In New Jersey, disputes over use of farms to host events

For Tuckahoe Turf Farms, use of its sprawling fields by soccer teams is simply a no-brainer: It grows turf for recreational venues, so allowing games on the farm is a way to market the product and demonstrate its quality.

What difference is there between Tuckahoe's use of its land and farms that operate corn mazes and hay rides to draw customers to buy produce? lawyers for the soccer league and farm ask.

Over the last four years, thousands of people have turned out for the games held by the Mid-Atlantic Soccer Showcase League at the sprawling farm in the 400 block of North Myrtle Street - with no harm to the land, the attorneys say.

But the Pinelands Commission has ordered all soccer games and practices to cease after Nov. 30, saying they violate preserved land deed restrictions that allow only low-intensity recreation.

The dispute is one of several that have flared across the state as deed-restricted farms and wineries have been prevented from holding events on their land by the State Agricultural Development Committee and state and county boards, which enforce limits on preserved tracts.

The owners of the turf farm, the Betts family, whose lawyer acted as spokesman, agreed in the 1990s to give up development of the land, focusing mainly on agriculture, when they sold the farm's Pinelands Development Credits for $276,500, officials said.

Acceptable nonagricultural activities include hiking, hunting, trapping, fishing, canoeing, nature studies, horseback riding, and bicycling - not large sports events, commission officials said.

"There are thousands of people at every [soccer] event, with hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of cars," said Nancy Wittenberg, executive director of the Pinelands Commission. "The majority are from out of state.

"This is not about a few local kids running around on a soccer field, and this is clearly not low-intensity recreation," said Wittenberg, who witnessed an event on her own over the Memorial Day weekend. "We have a basic disagreement over the interpretation of our rules."

The fields can easily accommodate up to 60 games at a time, though typically there are no more than 30 or 40 at events, said Andrew Robins, a lawyer for the Mid-Atlantic Soccer Showcase League.

"The intensity is not in the number of people but how it changes the land," Robins said. "This does nothing to change the land; there's zero intensity.

"If you go to an event Friday and come back on Monday, you can't tell the difference," he said. "There are no stands or permanent structures, just the synergy of perfect fields."

Tuckahoe's owners focused more of their operation on recreational venues after commercial and residential turf business dropped off because of the economic downturn, said the farm's lawyer, William Harrison.

Letting the soccer teams use the fields is a way of promoting their turf to sports and recreational venues, such as stadiums and schools, Harrison said. College coaches and representatives often visit the games looking for possible recruits - and notice the grounds.

What Tuckahoe is doing "is not a new use; it's no different than farms bringing people in with a corn maze," said Harrison. "And it's no less allowed whether there are five or one thousand people going through the maze.

"The only difference is that the crop is not something you taste or eat," he said. "You play on it."

Several state lawmakers, including Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Bob Andrzejczak (both D., Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic); John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem), and Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic), have sponsored legislation that would qualify any temporary recreational event that does not involve permanent structures or harm to agricultural use of land as low-intensity recreation. It's awaiting action.

"If they pass a law, we will have to change rules to implement it," Wittenberg said. "But any changes in our rules have to be approved by the federal Department of the Interior.

"We answer to more than one master," she said. "We are a state entity, a commission, and we have federal oversight. We don't just change things."

In the meantime, Robins said the Mid-Atlantic Soccer Showcase League was "looking to work through the issues" with the Pinelands Commission and municipal officials. "We think [soccer] is a wonderful use with a unique feature," he said. "You can't replicate it anywhere else."

Robins has filed an application, as recommended by the commission, to use the farm for soccer games beyond the Nov. 30 cutoff. The commission is likely to make its decision within a few weeks or months, Wittenberg said.

The controversy over deed-restricted land is echoed at other farms outside of the Pinelands, especially among wineries that want to host weddings, festivals, farmers markets, and other events on their preserved land.

The state, for instance, has dozens of licensed vineyards, but at least 19 are limited because of the restrictions.

Gov. Christie signed legislation into law setting up a pilot program to allow events on preserved land if they follow site-plan reviews, noise controls, and other conditions.

"We're trying to keep farms going in the state," said Gary Pavlis, a Rutgers University professor and Atlantic County extension agent who oversees the statewide grape and blueberry production. The weddings and other events "help wineries survive."

In Warren County, though, deed restrictions on Rob Schanzlin's preserved farm in Harmony Township forced him to cancel this year's annual pumpkin launch, which typically attracted nearly 5,000 people.

About 10 years ago, he had put about 200 acres into farmland preservation, receiving about $4,200 an acre. The money came at a price, though. The county's Agriculture Development Board informed him that the pumpkin event violated the deed restrictions.

"I was trying to find an avenue to generate revenue," Schanzlin said. "You couldn't tell there was an event there after it was done." The event will be held in the Poconos this year.

In Hammonton, the debate over the soccer games continues.

The issue "is land use, and they [turf farm owners] violate the land-use standard," Wittenberg said. "This is agricultural production land."