June 3, 2024 at 6 p.m. - Proposed Amendment to Stockton University's Deed of Conservation Restriction on its Galloway Township Campus

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has received a request for a partial release of a Deed of Conservation Restriction. The Conservation Restriction was granted to the Department by The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (now Stockton University) on October 7, 2010 as a condition of the approval by the Pinelands Commission of the April 2010 Master Plan for the University. Under the Conservation Restriction, about 1,232 acres of land owned by the University were restricted from future development. Of these lands, 1,005 acres are located on the University campus and 227 acres are located off the University campus.

The boundaries of the deed restricted area were established in the 2010 Conservation Restriction using a color-coded exhibit that was part of the 2010 Master Plan. However, as the Pinelands Commission’s and the University’s facilities staff began to research the base maps that were used for the creation of the exhibit, it became clear that the exhibit lacked the level of accuracy required to determine the precise boundaries of the deed restricted lands at the Galloway campus. In turn, this lack of accuracy was an impediment to implementing improvements to existing infrastructure that are critical to the University’s operation. In order to address these issues, the University and the Pinelands Commission have now agreed to changes to the April 2010 Master Plan and corresponding modifications of the areas restricted under the Conservation Restriction.

The proposed modification will remove restrictions from approximately 33.001 acres of land currently restricted under the Conservation Restriction and impose those restrictions on approximately 35.345 acres of presently unrestricted lands. Overall, the modifications to the Conservation Restriction will result in a net gain of approximately 2.344 acres of deed restricted land.

The lifting of restrictions from lands owned by the University constitutes a “release” of those restrictions under the Conservation Restriction Act. Therefore, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 13:8B-5, the Department, as the holder of the conservation restriction, will be conducting a public hearing on the proposed partial release prior to making a final determination on this request.

Under N.J.S.A. 13:8B-6, the approval of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection is also required for the proposed partial release.

Link to Full Public Hearing Notice

The public hearing will be conducted remotely and broadcast live on the Pinelands Commission’s YouTube channel.

To view the hearing live, please visit:  https://www.youtube.com/live/5BkPElTVmiQ?feature=shared

To provide public comment during the hearing, please call (929) 205-6099 and use Meeting ID 846 9922 3567