Without links to better planning, impact fees will simply subsidize sprawl. If impact fees are allowed only in communities with solid land use planning, they could be an incentive for smarter growth.
Author Archive
New Way to Pay for Schools
Friday, November 14th, 2003Big Map Bows to State Plan
Friday, October 24th, 2003For more than a decade, municipal and county planners and citizens have offered their guidance on this critical question to the State Planning Commission. The consensus about where growth should go, and land should be preserved, in the interests of the state as a whole, is reflected in the State Plan.
Making New Jersey “Clean and Green”
Saturday, October 11th, 2003Some 12,000 sites across New Jersey have been contaminated, abandoned and now sit idle. Such sites range from large industrial factories to small gas stations. Pending voter approval on November 4, a portion of the corporate business tax collected annually […]
Open Space Action Needed
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003New Jersey’s state and local leaders must also ensure that land purchases are coordinated with planning and regulations, to better protect important open lands and to ensure conservation purchases are cost-efficient and effective.
State Misses Lead in Affordable Housing
Thursday, July 31st, 2003The state could also ensure that all new development generates affordable housing automatically by including “growth share” as a part of the state’s new housing policy.
Saving New Jersey’s Heritage
Sunday, July 20th, 2003Transfer of Development Rights, or TDR, gives local governments a tool to stop sprawl at little or no cost by shifting development from farms and forests into desired growth areas.
Report: Few Escape Negative Impacts of Sprawl
Friday, June 20th, 2003New Jersey’s current pattern of growth creates negative consequences for all municipalities, not just our older urban areas.
A Housing Dilemma
Thursday, June 5th, 2003More than half of New Jersey’s affordable housing is offered in only 12 communities: Newark, Jersey City, Camden, Trenton, Atlantic City, Paterson, Hoboken, East Orange, Elizabeth, West New York, Orange and North Bergen. Nearly half of all municipalities (256) list no affordable units at all.
Market Needs Vs. Housing Choice
Friday, May 16th, 2003Smart growth restore choices that sprawl-inducing zoning has taken away, by drawing public funding, private investment and jobs back into cities, older suburbs and rural communities, and providing a range of housing and transportation choices that can’t be matched by any sprawling suburban community.
The Conservation Challenge
Friday, April 18th, 2003“Smart Conservation” is the “green” side of smart growth, focused on coordinating land acquisition with planning and regulations to protect important open lands and ensure conservation purchases are cost-efficient and effective