By Barbara A. Preston | Posted June 13, 2024
There is a new farm business in the works in Montgomery Township — on the site of the former 190-acre Selody Sod Farm across the street from Montgomery High School.
The preserved farm property, which has a vintage wooden barn built in 1831, sold for $2.35 million in September 2021, according to real estate records. The asking price had been $3 million.
The new owner, Maulesh Patel, who owns a Holiday Inn franchise, has chosen the name Princeton Farms & Preserves for the business — much to the chagrin of Montgomery Township Committeewoman Devra Keenan. She made her opinion clear at the Montgomery Township Committee meeting on May 16 that the name should include either "Skillman" or "Montgomery" but not "Princeton."
Princeton Farms & Preserves, the former Selody Sod Farm at 991 Belle Mead-Blawenburg Road (across from Montgomery High School). The sign was there earlier this year but was missing from the entrance in May. Photo by Barbara A. Preston..
"You are in Montgomery, sir," Keenan told Patel. "Personally, I am not going to approve anything that has the name Princeton. You are in Montgomery, and I think it would have been a much smarter move to call it Montgomery Farms & Preserves."
"Princeton is down the street if you want to go have your farm there," she added.
Patel is in the process of lining up his permits. He appeared before Montgomery Township Committee on May 16 to ask about getting a permit to host Special Occasion Events (SOEs).
He told Committeewoman Keenan he is sorry if he hurt her feelings by naming it Princeton Farms & Preserves. "A lot of our residents like to go to Princeton. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two towns. There is not animosity."
Keenan interrupted. "Sir," she said, "Your farm is right across the street from Montgomery High School. It is inappropriate to call your farm Princeton. We are proud of Montgomery."
Patel concluded, saying, "I will let you have your opinion and I will just let it be like that. I’m just here for the permit. In all fair-mindedness, I ask you to consider it.”
Montgomery Township Attorney Wendy Rubenstein Quiroga explained to Township Committee that state law allows preserved farms to host up to 26 SOEs per year. “We do love our farms here. And we have a lot of [preserved] farms here in Montgomery,” she said.
State lawmakers were looking for ways to help preserve farms in the Garden State, Rubenstein Quiroga said. “The law [now] allows for farms of a certain size to use less than 10 percent of their acreage to hold special outdoor events, for example, weddings and family functions.”
Princeton Farms & Preserve is looking to capitalize on this allowance.
Mayor Neena Singh, left, with Maulesh Patel during a May in Montgomery event at the farm.
Farmer Patel said there are limited venues in Montgomery Township for special events. “I would love for this farm to become part of the community and to become the venue for township residents — especially for non-profits and other [organizations] in the town.”
He said his attorney will continue to work with public officials to get the process in place that will allow the farm to host its allotment of special events.
It is unknown what type of farming will take place on the property.
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Montgomery Township Clerk Lisa Fania said that Princeton Farms submitted an application to the NJ State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC), which administers the Farmland Preservation Program.
The farm is awaiting approval from the state for its request to hold Special Occasion Events.
A complication exists, though, in that Montgomery Township officials require property owners or event hosts to complete an Outdoor Assembly Permit Application for each special event or outdoor assembly when more than 200 persons are expected.
The application form requires detailed information and must be submitted no later than 30 days prior to each event.
Princeton Farms has applied for just one outdoor assembly permit for the entire year.
“The application [submitted] does not include any dates, times, or specifics about each event,” Fania said. “They are supposed to supply traffic plans, a sanitary plan, and more details.”
Township Attorney Rubenstein Quiroga said the state is only regulating the footprint of the event, and how many times per year that events are allowed. The state wants to ensure farms are able to hold the events to generate income and remain sustainable and profitable. “The problem is, the township’s outdoor assembly permit does not really contemplate this kind of situation, where the state is giving a blanket approval [for the year],” she said.
“However, that state approval doesn’t take away the need for the township officials to know whether there are 250 guests, or so many guests that you need a traffic plan or security,” Rubenstein Quiroga said.
If there are food vendors on site, for example, that is the purview of the municipal health department.
“All those types of inspections the township normally provides is done via an outdoor assembly permit,” she said.
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The township attorney will work with the clerk on a new special occasion event permit for farms and bring it back to the Township Committee for approval at a future date.
“The township has the right to regulate the health, safety, and welfare of the public when these events are happening,” the township attorney said.
Issues such as noise, and even whether the venue will have enough portable-potties for the number of guests on site will likely need to be address. The historic farm had an on site septic system for a single-family home. ■
The Selody Sod Farm in 2018. (File photo by Barbara A. Preston)
By Lea Florentine | Reported in the November 2018 print issue of The Montgomery News.
Ken Selody listed his 180-acre sod farm in Skillman for $3 million. The property, which is part of the New Jersey farmland preservation program, could be used for farming or a multitude of agritourism ventures.
Selody, who is was 81 years old at the time, muses, “It was a good life.”
Selody grew up on a dairy farm by Manville. In the 1930s, landscapers began coming from New York City to cut sod from his family farm’s 60-acre pasture. With the rise in housing developments in the 1950s, the Selodys started cultivating sod on their farm.
After attending Wilkes College, Selody taught social studies, world history, and geography in Manville for two years and also served in the Army Reserves for eight years. Meanwhile, the sod business continued to grow.
Following an accident his father had while using a tractor, Selody began working on the farm in 1960 to help. In 2004, Selody purchased 275 acres in Skillman from the State of NJ. This land is now bordered by Skillman Park to the south, and included what is now the Hunter Farms North / Princeton Show Jumping equestrian facility.
At one time, the farm was the site of apple and peach orchards for Skillman Village. Historic Walnut Lodge and its picturesque long barn are situated near the western edge of this property.
The new owner of the property, Maulesh Patel, has re-sided the historic barn. Photo taken in May, 2024, by Barbara A. Preston.
About 20 years ago, Martha Stewart had interviewed Selody on his farm. In the video, he explains how sod is grown, harvested, and transported, and also how to place and establish it.
Stewart also interviewed Selody’s son Kenneth Selody II regarding his company Atlock Flower Farm, located on Weston Canal Road in Somerset, and the annuals he grew there. Selody’s other son, Todd, has worked with his father on the sod farm for many years.
After 60 years of marriage, Selody’s wife, Luba, died in 2017. He moved in with his daughter Nicole to enjoy spending time with his two grandchildren in Walnut Lodge.
Looking back, he says, “It was a good family operation. We had a good run.”
The property, which includes two parcels, has views of the Sourland Mountains. Each parcel
is allowed a single family home up to 4,500 square feet each and ancillary farm buildings.
Underground irrigation is in place, which provides water to most of the property. An existing
well can pump about 300 gallons a minute. Public water and natural gas are available on the street.
An ad for the site stated, “Here is a once in a lifetime chance to purchase one of Montgomery’s few remaining large-acreage farm sites in the heart of Skillman.” ■
Seems like City Council member wants local farmers to fail and build “Affordable Housing”.
Shameless harassment of small business and farmers.
I hope that Montgomery township has looked closely at the deed restrictions that the state attached when the land was put into farmland preservation and then actioned off. Some restrictions are within those deeds.
The permit, if legally possible, shoud be denied if Mr. Patel does not agree to the name change. As a long time resident I also am proud of our township and although I also like Princeton, we are NOT Princeton. Good for you Devra!!!
This is not the first time this farm has had a permitting problem. The article says "An existing
well can pump about 300 gallons a minute." As I recall, Princeton Show Jumping exists because whichever authority controls ground water would not allow Mr. Selody to pump as much as he estimated he needed for his sod operation on all his acreage, and he sold off part of what he had bought from the state to Hunter Farms. (BTW, I truly applaud Ms. Keenan putting Mr. Princeton Symbiosis in his place.) DEU