Commercial Farming Could Return To Cherry Hill's Holly Ravine Farm

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Agriculture could return to Holly Ravine Farm. Commercial farming would be permitted on a portion of the cherished property under an ordinance that the Township Council advanced at Monday's meeting.

Once the site of a dairy farm and the Cowtail Bar ice cream parlor, Holly Ravine Farm brought fond memories to generations of residents and visitors. Last year, the township reached a deal to purchase the 23-acre property from the Gilmour family, who owned it for more than a century, and preserve it as open space.

The township's acquisition prevented the possibility of development on Holly Ravine Farm, which is one of Cherry Hill's largest green spaces. But officials haven't fully determined how the land will be used.

Allowing it on some of the land could help answer that question, Mayor Dave Fleisher said.

"We continue to explore what's next," Fleisher said Monday, "what is the next chapter for this property, which will remain as open space and preserved forever. This evening's vote will make agriculture a viable potential use in addition to other passive open space uses."

The land, which the township purchased for $3.85 million, hasn't been used for commercial agriculture since the 1980s.

On Monday, council members passed an ordinance on first reading that would permit the zoning of commercial farming on a portion of the site. The council will vote at a future meeting on whether to adopt it.

The Gilmour family had owned the farm since 1921. John C. Gilmour Jr. — a dairy farmer who later became Cherry Hill's mayor — established the Cowtail Bar in 1933. Between the ice cream shop and the 1964 addition of the Moo Zoo, Holly Ravine Farm stood as a longtime family favorite in the region.

After the Cowtail Bar closed in 1989, the farm remained John and Eva Gilmour's home. When Eva died in 2011, the family decided to try and preserve the property. But various obstacles interfered, prompting the Gilmour's to seek a buyer, which meant the possibility of development on the farmland.

Efforts to preserve Holly Ravine Farm hit a pivotal juncture last year, when Caddis Healthcare Real Estate — a health care real-estate company — sought to build a senior-living community at the property. The proposal sparked an outcry from members of the public hoping to preserve the farm.

After a marathon hearing, which stretched into two meetings, the Cherry Hill Zoning Board rejected the proposed development. Reasons for rejection included concerns about additional traffic, the need for publicly funded sewage upgrades, and board members feeling the development wouldn't add to the township's quality of life.

Holly Ravine Farm is located at the intersection of Evesham and Springdale Roads.