The Alternative Press

Governor Christie recently released a new "state strategic plan" for economic growth, with the aim of replacing our current state plan. 

As the most densely populated state in the country, New Jersey has had to implement land use limits and constraints that other states could not imagine.  In fact, our state has had some sort of statewide land use plan since the 1930s.

The most recent plan, the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, was adopted in 1992 and revised in 2001. A major goal has been to limit sprawl development that destroys farmland, forests and wildlife habitat, and uses resources inefficiently. The plan also promoted the reuse and redevelopment of our urban centers, cities and towns; and the coordination of planning between local, county and state government.

It’s a good plan, but despite all the time, effort and money that have gone into it, the state plan has largely not been followed.  Most of our governors were not willing to do the hard work of implementing the plan.  A multitude of difficult issues - including where to allow sewers, which permit denser development; and whether to allocate public infrastructure funds to “smart growth” areas or spread the funds equally across the state - led to gridlock. Sprawl development continued unabated, decade after decade.

So it is easy to dismiss the current state plan as ineffective and come up with a shiny new replacement. But the reasons the existing state plan has not worked are still with us and are not addressed in the governor’s new strategic plan.

There is still a lack of conviction and willingness to make politically unpopular decisions.  An entrenched system of expanding sewers - and, thus, development - into rural and environmentally sensitive areas has been all but impossible to change. There has also been an unwillingness to make state agencies work together to implement a true smart growth plan and fully use the power authorized by the State Planning Act.

What is needed is to say no to development in non smart growth areas, recognize the limits of our state’s natural resources to accommodate growth, use a program of incentives and disincentives to make state funding and permitting programs consistent with the State Planning Act and state plan, and ensure that major land use decisions follow the plan.

If New Jersey is to plan effectively for both economic growth and environmental health and quality of life, it needs courageous and bold leadership from a governor and administration who understand the critical role the environment plays in our economic health - and who are willing to make the tough decisions about growth and environmental protection.

The new "state strategic plan" is full of laudable goals; the current state plan has those, too.  The new plan talks about smart growth and sustainability, as does the current plan.  But the new plan is short on details and has not been publicly vetted. The governor’s plan is heavy on growth and development, and light on environmental protection and capacity issues.

 It includes new planning terms, like “regional innovation clusters,” but does not clarify where they will be located. There is no mention of capacity-based planning, a basic tenet of good land use planning, in which development respects limits such as drinking water supply, sewer and septic capacity, and transportation infrastructure.

 The current state plan has laid the foundation for economic prosperity and the protection of our critical environmental resources. It represents sound planning, is based upon the best science available, and was negotiated widely and in good faith with stakeholders across the state – including counties, municipalities and public interest organizations.

If the new strategic plan is to succeed where past plans have fallen short, it must include the following elements:

• An increased emphasis on environmental protection and public health.
• Clear criteria for the location of new growth, with a mandated priority on redevelopment and investment in our state’s urban centers, cities and towns, all based upon the capacity of our natural and built systems to support it.
• A statewide map that clearly depicts areas for redevelopment and development, areas for limited development, and areas for agriculture, preservation and environmental protection.
• Removal of planned or proposed sewers from environmentally sensitive or rural areas.
• A policy of directing public permitting and funding toward redevelopment areas in urban centers, cities and towns.
• Consistency with the state planning act, both in substance and process.
• Comprehensive public vetting to ensure that the public and major stakeholders have full input into the plan, maps and supporting funding and permitting programs.

Without these elements, no plan in the world will make any difference whatsoever.

And without good data, sound capacity-based planning and the elements needed for implementation, land use decisions will continue to be made for short-term political reasons and the new strategic plan will sit on the shelf like so many of our past plans.

To read the plan, go to http://nj.gov/state/pdf/dfplan_proposed.pdf

And for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources, please visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation’s website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.