Developer with controversial plan to build houses on a Pinelands tract hopes to have it preserved instead

A plan to build single-family homes next to the popular Black Run Preserve in Evesham Township, Burlington County, has raised the ire of area hikers and residents.

But the developer says she is seeking a deal that would preserve the land.

A conceptual development plan submitted in September to the state’s Pinelands Commission calls for 250 single-family homes to be built on 300 acres, part of a 778-acre tract owned by Kettle Run Investments LP.

The land falls within a portion of New Jersey’s protected Pinelands region that allows for some limited development.

The nonprofit Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) launched a petition that has garnered thousands of signatures to stop a “development that will bulldoze the headwater forests of the watershed and replace them with hundreds of McMansions.”

The development plan was submitted by Devel l.l.c., overseen by a family partnership that stems from former holdings of prominent South Jersey developer Joseph Samost, who died in 2019.

His daughter, Linda Samost, who took over the family business, told The Inquirer that her “inclinations” are rather to have the land “benefit the community and the ecosystem, the environment.”

If Samost’s efforts to find a conservation partner succeed, she said, no homes would be built, and the land would be preserved.

Behind the scenes, Samost said she has been trying to strike a deal with a conservation organization since 2020.

She declined to say what price the family partnership is seeking to buy or conserve the land. Samost said she only went forward with a development proposal after initial attempts at a deal fell through. She is trying again.

Preservation can come from outright purchases of land or conservation easements that restrict land use.

“I came into doing this work, I’ll say, reluctantly,” Samost said. “My work has always been in nonprofits. I was a chef for a long time. I actually started and ran a nonprofit in Philadelphia for 10 years.”

She hopes that people opposed to development would “put their energies in supporting us conserving it,” she said.

Samost and her attorney, William Harrison, said they have been in touch with the nonprofit New Jersey Conservation Foundation about taking a lead role in acquiring the property. The foundation has helped protect 130,000 acres in the state.

Alison Mitchell, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said the foundation had no comment.

A separate, but related, issue could also directly impact the Samost tract.

The Pinelands Commission is proposing to rezone 2,400 acres now listed as rural development (RD-3) to Pinelands Forest Area, which would keep the area largely undeveloped. The commission oversees land use within the roughly 1 million-acre Pinelands region.

The Samost property falls within that current rural development designation.

The rezoning would greatly reduce the number of homes that could be built on those 2,400 acres, according to Susan Grogan, executive director of the Pinelands Commission.

“The goal here is to provide additional protection to the Black Run watershed,” Grogan said.

The commission will host an informational virtual public session on the rezoning proposal on July 15. The zoning change could be approved as soon as the end of the year.

Grogan said the proposal stretches back 20 years and was not directed at Samost’s application to build homes. But such a redesignation would impact the 778 acres owned by the Samosts, where development is already limited because of wetlands.

The current zoning allows for one home per 3.2 acres. Samost would be able to build about 243 homes if that zoning stands. If the land is rezoned, Samosts could be limited to roughly one home per 25 acres, which could translate to about 30 homes.

Jason Howell, an advocate with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, has helped spread awareness of the Samost development plans. He said the headwaters of the 1,300-acre Black Run Preserve are on the Samost property.

Howell said the “ultimate goal” is to preserve those headwaters, so he supports the rezoning.

“That nearly 800 acres is really a key to maintaining the quality of the stream and the Black Run Preserve in general,” Howell said.

Under Pinelands Commission requirements, the Samosts have begun assessing their land for endangered or threatened species of plants and animals, an early step in preparing for development.

The commission has reviewed a survey of species submitted by Devel l.l.c. and kicked back suggestions. The commission noted that the Pine Barrens tree frog, a state endangered species, has been found on the land, although that does not preclude development.

Charles Horner, director of regulatory programs for the Pinelands Commission, said Devel l.l.c. has not filed a full site plan. So the commission is reviewing only an application on endangered and threatened species.

A full development proposal would have to include a site plan and engineering, and address all Pinelands regulations, he said.

The plans ultimately would need approval by both Evesham Township and the Pinelands Commission.