Cherry Hill saved Holly Ravine Farm from development and may rent part of it for farming

Cherry Hill is considering whether to bring farming back to Holly Ravine Farm.

The township council gave preliminary approval Monday to a zoning overlay, or amendment, that would allow for commercial agriculture on a portion of the 28-acre site.

Cherry Hill bought Holly Ravine for $3.8 million in January to protect it from development. After the township planning board reviews the amending ordinance and refers it back to the township council, a public hearing and a final vote to approve the amendment would be required for it to take effect.

Mayor David Fleisher said he expects a public hearing and second vote would be held in September, after which the township would issue a request for proposals from farms or others seeking to rent the ground for agricultural purposes.

“We continue to explore what [will be] the next chapter for this property,” Fleisher told the council Monday, adding that Holly Ravine “will remain as open space and will be preserved forever.”

After the meeting, Fleisher also said the township “has always intended to preserve the property in the most natural state feasible.”

“This zoning overlay makes the potential agricultural use possible, and pays homage to the history of the site,” the mayor said.

For much of the 19th as well as the first half of the 20th century, Cherry Hill, then known as Delaware Township, was an agricultural powerhouse. There were 84 farms in the 24-square-mile township In 1954, when the population was around 10,000.

Among them was Holly Ravine, a dairy farm like many others in South Jersey, but one that became a regional destination for families because of its “Cowtail Bar,” featuring special ice cream flavors and an outdoor petting zoo.

But changes in the dairy business and intensive residential and commercial development of the township led longtime owners the Gilmour family to close the Cowtail in 1987. The land around it was later sold to the developer of a strip shopping center.

After an effort by the township to purchase the remainder of the property failed, the family decided to sell to the Texas-based developer of a senior and assisted-living community. Local residents organized a campaign against it.

» READ MORE: Cherry Hill zoning board rejects proposal to construct a senior living complex at the Holly Ravine Farm property

After the township zoning board’s 2023 rejection of the proposal, a renewed purchase effort culminated in success last January.

In 2024 Cherry Hill has more than 77,000 people, and just one farm: Springdale. It is celebrating its 75th anniversary and also operates a farm market on Springdale Road.

Eric Ascalon, one of the leaders of a grassroots campaign to prevent Holly Ravine from being developed into an assisted living and senior community, said he likes the idea of agriculture on the site.

“I’m thrilled that … we’re talking about farming at the old farm, and not watching the developer pave the place over with concrete and asphalt,” he said.

During the council meeting, Fleisher said the zoning overlay would “make agriculture a viable potential use, in addition to other passive, open-space uses” of the property.

He also said the township continues ”looking to utilize all available [sources] of funding, including state grants and financial support from Camden County” to help defray the cost of purchasing Holly Ravine.

Said council member Sangeeta Doshi: “I’m excited that agricultural use could be an option for Holly Ravine. Preserving it as passive open space is consistent with our sustainability priorities.”