New Jersey has yet to link meaningfully state spending to its State Plan, even though the Plan defines where growth will best benefit New Jersey’s economy and environment, as identified with participation from local governments.
Author Archive
Governor Sets Summit for October 22
Friday, October 11th, 2002Sprawl and Drought
Wednesday, September 25th, 2002Sprawl threatens water quality as rain runoff from roads and parking lots carries pollutants into streams, rivers and the ocean. Sprawl also reduces our water supplies. As roads, parking lots, driveways and roofs replace meadows and forests, rain water can no longer seep into the ground and replenish our aquifers. Instead, it is swept away by gutters and sewer systems.
New Jersey’s Labor Force
Friday, August 30th, 2002Highly paid, highly educated knowledge-based workers value quality of life when deciding where to work, and where to live. Their preference for urban amenities, from public transit and entertainment to vital downtowns, are fueling the resurgence of New Jersey’s older cities and smaller towns, from Hoboken and South Orange to portions of Newark and New Brunswick.
NJ Out of Line in School Spending, Funding
Friday, August 16th, 2002New Jersey leads the class when it comes to spending per pupil, and in over-reliance on local property taxes to get the job done.
Affordable Housing and Sprawl
Friday, August 2nd, 2002Towns can indeed protect themselves from builders remedy suits. But it will take municipal, Administrative and Legislative leadership to stop sprawl and build affordable housing.
McMansions Rise, Along With Overcrowding
Friday, July 12th, 2002Adequate housing isn’t simply a social issue, it’s an economic imperative. New Jersey cannot continue to grow its business base without offering workers an affordable place to live.
Urbanization Continues to Overrun Borders
Saturday, June 22nd, 2002The origins of our current system are from a time when municipalities could have sovereignty over their own territory; urbanization had not overrun borders.
NJ Housing Even Less Affordable
Friday, May 17th, 2002Finding housing that’s priced within your means is tough for all New Jerseyans. For low- and moderate-income workers in New Jersey, it can be impossible.
Lake Tahoe Ripples Reach New Jersey
Tuesday, April 30th, 2002charges of “taking” surface commonly when New Jersey communities attempt to “downzone” land for conservation by reducing the number of units that can be built on a parcel, thus affecting the land’s market value. The Supreme Court refused to label categories of regulatory action as takings, and said such cases must be decided case by case.
Council Kicks Off April 23
Friday, April 19th, 2002The Smart Growth Council kicking off April 23 will “re-orient how the state looks at growth,” by integrating the State Plan into state spending policies and departmental regulations, according to Governor James E. McGreevey.