Additional Tuckahoe Turf Farms soccer tournaments OK’d
Page 4 • Wednesday, February 13, 2019 • The Hammonton Gazette
PLANNING, from Page 1
place on the sod fields at Tucka-
hoe Turf Farm in December 2014
and were restricted to six events
per year. In November 2016,
Tuckahoe Turf Farms received ap-
proval to increase the total number
of events to nine (or 216 total
hours) per year. The latest amend-
ment to the farm’s site plan will
increase the limit to 13 events (or
312 hours) per year.
Allen D. Carter Jr., farm man-
ager of Tuckahoe Turf Farms,
gave testimony on behalf of the
requested site plan amendment
during the meeting. Carter Jr. was
accompanied by attorney William
F. Harrison, of Genova Burns, and
professional planner Lance Land-
graf Jr., who both provided testi-
mony as well.
Harrison said the prior limit of
eight events per year was imposed
by the New Jersey Pinelands
Commission, but when the state
legislature amended the Pinelands
Protection Act to re-classify the
soccer tournaments as a “low-in-
tensity recreational use” of the
farm’s land, Tuckahoe Turf Farms
became eligible to schedule up to
13 tournaments per year because
this type of use is permitted in the
town’s agricultural production
zoning district.
Carter Jr. said Tuckahoe Turf
Farms agreed to let EDP host its
soccer events on a small portion of
the approximately 800-acre sod
farm as a way to market and pro-
mote the sod, which is harvested
and shipped throughout the coun-
try to be used as the playing sur-
face for several professional,
collegiate and youth sports teams.
Due to the successful marketing
of Tuckahoe Turf Farms’ sod,
Carter Jr. said the company has
been chosen to grow a warm-sea-
son variety of Bermuda grass that
will be grown on a proprietary
area (150 mile radius) that was ac-
quired from a nearby blueberry
farm, and be shipped around the
world and installed at various soc-
cer stadiums, including those used
during the next FIFA World Cup.
“Soccer has been very reward-
ing for us … We’re happy with
that and it’s in part because of the
marketing techniques that we use
with the soccer events. As a result
of this marketing opportunity we
had here, we are expanding,”
Carter Jr. said.
According to Harrison, the con-
ditions that were imposed on
Tuckahoe Turf Farms’ recre-
ational use of the fields were
premised on each event consisting
of two 12-hour time periods that
occasionally will extend to a third
day on holiday weekends.
Carter Jr. said that approxi-
mately 32 soccer fields are cur-
rently designated for each
tournament, and there are 3,339
acres of recently cultivated (bare
soil) fields that are used for park-
ing.
As a condition of the amended
site plan, Carter Jr. said Tuckahoe
Turf Farms will not hold events
for more than two consecutive
weekends.
When assessing the negative
and positive criteria of Tuckahoe
Turf Farms’ requested site plan
amendment, Landgraf Jr. said in-
creasing the number of events per
year would not have any negative
impact on the land since the same
number of fields will be utilized at
each event.
Overall, Landgraf Jr. said the
soccer tournaments that are held
at Tuckahoe Turf Farms are bene-
ficial to the town due to the num-
ber of people that travel into
Hammonton from out-of-state and
overseas and patronize local busi-
nesses during their trip.
“This is a good event for the
See BOARD, Page 10
SOLD!
800 S. White Horse Pike (Crowley Center), P.O. Box 1119 • Hammonton • 561-0505 • [email protected] • www.CrowleyCarr.com
Congratulations
FRANCO
CATANIA
on your purchase!
Thank you for
putting your trust
in Crowley & Carr.
“The Best Place in
Town to Find the
Best Place in Town.”
With nearly 30 years in business,
who better to guide you on all your
Real Estate needs than the
CROWLEY & CARR REAL ESTATE TEAM!