Restored Tracks Will Return Some Train Service rough Howell Farming ‘Lessons’ Not Permi ed In Land Use Case

By Stephanie Faughnan

HOWELL – Sprouts, a private membership association (“PMA”) which leased farmland to enhance children’s knowledge about agriculture, suffered a legal blow in court.

A Monmouth County Superior Court judge agreed with Howell Township officials that Sprouts’ use of the property was not permitted under its local ordinances.

Sprouts is one of four farms located at 505 Newtons Corner Road and falls in the ARE-2 Agricultural Zone for agricultural and horticultural uses. The local ordinance specifies other permitted and conditional uses of property within the zone, all seemingly unrelated to how Sprouts used their leased farm.

Howell brought the case against Sprouts after witnessing children on the farm during the school day. The majority of the youngsters who participate in the PMA are homeschooled by their families. No claims have been made suggesting truancy prompted the legal action.

By Stephanie Faughnan HOWELL –

The “clickety-clack” sound of train wheels rolling over the rails stopped on Howell Road more than a few decades ago. While the tracks remained intact, an overgrowth of brush camouflaged their existence – something about to change.

Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC serves as the current owners of the rail lines and have contracted to clear the tracks so they can be put back into operation. Unfortunately, no one from the company responded to requests for further information.

The plan appears to include clearing the ten miles

(Train - See Page 2)

State To Investigate Monmouth County 2022 General Election

By Alyssa Riccardi

MONMOUTH COUNTY – Former

Attorney General and federal prosecutor

Peter C. Harvey will be investigating the administration of the November 2022 General Election in Monmouth County due to alleged voting machine irregularities, officials said.

“Protecting New Jerseyans’ right to vote in a free and fair election is paramount to our democracy, and ensuring the integrity of that process is essential,” Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. “Based on public reports regarding the 2022 General Election in Monmouth County, a full investigation is warranted to encourage and preserve public trust in our elections, including recommendations for reforms to benefit the conduct of contests statewide.”

“Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, and our elections must always be free and fair,” said Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “It is critical that our elections comply with all applicable civil rights laws. Voters in New Jersey deserve no less. I am grateful for Attorney General Platkin’s continued leadership in protecting the right to vote.” Investigation was probed after reports

(Investigate - See Page 2)

Judge Lourdes Lucas took over an hour to deliver a detailed legal opinion after reviewing briefs submitted on behalf of the parties. “The defendants (Sprouts) argued that its members meet on the farm for agricultural purposes and to communicate knowledge and information about farming and agriculture to its member children,” said Lucas. “Sprouts maintains that the township has not shown that Sprouts members using the land to gather and engage in agricultural activities and pass on knowledge about agricultural is incompatible with the permitted land use.”

Howell Township’s definition of agricultural and horticultural mirrors New Jersey’s Farmland Assessment Act, which includes using land to produce plants and animals useful to man. Livestock and crops serve as examples of what meets the criteria for determining what falls into the agricultural criteria.

Among other things, the Sprouts Farm serves as home to some chickens, goats, and pigs. However, that’s not what is in dispute as it pertains to the permitted use under zoning laws.

(Farming - See Page 4)

Train:

Continued From Page 1 of track from Okerson Road in Freehold all the way to Farmingdale. The next step will be replacing the existing rails, which will be exclusively used to transport freight between the two points.

At the most recent Town Council meeting, Township Administrator Joe Clark said that Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC acquired some of the old Conrail routes and had already begun freight service.

“They used to run on Thursday nights,” Clark shared. “Last fall, they switched to running twice a week during the day. The train crosses Asbury, Old Tavern, and Maxim Oak Glen Road and terminates in Lakewood.”

According to Clark, the freight service continues to Lakewood, where its primary customer is a lumber yard.

Federal laws dictate the use of the railroad tracks, and while right of ways are generally 66 feet from the center of the track, Clark said he understands the company only plans to clear 24 feet. Repairing the roadway crossings and reinstalling the tracks may not conclude until spring or summer. Even before township officials announced the restoration of the train tracks, one local man broke the news on social media. Anthony Ribera, 42, is a lifetime Howell resident and a dedicated railfan, otherwise referred to as a “ferroequinologist” or someone conversant in “iron horses.”

“As I understand it, Chesapeake & Delaware Railroad took over operating rights and is improving freight rail service throughout Monmouth County,” said Ribera. “New Jersey Transit no longer wants freight trains on the Coastline, so that alone was a big push to get this line resurrected.”

Ribera explained that freight comes from the Sayerville “Brown Yards,” and to get to the Southern Division, the train would have to run to South Amboy and get switched onto the New Jersey Transit tracks in Red Bank to connect.

“Once this trackage is reopened, trains can just run to Jamesburg and beyond without having to even touch New Jersey Transit trackage,” Ribera explained. “Instead, the railroad can reach both of its lines via one track.”

Railroads weren’t exactly an anomaly in years past, with the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad making its debut in 1853 in Howell. Several other railroads also entered the picture, ultimately leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad. These provided for passenger service together with freight trains.

Remnants of the Howell train station’s ticket booth sit on abandoned property across from the area where workers were busy clearing the tracks on Howell Road. Passenger service to Howell proper stopped sometime before 1960, although commuters (Train - See Page 2)

Investigate:

Continued From Page 1 of alleged incidents of voting machine irregularities in the 2022 General Election in Monmouth County. The investigation will determine whether anyone or anything has engaged in any practice deemed unlawful under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act.

Based on the outcome, the fi rm will propose public recommendations for reform for future elections in the state.

Investigation will be overseen by Harvey, who served as Attorney General from 2003 to 2006. As Attorney General, he “managed compliance for the New Jersey State Police against the U.S. Department of Justice’s consent decree, implemented a fi rst-of-its-kind racial profi le training for law enforcement officers in New Jersey, and chaired the state’s Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force.”

Harvey previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he prosecuted cases involving fi nancial fraud and organized crime.

The Voter Protection Initiative was established by Attorney General Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights prior to the 2022 General Election in order to enable a fair, free, and smooth-running election, and to protect the right to vote. This initiative focused on identifying and addressing any interference with voting or civil rights that arose during early voting and on Election Day.

Train:

Continued From Page 2 could still hop aboard in Farmingdale two years later.

An April 29, 1962 train schedule marked a fourteen-minute difference between the stop from Freehold to Farmingdale. Travel from the Farmingdale stop to Allenwood was a mere eight minutes. Previously, Howell was the stop after Freehold, with four additional stops before Allenwood.

The Doodlebug train debuted on the tracks starting in 1876, ran from Red Bank to Trenton, and could only hold 73 passengers.

The Doodlebug stopped in Farmingdale and turned out to be a fi nancial nightmare, especially after 40 Catholic high school students turned to bus transportation to get back and forth to school

Howell was among the towns that petitioned government authorities to stop the Pennsylvania Railroad from discontinuing the passenger service. Nevertheless, the attempts failed, and the last local commuter runs ended in 1962.

Several people who saw Ribera’s informative posts on social media responded with questions, including a woman who said she lived three counties away and worked locally.

“I’m just fantasizing about taking a train to work instead of driving two hours every day,” Sarah Lewis wrote. “I live right by two train stations and keep saying that if I could veg, watch, scroll, work during those hours, I’d be so much better off !”

Rail travel profits declined for decades, which has resulted in changes over the years. Nevertheless, even as far back as the 1940s, major newspapers advocated for trains to meet the needs of the growing population south of the Driscoll Bridge.

Ribera is not just happy that a piece of history has returned to Howell. He hopes that commuter trains are also on the horizon as they would cut down local traffic.

“The lines being restored once crossed with those where the famous Blue Comet ran through Farmingdale,” said Ribera. “One of the best things about trains is their efficiency in moving people and goods.”

Join e Emergency Management Team

HOWELL – The Howell Township Office of Emergency Management is always looking for volunteers to join the team!

To join, it is easy and very rewarding. As a member of OEM, you receive free training, get to meet new people and you have the opportunity to help the community. There are a variety of functions and roles that are available.

You can become a Responder, which involves responding to emergencies, car accidents, community outreach, supporting their partner emergency services agencies and more. They also have a Hazardous Materials team. This team handles hazmat resources and responses in conjunction with the Southard Fire Department Hazardous Material Team in Howell Township and their neighboring towns.

A volunteer’s time and availability are valued by the staff. They work hard to accommodate all schedules.

If you are interested in joining, complete the following application: twp.howell.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/8383/ OEM-Membership-Application-2022.

Farming:

Continued From Page 1

Lucas said she reviewed some advertisements for Sprouts PMA that specifically referenced activities and learning objectives outside the purview of agriculture and horticulture. Participants were charged a fee for programs that typically ran for eight weeks.

Children were divided by age and offered what the court referenced as “traditional formal education” in reading, math, science, engineering, art, and technology.

“…Incorporated within these programs are aspects of farm life and farming,” acknowledged Lucas. “While the focus of some of the offerings may be targeted to be related to agriculture or horticulture, the substance of the activity on the property, this court fi nds certainly takes the form of non-traditional schooling or day camp operations.”

Howell’s application to the court further maintained that Sprouts was illegally operating as either a school or a day camp. Lucas not only ran through the legal definition and state licensing constraints for both types of entities but also included requirements for childcare centers.

PMA leaders countered the township’s assertions, saying Sprouts members specifically came together to pass ideas, knowledge, and values onto their children about agriculture, nature, and healthy eating. They further contended that the passing on of those views represented a private expressive activity recognized as a constitutionally protected form of association.

“Sprouts maintains that conducting education is expressive activity,” Lucas said. “And, even under the Township’s framing of the activity in question, such is protected as private, expressive activity, requiring strict scrutiny.”

A United States Supreme Court case states that the “interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized.” Since this included directing their children’s education, Sprouts families maintained it was their right to gather with other families who shared similar values to enrich their home-educated children with skills related to agriculture.

According to Lucas, the issue of whether Howell officials intended to infringe on the parents’ constitutional rights required strict scrutiny. Notices of violation served to Sprouts pertained to the erection of structures without appropriate approvals. Howell maintained that Sprouts never applied for a conditional use application and instead violated local ordinances. Therefore, the township’s enforcement of the land use ordinance arose from Sprouts’ failure to obtain necessary use and structure approvals unrelated to their associational activities.

Indeed, Lucas said that any hardships experienced by Sprouts were specifically mitigated by their own failures to follow procedures in place. They could have attempted to obtain a variance for their use of the premises. For this reason, the court did not address the constitutional arguments raised by the defendants.

The court determined Howell had not provided enough clear and convincing evidence that the Sprouts operation constituted a school, summer camp, or childcare center. Nonetheless, the judge agreed with township officials its use didn’t meet the criteria as permissible under agricultural or horticultural zoning requirements.

“These defi nitions, which are specific to the production of plants, fruits, and animals for sale, contain no reference to the operation of any form of child development program,” Lucas said. “Whether that program be educational, recreation, or for purposes of exploring inner workings of life on a farm.”

Violations on the Sprouts farm that included erection of certain improvements completed without permits will need to be abated or structures removed from the land.

The judge emphasized the necessity to follow local ordinances as far as both permissible use and permit requirements. Otherwise, the township’s legislative and enforcement roles would effectively be paralyzed, negated, and neutralized.

Dana Wefer, attorney for Sprouts and other individually named defendants, said she is almost certain they will appeal the judge’s decision.

“The only real finding the judge made is that using the farmland to educate the children about farm work is not an agricultural use of the land,” said Wefer. “The general precept of judicial interpretation is that they’re not supposed to raise constitutional issues unless they have to, so courts try to avoid it.”

Wefer said that she thinks this is one time the issue needed to be addressed as it dealt with the meeting of the PMA members. The judge’s order could prove to be interesting as far as putting an end to children coming together as Sprouts members.

“I’m curious how it’s going to be worded in such a way that won’t be an obvious infringement on the First Amendment rights of association,” Wefer shared. “I think there might also be other concerns that the town has and my clients just got dragged into them.”

Attorney Christopher Dasti brought the lawsuit on behalf of the municipality and emphasized the town has a legal obligation under its municipal land use law and zoning and land use regulations.

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“Talking in generalities, this means making sure properties are used for their intended zoning purposes,” said Dasti. “That also means guarding and providing for the safety and general welfare of the public.”

Scout Award Nominations

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FARMINGDALE – Nominations are now open for the 2023 Regional Adult Awards and Recognitions for the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore.

Deadline to nominate for the Regional Awards is March 1.

Volunteers are the backbone of the Girl Scout organization. As mentors to girls, they inspire, motivate, and are instrumental in delivering the Girl Scout program. This year, more than ever, Girl Scout volunteers shared their time, creativity, and boundless energy to keep girls engaged and connected.

2023 Regional Awards Nomination Form: jerseyshoregirlscouts.wufoo.com/forms/ r1kz17af0mnmsk9.

Learn more at gsFun.org/volunteerawards.