Articles Open space and environment
The State Lands in Skillman, Explained
Montgomery is pursuing about 395 acres of New Jersey Department of Corrections land in Skillman: 188 acres around the high school and 207 acres on Burnt Hill Road. A 1988 state law already limits the parts that were farmed then to farm, conservation or recreation use. The township has held closed sessions and started the Green Acres paperwork, and the school district and the SAVE animal shelter have asked for pieces. No appraisal, price, vote or state approval is public.
What is happening
Montgomery Township is trying to acquire two tracts of state land in Skillman, about 395 acres in all, from the New Jersey Department of Corrections. “IT’S ABOUT 395 ACRES. WISH IT WAS LIKE 400 … BUT FOR FACTUAL SAKE IT’S 395,” the township’s Open Space and Stewardship Director said on March 5, 2026 (uncorrected captions). Press reports round it to 400. The March 5 minutes call it “the largest acquisition of property by the Township.”
The effort is at an early stage. As of this writing, the public record has no appraisal, no price, no contract, no Township Committee vote to buy, and no State House Commission agenda item. The Township Attorney called it “the first step in a very layered acquisition process” (March 5 minutes).
The two parcels
The township’s own closed-session resolution of May 15, 2025 identifies the land as “Block 25001, Lot 27 and Block 27001, Lot 7.01 (‘NJ Department of Corrections’).”
| Block 25001, Lot 27 | Block 27001, Lot 7.01 | |
|---|---|---|
| Name in the township press release | ”former Brookview Farm property" | "former site of Skillman Dairy Farm” |
| Acres (March 5, 2026 minutes) | 188 | 207 |
| Location | Route 601; “wraps around Montgomery High School; Rock Brook flows along south border” | Burnt Hill and Orchard roads; “confluence of Rock Brook and Bedens Brook” |
| Also on or next to it | Montgomery High School; the SAVE animal shelter | Skillman Village wastewater treatment plant; the former center’s “hilltop” cemetery |
| Part farmed in 1988 and restricted (farmland plan) | 152.97 acres | 161.59 acres (listed as Lot 7) |
| Tax-list assessment | $4,959,800 | $5,463,800 |
| Property tax | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| In the FEMA AE flood zone (tax record) | 25.93 acres | 51.51 acres |
On the names. The township’s March 11, 2026 press release, as quoted by The Montgomery News, calls the 188 acres around the high school the former Brookview Farm and the 207 acres on Burnt Hill Road the former Skillman Dairy Farm. The Administrator’s March 2025 column places the “old Skillman Dairy Farm” at 180 Burnt Hill Road. The March 5 minutes mention a “Former Brook View Dairy” without saying which tract it was. Because the sources do not all agree, this page uses block and lot numbers.
On the dollar figures. The assessments come from the tax list for tax-exempt state property. An assessment is not an appraisal and not a price. The school district said on September 17, 2026 that “THE PROPERTY HAS NOT YET BEEN APPRAISED” (uncorrected captions).
The 1988 law and the 2000 high-school carve-out
The land is already restricted by state law, whoever owns it. P.L.1988, c.135, approved October 5, 1988 and effective immediately, says in section 2:
“Any part of the following parcels of land, owned by the State and located in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, which on the effective date of this act is used for agricultural purposes shall, in perpetuity, be restricted to agricultural or horticultural use or conservation or recreation purposes and shall not be used for any other purpose: Block 25001, Lot 27; Block 27001, Lot 7; and Block 26001, Lot 1, excluding the part of Block 26001, Lot 1 the sale of which is authorized by section 1 of this act, on the Township of Montgomery tax map.”
Section 1 of the same law let the state sell about 18 acres of Block 26001 Lot 1 at public auction, under terms “approved by the State House Commission.” Block 26001 Lot 1 is not part of the current effort. The law names “Lot 7”; the state tract on today’s tax map is Lot 7.01.
The township’s 2026 Farmland Preservation Plan lists the restricted parts as preserved land: 152.97 acres of Lot 27 and 161.59 acres of Lot 7, each marked “(portion)” and “Easement Granted by Assembly Bill A-3401.” No public map shows exactly which acres those are.
In 2000 the state needed a second law to free part of Lot 27. P.L.2000, c.135, approved October 31, 2000, let the Treasury, “on behalf of the Department of Corrections,” sell “the 77+ acre parcel … that include[s] the former McCorkle Correctional Facility for Young Men, fronting on Somerset County Route 601.” It said that parcel “was, and is deemed to have been, excluded from the perpetual restriction” of the 1988 law “because the parcel was not used for agricultural purposes on October 5, 1988.” The restriction “applies and will continue to apply to the remainder of Block 25001, Lot 27.”
The 2000 law also gave “the Montgomery Township Board of Education an easement” across Lot 27 to Route 602, usable “for only as long as the parcel is developed and used as a public school facility.” It does not name a buyer. The remaining state land in Lot 27 now “wraps around Montgomery High School” (March 5 minutes).
How the township has pursued it
- February 2025. The Administrator wrote that staff “conducted a site visit with state officials” and that “the state has deemed the land surplus” (The Montgomery News, March 6, 2025).
- March 6, 2025. In her report to the Committee, the Administrator said “the State is initiating the sale of state property known as the ‘dairy farm’ located at the intersection of Burnt Hill Road and Orchard Road and some land by the high school to the Township” (minutes). The Mayor thanked “the Governor’s Office” for help with the sale.
- Closed sessions. The two lots were listed on the executive-session resolution of May 15, 2025 (#25-5-186), then removed that night “as there were no updates.” “State Lands” was listed for closed session on November 13, 2025 (#25-11-379) and at an April 30, 2026 special meeting (#26-4-151), each under “Potential Acquisition of Property for Open Space, Conservation, Recreation and/or Municipal Purposes.” Each resolution says any acquisition “shall only be approved by the Township Committee in a public session.”
- March 5, 2026. The first public presentation (meeting; timeline). The Director said the township was “KIND OF AT THE STAGES THREE AND FOUR” of the process: review by the Open Space Committee and Township Committee, and early due diligence.
- March 19 and 31, 2026. The Open Space Committee liaison called it “the very early stage of the acquisition process” (March 19 minutes). On March 31 the Administrator said “no decisions have been made regarding development of the property; that the Township does not even own it; and that there will be further discussions with the Open Space Committee” (clerk’s summary).
The Green Acres step. The township wants the state’s Green Acres program to pay half. “IT’S A 50% COST SHARE GRANT. IT’S NOT A LOAN,” the Director said, and it covers land cost and “ALL THE TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS.” Before an appraisal, Green Acres requires a pre-appraisal checklist that names any “exception areas” the township wants to keep out of park use. If those were named only after the appraisal, the Director said, “YOUR APPLICATION GOES TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE.” The minutes list the next steps as: submit the checklist, receive an “appraisal authorization,” and hire an appraiser from the Green Acres list. The State Historic Preservation Office had asked for more information on buildings.
The March sketch covered only the Burnt Hill Road tract. The Montgomery News reported about 73 acres of possible exceptions: a 15-acre recreation center site, a 25.53-acre public works yard, a 32.93-acre sewer plant expansion area, an Orchard Road right-of-way and the 1.28-acre cemetery. “THERE’S NOT ANY OFFICIAL COMMITMENT OF US DOING ANY OF THESE THINGS,” the Director said. No plan for the 188 acres near the high school was shown. Land bought with Green Acres money is restricted to park use. Lifting that later, the Director said, takes “AT LEAST … 18 MONTHS, TWO YEARS” before the State House Commission and “AT LEAST 2 TO 1 ON COMPENSATION LAND.”
In April 2026 the Committee raised its “Open Space Acquisition 5” Green Acres grant to $9,525,000 (timeline). That resolution does not name the state lands.
Who else is interested
The Open Space Committee. On March 5 a member said the committee had concerns about “the advanced stage of a conceptual commitment for uses other than open space” and asked for “a little more input into the discussion” (minutes). Speakers stressed the Rock Brook corridor.
SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals. On July 16, 2026, SAVE’s executive vice president and board president spoke “regarding SAVE’s interest in exploring expansion opportunities only if adjacent properties become available” (minutes; video at 1:24:02). In the uncorrected captions: “WE ARE NOT PLANNING AN EXPANSION PER SE. HOWEVER, SHOULD … THOSE ADJACENT PROPERTIES COME AVAILABLE AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO POTENTIALLY BUILD ON THOSE PROPERTIES … THEN WE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN IT,” and “WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR PARCELS ELSEWHERE.” SAVE also sent a letter, which is not posted. A resident spoke in support during public comment. No action was recorded (timeline).
The school district. On September 17, 2026, Superintendent Mary McLoughlin and Board of Education Vice President Maria Spina appeared “to formally express the District’s interest in the parcel of land located adjacent to the athletic stadium” (minutes; video, chapter at 1:56:30). In the uncorrected captions they said: “THE DISTRICT’S INTEREST TONIGHT SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED AS ANY COMMITMENT TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY OR A COMMITMENT TO ANY PURCHASE PRICE. THE PROPERTY HAS NOT YET BEEN APPRAISED,” and any purchase would be “SUBJECT TO THE APPROPRIATE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVAL.” A speaker on the dais then said there is “NO SPACE … NEXT TO THE FOOTBALL STADIUM TO … HAVE A CONCESSION STAND, TO HAVE BATHROOMS OUTSIDE.” From the dais: “WE WILL DEFINITELY KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS A REQUEST THE SCHOOLS HAD.” The minutes record no action (timeline).
Two days earlier, the Board of Education minutes of September 15 record that a board committee “received an update on land acquisition partnership with the Township.” The Board President “stated for the record that he recused himself for the discussion.” The minutes give no reason. We found no Board resolution authorizing the request.
How a state sale works
The State House Commission, a panel of executive-branch officials and legislators, approves sales of state land. The township’s press release says “final approval is granted by the NJ State House Commission,” and the Administrator wrote that the Commission “approves any sale of state land.”
Recent Commission agendas show a common pattern for selling surplus land to a neighbor or a town: a direct sale at the appraised value, with an internet auction as the fallback. On June 23, 2025, a Corrections parcel elsewhere was approved for “direct sale … for $2,080,000.00 … which is the appraised value.” On November 20, 2023, a state property was approved for “direct sale to the Borough of Manville for the appraised value of $870,000.” Those are examples, not rules; the terms for Montgomery’s land are not known.
We checked every Commission agenda posted on the Treasury site through September 24, 2026. None lists Block 25001 Lot 27 or Block 27001 Lot 7.01.
The township also said in March that it was looking at a donation. The minutes record that the Mayor “responded that the Township is exploring acquisition options including a land donation.”
What is not known
- Whether some proposed uses would need a new law. The 1988 law limits land farmed on October 5, 1988 to agriculture, horticulture, conservation or recreation, “and shall not be used for any other purpose.” In 2000 the state passed a separate law for the high-school parcel. Whether a public works yard, an indoor recreation building, a shelter building or school facilities would sit on restricted ground, and whether any of them would need another act of the Legislature, is an open question. No official has explained it in public, and no map of the restricted acres is public. Whether school athletic uses count as “recreation” under the 1988 law is also unanswered.
- Whether the pre-appraisal checklist has gone to Green Acres, and whether an appraisal has been authorized.
- Any letter, term sheet or contract with the Treasury or the Department of Corrections, and whether the transfer would be a purchase, a negotiated price or a donation.
- How the 1988 restriction would affect an appraisal.
- Which land, how many acres and what use the school district and SAVE have in mind, and what SAVE’s letter says.
- The results of the historic preservation review and the condition of the old dairy buildings.
What residents can do
- Speak at Township Committee meetings, generally the first and third Thursday at 7 p.m. (calendar). Any purchase must be approved in a public session. Watch for a purchase resolution, an ordinance or an open-space trust appropriation.
- Attend the Open Space Committee. The Administrator said there “will be further discussions” with it.
- Speak at the Board of Education. Any district purchase needs a Board vote.
- Watch State House Commission agendas at nj.gov/treasury/statehouse-commission. Meetings are public. Contact: StateHouseCommission@treas.nj.gov.
- Ask your state legislators whether any bill to change the 1988 restriction is being drafted.
- Request records from the Township Clerk under the Open Public Records Act: the Green Acres pre-appraisal checklist and maps, the exception-area sketch, correspondence with the Treasury, the Department of Corrections and the Historic Preservation Office, SAVE’s July 2026 letter and any written request from the school district.
Related: the farmland preservation issue, the Orchard Road reconstruction and the wastewater consolidation, which involves the Skillman Village plant.