From The Press of Atlantic City — Twenty-five acres of township-owned open space will be offered to neighboring landowners in a closed auction after a divided governing body approved the move Tuesday night.

The sale comes at the request of Police Chief Joseph Barbera, whose adjoining 160 acres between Columbia and Elwood roads make him one of four eligible bidders.

Mullica law allows any neighbor of a public property to request its sale, and if the Township Committee signs off, any owner of an adjoining parcel may submit a closed bid above an amount prescribed by the tax assessor. The minimum for the property discussed Tuesday night will be $500 per acre.

Most of the residents who spoke up Tuesday night opposed the auction, some citing the low price and the small amount of property tax revenue they imagined it would accrue as a private property.

But committee members Kathy Chasey, Janet Forman and Bill Kennedy, the mayor, comprised a majority in favor. Bernard Graebener and Michael St. Amour were opposed.

“Once again, we’ve been sold down the river,” resident Joy Wyld said. “I’m very discouraged once again.”

Chasey assured the audience that the wooded, creek-slashed parcel isn’t buildable itself, so it was unlikely to be disturbed. More likely, the new owner could use “density transfer” law to leverage the land for permission to build elsewhere. The area in question requires 25 acres per house, so leaving the new property empty could let a developer fit another house on more viable land.

That prospect fueled Graebener and St. Amour’s opposition. St. Amour said he couldn’t remember a previous instance in which the committee had approved a land sale that might create a buildable lot. Indeed, many land-sale requests don’t get as far as appearing on the committee’s agenda. But Kennedy said the remote property, unreachable by paved road, wasn’t benefiting the township.

“We don’t want to hold onto it, we want to get rid of it,” Kennedy said.

Barbera owns 20 properties in Mullica Township, according to a database of local land ownership. Another adjoining property owner is the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust, and Planning Board president Jon Malkin recommended giving the land to that group for free.

Graebener asked Solicitor Norman Zlotnick to review whether any committee member should abstain because of a conflict of interest. Forman, a real estate agent and a friend of Barbera’s, took that to be a reference to her, and she told Zlotnick she has no business ties to Barbera, nor would she take a financial interest in any property he might obtain.