System of Open Space 43 Preservation Partners, Tools, and Funding Sources 53 Land Preservation Recommendations 69 Action Program and Recommendations 73 References 77 Maps: Natural Features Map – Township of Franklin Land Use Map – Township of Franklin Open Space Map – Township of Franklin Greenway Map – Township of Franklin Appendix: Public Hearing October 24, 2005: A-1 1. Agenda, Minutes, Attendance List Legal Notices: Public Hearings: A-6 1. October 24, 2005 2. January 9, 2006 3. February 6, 2006 Green Acres Planning Incentive Grant Application 4. March 1, 2006 Land Use Board Agenda: Resolution to adopt Open Space and Recreation Plan as element of Master Plan Ordinance creating Environmental and Open Space Commission A-12 Open Space Tax Documents: A-15 1. November 3, 1998: Resolution, Ordinance 2. November 7, 2000: Resolution, Ballot Question, Certificate of Election 3. November 6, 2001: Ballot Question, Certificate of Election, Ordinance 4. November 2, 2004: Resolution, Certificate of Election, Ordinance Right to Farm Ordinance A-35 Farmland Preservation Ordinance A-37 Parcel Data Tables Photographs - This Page Intentionally Left Blank - Executive Summary Settled and farmed by Scottish, Irish and German immigrants, Franklin Township is historically an agricultural community of farmers dependent upon the rich limestone valleys and power of the Musconetcong River. Located within the Highlands physiographic province, Franklin Township is home to two villages, a scenic hamlet and extraordinary waterways. Pohatcong Ridge and Scott’s Mountain form the forested backdrop to the agricultural valleys of the Pohatcong and Musconetcong Rivers. Township residents support open space and farmland preservation in the Township having supported the establishment and subsequent increase in the local Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund four times since 1999. The local tax, currently the highest in Warren County, has enabled the Township to preserve 325 acres of beautiful, productive farmland in 2005. The Township Committee and the Environmental and Open Space Commission are committed to preserving the rural, agrarian beauty of the Township. The Township has produced both this Open Space and Recreation Plan and a Farmland Planning Incentive Grant to maximize local, county and state funding sources to preserve land in the Township. The goals of the open space program in Franklin were determined through comments provided by residents at a public workshop, discussions with the Environmental and Open Space Commission, and an analysis of the Township’s Master Plan. These goals are to: • Protect forested ridgelines; • Protect, restore and promote historic resources; • Provide recreation facilities to adequately support community recreation programs; • Preserve natural areas for resource-based recreation; trail creation and wildlife habitat protection; • Protect and improve surface and ground water resources; • Preserve farmland and the agricultural heritage of the Township; • Preserve lands along the Pohatcong and Musconetcong River corridors; and • Form partnerships and preservation strategies to help achieve open space preservation in the Township. This plan introduces a system for preserving natural resources, waterways, and farmland. It offers a vision of greenway design based upon protection of the scenic ridgelines, buffering of the sensitive water features, implementation of a trails plan linking community areas, and permanent protection of historic features. The open space preservation program, guided by the Open Space and Recreation Plan, will be a valuable tool to shape the future growth and integrity of the community of Franklin Township. - This Page Intentionally Left Blank - Township of Franklin Open Space and Recreation Plan 2 Community Resources in the Township of Franklin "We have the historic Morris Canal on the northern border and the Musconetcong River Valley on the southern border, and some of the best soil in the state in between.” (Beth Styler Barry, Environmental and Open Space Commission Chair. Franklin Township. Marks Property for Preservation. The Express-Times, August 2, 2005) Located in the southern portion of Warren County, within the Highlands region of New Jersey, Franklin Township is an agricultural community characterized by fertile, limestone river valleys, wooded ridgelines and historic villages. It is bordered to the north by White Township, to the northeast by Washington Township, to the northwest by Harmony Township, to the west by Lopatcong Township and to the southwest by Greenwich Township. The Musconetcong River forms Franklin’s southeast border. Franklin Township has a unique natural resource base, which supports the environmental, economic, and recreational needs of the community. Its river valleys have rich agricultural soils that support the agrarian basis of Franklin’s economy. At the base of these valleys are the Pohatcong Creek and the Musconetcong River. Important to wildlife, water quality and recreation, these waterways have also supported industry throughout the Township’s history. The wooded ridgelines of Scott’s Mountain and Pohatcong Mountain are home to abundant wildlife and are vital watershed lands. State and National Historic landmarks such as the Morris Canal and the Village of Asbury recall early industrial activity and are a significant cultural resource. Together, these elements form the basis of a planned system of open space, which will protect the integrity, beauty, and in turn, the quality of life for the residents of Franklin. Natural Resources Geology Franklin Township is located entirely within the Highlands Physiographic province of New Jersey. This region is characterized by rugged topography that consists of a series of discontinuous rounded ridges separated by deep narrow valleys. The Highlands is mainly underlain by highly metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary rocks of Middle Proterozoic age (1.2 billion to about 900 million years old). Many of the northeast trending valleys within the Highlands are underlain with sedimentary rocks similar to those in the Valley and Ridge Province (NJDEP New Jersey Geologic Survey, Geologic Map of New Jersey, The Geology of New Jersey). Franklin Township’s geology is typical of the Highlands region. Scott’s Mountain and the Pohatcong Ridge are two rugged, erosion resistant ridgelines, composed primarily of Precambrian gneiss (Warren County Environmental Commission, Bedrock Geology of Warren County), which separate the Pohatcong valley and the Musconetcong valley. Bands of limestone generally identified as the Kittatinny Formation underlie these valleys. The Kittatinny Formation is an assemblage of weathered limestone and dolomitic rocks (Township of Franklin, Master Plan 1991, Warren County, New Jersey). Land formed over limestone