Wetlands Properties
Evening all,
In the house hunt, one place we're looking at is about a 6 acre lot, with about 5 acres being wooded and classified as wetlands. I'm wondering if there's anything that can be done with this or if there are any tax benefits or anything that could be done.
Thanks for the input.
btownguy When I leved in Maryland we had protected wetlands on part of our property and also government owned wetlands beyond that. They had lists of rules in regards to no permanent structures every being placed on it, we could not remove trees unless approved so dure to disease or hazzard stuff like that.
jdem I would think having wetlands is more of a pain than a bonus.
Pretty much the land can never be used for anything other than wetlands.
Mark Mc. Call the tax assessor's office and see if any reduction has been made to the land value for the wetlands. keep in mind though that the first 1 to 2 acres has the most value, the rest is assessed as excess acreage. jdem is referring to a conservation easement on the property which does restrict what can be done on the property within the easement. The assessor can check the deed to see if there are any easements on the property.
indy5Tax benefit?? Be careful if it's not declared in the flood plain then you can't get insurance. Yet it could well flood and then it's not covered.
What do you mean by "what can be done with it"? Do you mean you can you build on it? Even if you could, something wet like that isn't where you would want to.
GC Nothing wrong with preserving 5 acres of woods in my book:) I know where we are when trees had to be removed for the new septic drain area, they had to be replaced. One for every two. Pretty hard to find the area to plant trees on already wooded lots but I understand why.
blackcat Oh, there's nothing wrong with preserving it at all! In fact, I would LOVE to own it for the fact that nature would be there. I'm more so inquiring about the taxes, so thanks for the heads up. Not looking to build or do anything with it, except maybe get a tax break :).
Thankfully, there's about 50 feet of elevation between the wetlands and the house - there's a hill out back that goes down the wetlands area.
I understand wetlands preservation to prevent commercial development...
But on a 5 acre private lot it would be nice to be able to put up a shed, or a fence without big brother telling you what you can't build on your own land.
I remember a long, expensive lawsuit in Flemington. The property was wetlands. I recall that the homeowner wanted to improve a driveway. DEP said no way. If you want land that you can do what you want with, it is not the way to go. If you just want to keep it as is, no problem.
maja I have about 7 acres that are considered wetlands. Someone told me there is some type of farm assessment you could get for wetlands but in all my searching I have not been able to find anything. One day if I have some time I may call the local Rutgers Co-Op and see if they can help me with this.
I can tell you wetlands are a pain if you ever want to do any type of construction on your place. I have a brook that runs through my backyard. Without going through the DEP and getting all special permits, I cannot change the foot print of our house in any way. My neighbor did a big construction project on his house and I believe DEP permits exceeded $10K or $20K (I forget what he said).
M & K We can only go up in height if we want to expand the house. The good part is that if my neighbors tear down their house they can't put a McMansion up either.
hjc What does eminent domain have to do with wetlands? If anything, you are less likely to have an eminent domain issue on a wetlands property than an uplands property.
gadfly You should look at the town's ordinance for wetlands. Most towns will not let you put anything in the wetland area, swing sets, sheds, decks, etc. By placing something in the area, you are taking away from the intent and that is exactly what they dont want
There are some ways around it, going to DEP and getting an agreement with them, but it can be costly and extremely time consuming.
nutty 
John C Again, the wetlands area on this property is essentially useless for any sort of building needs.
How close to the wetlands are you allowed to build? There's probably a buffer.
Even if I didn't have plans for structures on that part of the property I'd worry about something as simple as fire pits, sheds, jungle gyms for the kids, whatever... If the state catches wind of it, you'd probably be required to tear it out, then apply for a permit to rebuild.
If you honestly do want to leave it wild forever, there's no problem. Personally I like having the freedom to use every part of my property if desired.
btownguy
If there are 5 acres of wetlands, I'm sure the current owner's taxes reflect that. But to make sure, call the tax assessor and ask for the land value. It should be broken down ie. the 1 acre that is more valuable and then the 5 acres.
The NJDEP protects wetlands under the New Jersey Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act. The differences in regulations depend on the wetland itself, ecosystems involved, and lots of other factors like possible water ways in the area. Around wetlands, again depending on the wetland so each case is at least semi-individual, there are requirements for buffer zones. Definitely contact the DEP to find out more about what you would have to deal with and abide by if you buy this property. From an environmental standpoint, putting in things like a septic system and what not could be difficult (under regulations) because the waste water can affect the ecosystem and the overall quality of the wetland. There are cases that if this is just a wetland without connects to other ones int he area, the DEP sometimes let's you do what ever you want, but again, it varies so no definitive answer can be given to you on a board like this.
Wetlands actually do a lot of good, even though they're not attractive (control flooding, or at least slow it done, maintain species diversity, and lots of other stuff). Because of NJ's huge amounts of development, wetlands have been destroyed, southern jersey especially so that's why NJ has such extensive regulations controlling wetlands and use around wetlands.
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