Update: 4/30/24

Lake Lefferts Woods to be Preserved as Open Space!!!

Tuesday, 4/16/24 at the latest Matawan Borough Council meeting, Mayor Joseph Altomonte was proud to share that Matawan Borough is negotiating a contract to purchase Lefferts Woods, the property behind Presbyterian Church/Nursery School, for open space and the applicant has pulled their application from the planning board.

THANK YOU to Mayor Altomonte, Council President Deana Gunn, the Matawan Borough Council, and the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan for listening to us! 

THANK YOU to the hundreds who signed our petition, attended meetings and told neighbors about this project. These woods could not have been saved without you all!

Final updates once the contracts have been signed will be provided with details. Lake Lefferts Woods will now be enjoyed by generations to come. It is a great day for Matawan! 

-John Lazar

 

Update: Lefferts Woods Zoning application postponed until May 6, 2024 meeting of the Matawan Planning & Zoning Board

The application has been postponed by the applicant until the May 6th meeting. Thank you to all the residents and concerned citizens who joined us last night. 

Our plan is still to voice our opposition as a community to the zoning variance that would allow these change to the lots. Next meeting will be May 6 2024, 7 pm at Matawan Borough Hall, 201 Broad Street

Please follow our page for continued updates.

We are a group of local neighbors who want to help save and preserve the last undeveloped lot on Lake Lefferts in Matawan from being turned into single family homes. This land would be much better suited as a nature preserve or park with walking trails, fishing docks and kayak launches. 

Please sign and share our petition to show your support for keeping this land preserved and that the Matawan Planning/Zoning Board should not grant a zoning variance that would allow the land to be leveled for three single family homes. 

A group of local neighbors were present at the November 6th meeting where the application to allow this was supposed to be heard. Thankfully, the matter was postponed until the next full zoning meeting (April 2024). There is still time to let our voices be heard and stop this lakeside forest from disappearing forever. 

Redevelopment of derelict and abandoned properties around town is one thing, but tearing down trees to put more homes on our lake is not something we can sit by and just watch. 

Some further information:

The First Presbyterian Church has a developer who approached them looking to purchase the back portion of the Church’s property located on Route 34 and Lake Lefferts (directly across from MJ’s). This 5 acre property represents the last large lot that is undeveloped on the banks of Lake Lefferts in Matawan. In order for this sale to happen, a zoning variance that would subdivide the church property needs to be approved by the Matawan Planning/Zoning Board. Although we disagree, we should not blame the First Presbyterian Church. They are good people who contribute much to our community and are only trying to gain funds to repair their building.  Instead, our aim is to work towards a solution that benefits all in the community, including the Church. 

These woods have remained untouched for hundreds of years and are home to a multitude of wildlife such as eagles, osprey, deer, raccoons, possums and foxes. This location on the lake is also historical. The banks of the lake are thought by historians to be the landing site of the first Presbyterian settlers who journeyed to Monmouth county from Scotland in the 1680’s.

This land has been the topic of discussion for several years within our neighborhood. This lot deserves to be preserved and would make a great addition to our town or County as a park or nature preserve with walking trails, informational placards on the wildlife/history, and fishing docks with kayak launches.

Solution:

Our plan is to voice our opposition as a community to the zoning variance that would allow this change to the lots at the April 1, 2024 Matawan Planning/Zoning Board meeting at Borough Hall. The next step would be working with the County and Matawan Borough leadership, Church leadership and local groups to find a way to preserve this land through grants and other funding sources. This plan would allow the entire community the ability to enjoy this park along Lake Lefferts for generations to come.

Please join us and help save the woods of Lake Lefferts. Once these woods are gone, they are gone forever.