Open Space News
Old and new building permits get extention, by Tom Baldwin, 06/24/08. Published by the Asbury Park Press.
TRENTON--Both chambers of the state Legislature Monday voted to approve and send to the governor a measure extending old and new building permits, in hopes of kick-starting the economy.
"There is a lot of momentum behind these bills because they (lawmakers) are refusing to see the difference between good projects that should go ahead and those that should not," said David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Senate Committee Delays Permit Extension, 06/17/2008, by Tom Baldwin. Published in the Asbury Park Press
TRENTON--A state Senate committee Monday put off action on an economic-rescue bill that would extend the life of building permits so developers could keep on bulldozing, sheet-rocking and roofing to try to churn the economy.
"Every time a bill like that is delayed is a small victory," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club.
The idea is to extend all development-approval permits issued in most of New Jersey by an additional two years.
David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, welcomed the fact Lesniak agreed to work further on the measure. "It helps," he said.
Dispatches: Call it a builder bailout, 06/13/08. By Hank Kalet. Published in the Cranbury Press.
When opportunity knocks, New Jersey's developers know they can get the state Legislature to open the door.
In this case, an economic downturn is being used by builders as an excuse to delay for four years implementation of new environmental and public health laws and changes in zoning and building codes for already approved projects.
The bill (A-2867), known as the Permit Extension Act, "stops the clock" on all building approvals and environmental permits either approved or set to expire after Jan. 1, 2006, and extends them until Dec. 31, 2012.
Supporters say the bill will create jobs in the state by allowing building projects stymied by the slumping economy to remain viable. But the bill, which cleared the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee last week, is not a jobs bill.
In its current form, as Jeff Tittle of the New Jersey Sierra Club and Dave Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation pointed out in a May 28 op-ed in The Asbury Park Press, the bill is nothing more than "one of the biggest giveaways to developers in the history of New Jersey."
"The builders are using the economy as an excuse to overturn important environmental protections, even though these regulations have nothing to do with the subprime mortgage crisis," they wrote. "But it will cost the state of New Jersey far more if we allow the builders to wreak havoc on public health and the natural resources we depend on for our economic and physical well-being."
Now it's the developer who's endangered, 06/07/08. By James Yoo. Published in the Bergen Record.
BLOOMINGDALE--A borough resident has found what he says looks like an endangered southern treefrog near a tract targeted for a court-ordered fair-housing development.
If the frog matches the one protected by state law, it could complicate matters for Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities Inc., which wants to build a 173-unit rental complex, including 26 fair-housing units, on Union Avenue.
Even if the frog is not the southern gray treefrog, the importance of protecting the habitat of endangered species remains an issue, said David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, a coalition of state groups that lobbies on environmental issues.
"[They] are the proverbial canary in the coal mine. If species are dying or endangered, that means the ecosystem is out of balance," he said.
Pringle said wetlands that serve as breeding grounds for the frog also provide drinking water to humans, "both threatened by overdevelopment," he said.
Appellate Court upholds Route 206 widening plan, 06/06/08. Published in the Bergen Record
A $37.5 million plan to widen a Route 206 bottleneck in Byram that has some of the worst traffic jams in Sussex County advanced under a state Appellate Division ruling upholding a DEP exemption of part of the project from new Highlands rules.
In a decision released today, a three-judge panel ruled the DEP's Oct. 1 exemption for 1,233 feet of the 8,658-foot DOT project that fall in the Highlands preservation area was properly granted to improve traffic safety.
Such an exemption in the Highlands preservation area could only be given for safety upgrades or routine maintenance, but not for increasing road capacity. The rest of the 1-mile-long road widening falls in the less-stringent Highlands planning area and does not require an exemption.
The North Byram Concerned Citizens and the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, Environmental Federation and Sierra Club challenged the exemption and argued that paved shoulders would become de-facto lanes amounting to increased road capacity.
Permit measure would give boost to construction. By Gregory Volpe. 06/06/08. Published in the Courier-Post
An Assembly panel released a measure Thursday that would keep alive certain expiring, or expired, building permits to help the construction industry weather the struggling economy, despite protests from environmentalists who argued it could give the go-ahead to projects that no longer meet the state's environmental regulations.
Dozens of lawmakers are pushing the measure in hopes that projects slowed by the poor economy won't be killed as permits expire. But environmentalists said extending permits -- those that have already expired since 2006 or are due to by 2013 -- means ignoring any tougher environmental standards passed by the Legislature since 2006.
"There are reasons permits expire," said David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "Conditions change, the science gets better."
Removing permit expiration dates could mean homes built too close to endangered species and drinking water sources or on contaminated sites, Pringle said.
"This really is a direct attack, whether intentional or not, on the state's environmental laws," Pringle said. "That is a clear cause for concern."
N.J. contemplates pollution cleanup program, by Tom Baldwin, 05/20/08. Published by the Gannett State Bureau.
TRENTON — With New Jersey thinking about enacting a similar program, the Senate Environment Committee Monday heard from people involved in Massachusetts' experience of farming out to private contractors the oversight of cleanup of polluted sites.
"New Jersey is not Massachusetts," said David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "We have a very real concern that translating Massachusetts to New Jersey is letting the fox watch the henhouse."
Groups urge N.J. to acquire Petty's Island, 04/22/08, by Tom Baldwin. Published in the Courier Post
Environmentalists Monday urged Gov. Jon S. Corzine to accept the free offer of a half-square-mile island in the Delaware River and turn it into a nature center.
The island, among the largest in the Delaware, has been at the center of controversy because developers and their backers have eyed the former Citgo Petroleum Corp. terminal on Petty's Island to build condominiums with a golf course and retail shops, among other money-spinning commercial efforts.
Because Corzine has not moved on the Petty's Island issue, David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation said, "He has objected by omission."
"The discussions are ongoing, and no final decision has been made. The governor is committed to the island's cleanup before any decisions are made about its final use," said Corzine spokesman Jim Gardner.
Pringle said Citgo has offered to pay for the cleanup and wants to hand New Jersey $2 million to help manage the property.
Environmentalists accuse builders of zoning violations. By Tom Baldwin, 03/13/08. Published By Gannet State Bureau
TRENTON — An array of environmental groups rang the alarm Wednesday, saying developers are trying to get around environmental rules and laws by steering changes through a separate corner of state government.
"These are a shill for the builders," the Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel said of two reports written by a "housing task force" of the Department of Community Affairs.
The task force purportedly came to be to suggest how to use land and create affordable housing in the most densely populated state in the nation. However, said Tittel and others, the group is creating a "wish list for the builders."
They said the suggestions would allow fast-track permits, repeal water-quality rules, scrap rules on managing water supplies and allow builders to develop flood plains, which got hammered just last weekend in the fourth or fifth significant high-water event to sodden the state in as many years, depending on the section of New Jersey.
"The governor needs to shut this effort down and fire those in his administration helping special interests secure personal windfalls," said Dave Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
"The the reality is that builders propose projects with fifteen affordable units and 1,000 water-contaminating McMansions because they are concerned with how to make their next million," Pringle said. "The governor needs to be a leader and step in."
Mayors: Eminent domain reforms not needed, By Gregory Volpe, 11/30/07
Originally published in the Courier Post
TRENTON
Lawyers and mayors who think the state's eminent domain law provides sufficient safeguards for residents from abusive government land-grabbing upped their opposition to Trenton's reform effort, which remained deadlocked in a Senate committee Thursday.
In 2005, the pendulum swung toward reforming the procedures under which government takes land when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Connecticut town's right to take land for private redevelopment. But recent New Jersey cases -- including a state Supreme Court decision that found Paulsboro couldn't take a parcel simply because it was not fully productive -- have left some, who use or profit from eminent domain, saying current restrictions suffice.
"We cannot in New Jersey take a Motel 6 and make it into a Ritz-Carlton," said Anne S. Babineau, a lawyer who has represented towns in redevelopment projects.
Those suggesting eminent domain needs no reform took a lashing from Sen. Ronald Rice, D-Essex, who is pushing a reform panned by rival factions as either too weak or too strong, and Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, who prefers to ban all eminent domain for private redevelopment.
"I don't like to see anybody lose their property because some politician has said this is a blighted area," Connors said. "That offends me to no end."
Advocacy groups for affordable housing, government reform and the environment said the measure Rice proposes is pro-development, doesn't safeguard against pay-to-play abuse and displaces the poor without adding affordable housing.
"We still think that there is going to be abuse, but less abuse with this legislation," said David Pringle, of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Open space funding OK'd for one more year. Groups will continue search for long-term funding solutions. By Chris Gaetano, 11/14/2007. Originally published in the Sentinel.
New Jersey residents voted to borrow $200 million for open space and farmland preservation programs this Election Day.
While the initiative's success was widely hailed by conservation groups across the state, the cash injection was viewed as a stopgap measure to keep the Garden State Preservation Trust (GSPT) financially solvent for one more year. The program, which mostly aids property purchases in the interests of maintaining open space and historic preservation, was set to expire at the start of 2008. In late spring, legislation was proposed that would have renewed the program by annually appropriating $98 million in sales tax revenue. The first 10 years would have been devoted to financing programs, and the following 20 years to paying off incurred debts.
This effort, however, was blocked by Gov. Jon Corzine, who, while saying he was supportive of open space initiatives, was loath to add to the state's already large debt load. Quick maneuvering by legislators squeezed a $30 million concession from the governor, though supporters saw this sum as unsatisfactory. Further discussions yielded the one-time $200 million appropriation that voters approved on Tuesday.
"With the skirmish for stopgap funding won, the greater battle for longer-term funding returns. We look forward to working with the Legislature and governor to fulfill his commitment to winning that battle in lame duck [legislative session]," said David Pringle, of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Environmentalists rally behind open-space borrowing, By Ed Moorhouse, Burlington County Times, 11/3/2007
Originally published in the Burlington County Times.
Advocates for the environment called on voters yesterday to support a public question on the Nov. 6 ballot that would authorize borrowing $200 million to purchase open space for recreation or conservation.
If approved, the funding also would preserve farmland and historic properties, pay for improvements to parks, and purchase as open space properties that are prone to flooding.
Evesham Mayor Randy Brown joined representatives from statewide environmental groups at Evans Mill Pond off Tomlinson Mill Road to support the ballot question.
Brown kicked off the event by praising nonprofit organizations for their work in fighting to preserve open space, and urged them to continue their efforts.
Jane Nogaki, an Evesham resident and pesticide-program coordinator for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said there is more land to acquire in Burlington County, and it won't be possible without funding.
“We see that the push for development in New Jersey is very strong. If the land isn't preserved, it will be developed,†Nogaki said. “We want to make sure that in the future, there will be fields, farms and forests for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.â€
Group urges state voters to nix 3 ballot questions, By Joseph Sapia, Asbury Park Press, 11/2/07.
Originally published by the Asbury Park Press
FREEHOLD — In the middle of a three-day tour across the state, a New Jersey keep-taxes-down group had given out almost all of its 16,000 lawn signs urging voters to turn down the first three statewide ballot questions in Tuesday's general election.
The New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity had only about 1,000 signs left as members made a quick stop at Tony's Freehold Grill, Freehold's downtown diner, late Thursday morning, said Steven Lonegan, chapter director.
The group's message to voters is simple: Do not waste money, and turn down statewide questions 1, 2 and 3.
The questions are for dedicating sales tax money for property tax relief (ballot question No. 1); issuing $450 million in bonds for stem-cell research (No. 2); and $200 million in bonding for open space, recreation and historic preservation needs (No. 3).
Funding from No. 3 is important, also, to preserve historic properties, said Peg Sturmfels of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. Also, said Sturmfels, look at the tracts of parkland that have been bought in the area with this type of funding.
"We would not have that if we were not able to use this type of trust fund," Sturmfels said.
Anti-open space ads "lies". Homes safe from eminent domain, By Michael Rispoli, Asbury Park Press, 10/19/2007. Original article published by the Asbury Park Press
TRENTON — The coalition pushing voters to approve the borrowing of $200 million to preserve land in the state said Thursday that recent ads railing against the ballot question were "deliberate lies" and "vicious, false attacks."
The Keep it Green Campaign, composed of 90 pro-preservation organizations, looked to debunk claims made by Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan in recent ads and columns saying the program would take property from homeowners unwillingly, replace single-family home construction with high density housing and raise taxes.
If approved, the measure would provide stopgap funding for one year of purchases, state fiscal year 2009, which begins next July. It would provide $109 million for open space, $73 million for farmland preservation, $12 million to buy flood-prone areas and $6 million for historic site preservation. The state, which the group says loses 40 acres per day to development, has about $170 million left to last until then. The Legislature is expected to look for a longer source of funding in the upcoming lame-duck session.
After learning of the coalition's statements, Lonegan responded, "To say that it won't raise taxes is an insult to the taxpayers of the state."
"The state's at a breaking point, we can't afford any of this nonsense anymore," said Lonegan, who lost a bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2005 and now heads the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity. "When it comes to land use, we have to let the free market decide and not the government, not the planners of Trenton."
Dave Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said Lonegan's claims of the state using eminent domain to buy out flood-prone areas are "uninformed at best and knowingly false at worst."
"The legislation is very clear that they are voluntary buyouts," said Pringle.
$9M wildlife protection plan planned, By Larry Higgs, Asbury Park Press, 08/2/07TRENTON — State Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel has a better idea to help snakes and other critters that would cross a 17-mile section of the Garden State Parkway where widening is proposed: Instead of spending $9 million to build tunnels under the highway, buy some of the land the animals live on.
Specifically, Tittel said, the money would be better spent buying land in the 20,000-acre Forked River Mountains in Lacey and Waretown, home to some of the endangered animals. The hilly area is just to the west of the Parkway.
"When people hear it, it sounds silly," he said of the wildlife tunnels proposed as part of the widening plan. "They'd be better off . . . protecting the habitat."
The habitat of the endangered wildlife — timber rattlesnakes, northern pine snakes, Pine Barrens tree frogs, Cope's gray tree frogs and eastern tiger salamanders — would be disturbed by the widening.
Preserving the habitat of endangered species is the better choice, said David Pringle, campaign director of the Belmar-based N.J. Environmental Federation.
"The best way to save endangered species is to preserve their habitats," he said. "Acquiring land is much better than engineering around human obstacles.
Corzine signs bill asking voters to OK $200M for open space, By Tom Hester, The Associated Press, 07/31/20007PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey voters will decide in November whether to approve borrowing $200 million to preserve open space under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
The proposal would spend $109 million preserving open space and parkland, $73 million preserving farmland, $12 million on anti-flooding plans and $6 million on historic preservation.
Corzine would prefer to fund open space preservation by making more money off state properties such as toll roads, but Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, has said the nation's most densely populated state is losing 50 acres per day to development.
"Voters want to fund clean water, urban parks, open space and preserved farms, and now they get the chance," said David Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation...
Lawmakers advance preservation bill, By Michael Rispoli, Gannet, 06/22/07
After months of legislative tug-of-war over how to finance the state's fund to preserve open space, lawmakers passed a measure Thursday asking voters to approve borrowing $200 million to enable another year of purchases.
The Garden State Preservation Trust has about $191 million for the upcoming fiscal year but is expected to run out afterward. If approved in November, the measure would provide $120 million for open space, $50 million for farmlands, $20 million to buy up flood-prone areas and $10 million for historic preservation.
Dave Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said the programs' success can be attributed to "having a stable, long-term source of funding," unlike the current stop-gap measure.
Pringle added, however, the current measure will be a holdover until the state finds "that permanent solution."
"This act gives us a few months of wiggle room," said Pringle...
Let the voters decide, Asbury Park Press Editorial, 6/12/07
As it stands, voters won't get the chance to decide whether to continue preserving state historic sites, farms and open space, as they did in creating the Garden State Preservation Trust in 1998, because legislative committees failed to act on a bill last week that would put the question on the November ballot. Thursday was the last day they could authorize the referendum before summer recess starts at the end of the month.
Both houses should return this summer to act on unfinished business, including this bill.
Fisher's bill, supported by environmental groups, would let voters decide whether to renew the program for another 10 years by dedicating more sales tax revenue to it. Gov. Corzine said he wants to replenish the fund from another source, most likely with the money from the sale or lease of a state asset.
It's not too late to get the measure on the November ballot. The deadline is Aug. 6. As David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, aptly put it, the people of the state should decide the fund's fate, and legislative leaders should "lead or get out of the way..."
Environmental groups yesterday continued to press for a November referendum to provide long-term funding for open space preservation, saying they'll withhold candidate endorsements in the Legislature if no deal is struck.
At the same time, legislative leaders said they're ready to move forward with a referendum on a short-term funding solution for open space if Gov. Jon Corzine's plan, to raise billions through the sale or lease of state assets such as toll roads, falls through.
Fearing additional long-term bond debt, Corzine last month squelched legislation that calls for a referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot asking voters to approve a bond sale of $175 million to provide $375 million a year for a decade to re-fund open space and historic preservation efforts.
"We are open to alternatives, but they must be politically viable and be a long-term stable source of significant funding," said David Pringle, Environmental Federation campaign coordinator. "It has been difficult getting a straight answer from the Corzine administration as to what the bottom line is..."
Groups call for land funds, By Trish Graber, Gloucester County Times, 6/7/2007
TRENTON They flew banners over the Jersey Shore during the busiest travel weekend of the year, bought radio ads and rallied a third of the state Legislature to sign a letter in an attempt to win over the governor.
Environmentalists announced Tuesday they would not concede in their effort to renew funding for the dwindling Garden State Preservation Trust fund, even though it appears to be too late for the Legislature to act before their regular session ends.
"All we are asking for is ... legislators to spend one hour of one day this summer in Trenton," said David Pringle, of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "Is that too much to ask?"
A coalition of 90 organizations in the "Keep It Green" campaign called on legislative leadership Tuesday to reconvene this summer for a special session to consider the bill to constitutionally dedicate up to $175 million annually to the fund for open space, farmland, county and municipal matching grants and flood-prone areas...
Deadline to renew preservation fund is today, By Michael Rispoli, Gannet State Bureau, 6/7/2007
TRENTON -- The clock appears to have struck midnight on voters deciding the ultimate fate of the state's preservation fund responsible for preserving open space, farmland and historic sites.
For voters to decide whether to renew the program for another 10 years by dedicating more sales tax money to it, legislative rules say 20 days must pass between committee approval and a full legislative vote. That means if a bill isn't approved by either house's appropriations committee today -- and neither is scheduled to meet -- it seems unlikely the measure would be approved by the Aug. 6 deadline to make the November ballot, as lawmakers prepare to break for the summer at month's end.
David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said the people of the state should decide the fund's fate and legislative leaders should "lead or get out of the way."
As a result of a lack of legislative action to fund the program, Tittel said the Sierra Club and the New Jersey Environmental Federation will not endorse any more candidates up for election this November until the fate of the fund is determined...
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — With time running out to get an open space funding question on the November ballot, environmentalists on Wednesday launched a last-ditch effort to get lawmakers to approve the measure.
The proponents are urging lawmakers to do the unlikely: come back to the Statehouse during summer recess so the question gets to voters this fall.
"All we are asking for is ... legislators to spend one hour of one day this summer in Trenton for the people's business," said David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "Is that too much to ask?"
The Garden State Preservation Trust, the popular open space and historic preservation program, is fast running out of money. A proposal in the Assembly asks voters to renew the fund by dedicating $175 million a year in sales tax revenue for the next 30 years. That would allow the state to continue to buy land, match municipal farmland preservation efforts, and save historic buildings. A similar measure is in the Senate...
New Jersey: Don't Let a Good Program Die, New York Times Editorial, May 20, 2007
The job of acquiring New Jersey’s few remaining acres of undeveloped land cannot wait until Trenton straightens out the state’s fiscal mess. That is why it is urgent that the Legislature authorize a voter referendum to continue a successful 10-year-old program begun in the Whitman administration to protect open land from development.
Anyone who has driven the state’s back roads and seen the proliferation of new housing needs no reminding that there is little undeveloped land left. Recent studies indicate that at the present rate of development the state could run out of any land suitable for preservation in less than 40 years.
A measure before the Legislature would ask voters whether they wish to allocate $175 million a year for the next 10 years to continue a bonding program for financing the Garden State Preservation Trust. The money, which would also allow the state to buy homes in flood plains, would come from the state’s growing sales tax revenues.
The measure must be approved by both the State Senate and the Assembly before they recess for the summer if it is to appear on the ballot this November. Left to their own devices, legislators would probably pass the measure overwhelmingly since the land purchase program has consistently won popular support from New Jersey voters.
But Gov. Jon Corzine has raised an objection, which on the surface seems persuasive. He wants to postpone action until his forthcoming plan is enacted to straighten out the state’s finances, probably by leasing major assets like the turnpike. Mr.Corzine would use the popular land purchase funding as a sweetener to entice reluctant legislators to support the controversial leasing program.
The problem is that no one knows how long it will take Mr. Corzine to win approval of his leasing program, which has not even been officially proposed. Unless the open space funding goes to voters this fall, the program could be delayed for a year or two or more. Meanwhile, the program is running dry and, unless it is replenished, developers will continue gobbling up valuable land. The administration has offered stopgap funding but it isn’t enough.
Ironically, the prospect of an interruption in the land purchasing program comes at a particularly advantageous moment to buy open space. Because of the housing slump, conservationists say, developers are more amenable than before to accepting reasonable prices from public entities interested in buying land solely to preserve it.
When the housing slump ends, as all economists believe it will, the price of land will rise, and New Jersey once again will have lost an opportunity to preserve land at an affordable price. It should also be kept in mind that the $175 million a year price tag for the land acquisition proposal is a pittance in comparison to Mr. Corzine’s proposed $33.3 billion state budget
For all these reasons, the Legislature must approve this land acquisition measure before recessing for the summer. When it comes to preserving open land in this most developed state in the nation, there will be no tomorrow.TRENTON — Approximately 15,000 open acres of New Jersey are developed each year, including significant amounts in the central and coastal parts of the state, said a preliminary report released Tuesday by researchers from Rutgers and Rowan universities.
The report, issued about every 10 years, said the state over the past decade has lost 106,000 acres to residential and commercial development. This is similar to the rate of land developed between 1986 and 1995.
More land acreage was eaten up by a smaller amount of people, however, as single-unit residential homes made up the majority of the growth.
"New Jersey will get built out," added David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "The question is just what will it look like when it is built out."
The DEP and the Rutgers/Rowan reports together have caused environmental groups to further step up calls for the renewal of the fund citing environmental and economic reasons...
Petty’s Island Future in State Hands, Richard Pearsall, Courier-Post, 3/29/07
PENNSAUKEN—The future of Petty's Island -- development or natural preserve -- lies with decision-makers in Trenton who are not tipping their hands. Will the state let the township and its chosen redeveloper, Cherokee Pennsauken LLC, proceed to build on the 392-acre island in the Delaware? Or will it accept an offer from CITGO, the island's owner, to donate the land to the state for use as a preserve?
Last week, the township unveiled what it called a "scaled down" vision for developing the island in hopes of meeting environmental objections at home and in Trenton. "We're sending it to the governor's office," Mayor Rick Taylor said of the revised footprint, which calls for trimming the amount of land to be developed by eliminating a golf course.
Sharon Finlayson, the chairwoman of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, agreed. "Pennsauken has only made a slight modification, trying to put a new face on it to sell it to the public . . . It could be worse than the one we've been fighting for three years."
"I'm wondering if they're using the elimination of the golf course to justify more housing," Finlayson said.
As for Trenton, "I really think they're just stalling," Finlayson said. "We haven't seen the DEP do anything and we haven't seen the governor do anything."The state talks about needing open space," she continued. "This represents 392 acres of open space that would be remediated and restored by CITGO.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Jon S. Corzine indicated Wednesday that he would prefer to use money from selling and leasing state assets to preserve open space, farmland and historic sites instead of asking voters renew a fund that has done such things for nearly a decade.
That raised concern among lawmakers and environmentalists that the state would be left without a reliable source of money for land and historic preservation.
Dave Pringle, the New Jersey Environmental Federation's campaign director, said relying on money from state assets will leave the state without an immediate fix to open space funding.
"The plan has way too many unanswered questions to get the job done this year," he said.
Slimmer plan for Petty's Island, By Elisa Ung and Dwight Ott Inquirer Staff Writers, 3/22/07
Pennsauken has reversed course and decided to back a plan for Petty's Island that would entail far less development than was originally planned, township officials said last night.
The revised plan for this teardrop-shaped island on the Delaware River eliminates construction of a proposed golf course, and leaves 72 percent of the island undeveloped.
"Tonight's plan is entirely different," Mayor Rick Taylor told a group of reporters prior to disclosing the plan to close to 100 residents in the Central Elementary School auditorium. "It calls for a footprint of only 28 percent development."
That, he said, is 12 percentage points less than the current, controversial footprint proposed by developer Cherokee Pennsauken L.L.C. for the island's 392 acres.
But he said the details of the new proposal, dubbed the Conservation Development plan, were still to be worked out, including whether a hotel complex that was originally envisioned would be built and the amount of housing that would be placed on the island.
Petty's Island was home to a pair of nesting bald eagles when it became an environmental and political controversy after Citgo Petroleum offered to donate it to the state as open space in 2004. Pennsauken officials and state Democratic power brokers, however, wanted to develop it as part of a $1 billion makeover of formerly industrial waterfront. Petty's Island became part of a 700-acre Pennsauken Township Delaware River Redevelopment Project, which proposed leaving 40 percent of the island undeveloped.
Group wants Corzine to keep New Jersey green, Ocean County Observer, 03/13/07 The Keep It Green Campaign, a coalition of more than 90 statewide and local environmental, sportsmen, urban park advocate, historic preservation and faith-based organizations from across the state, expressed their disappointment that funds were not included in the governor's budget to renew and strengthen the Garden State Preservation Trust.
The GSPT, New Jersey's program for open space, farmland and historic preservation, will be out of funds this year.
"We have had more funding for open space in worse budget years than this one. The open space program is being cut, which will result in higher property taxes and dirtier drinking water. The governor needs to fulfill his commitment to renew and strengthen the GSPT this year," said Dave Pringle, campaign director, New Jersey Environmental Federation...
McGreevey's book fuels builder's suit, Star Ledger, 02/01/07
When he released his memoir, "The Confession," a few months ago, former Gov. James E. McGreevey said he felt the need to be "painstakingly honest" about both his political and personal life.Now his words about behind-the-scenes deal-making and how those with political juice had access to top decision-makers are being used in a lawsuit by a Rockaway Township developer challenging a piece of McGreevey's legacy: the landmark Highlands Preservation Act.
David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, said even one successful legal challenge to the Highlands Act could hurt environmental efforts in North Jersey. "Any litigation that permits overdevelopment in the Highlands would have major consequences to public health and the environment," said Pringle, whose group criticized the act for not going far enough.
Sussex future blueprint advances, Herald, 01/25/07
The Highlands plan covers preservation and planning areas throughout 859,358-acre region, comprising 88 towns in seven counties. Commission endorsement of the county plan would be conditioned on the reevaluation of the plan after the Highlands plan is complete and incorporated into the state plan, calling into question the impact of the Highlands rules in the planning areas.The 2004 legislation made the Highlands regulations voluntary in the planning areas, but towns seeking plan endorsement might be forced to comply with some regulations, depending on how the Highlands regulations influence the state plan. Endorsement equals consistency with the state plan.
Sussex County will have to be "flexible" when it comes to the Highlands plan, McKenna said, but he acknowledged that all state agencies have approved the county plan. The strategic growth plan does not alter from the existing state plan.
That universal approval might just mean all parties are complicit in violating the Highlands Act, said David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
"Every day matters. The time to protect is now," Pringle said. "Just because everyone's on board doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."Land Fund Short Of Resources, Courier-Post, 01/15/07
On June 30, 1999, then-Gov. Christie Whitman signed into law the Garden State Preservation Trust, establishing a source of funds to preserve farmland and other open space.The goal, the governor said in one of the most notable proclamations of her administration, was to preserve a million acres of farmland and other open space within the next 10 years.
Nearly 300,000 acres -- 291,360 -- have been preserved since then at a cost of roughly $1 billion, according to Karen Hershey, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
But the fund is running short of money for further acquisitions and will run out altogether unless action is taken soon, according to a coalition of environmental groups, land trusts and others.In November 1998 the voters approved sending the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund $98 million annually to acquire open space, save farmland and preserve historic sites. "Essentially we bought the house, now we have to pay off the mortgage," said David Pringle, of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "If we want to continue we need to find more money to do so..."
Advocates Lobby Gov, State to Replenish Open Space Fund, Associated Press, 11/14/06
TRENTON, N.J. - Groups advocating for the state's open space preservation programs urged Gov. Jon S. Corzine and the state Legislature on Tuesday to ask voters to replenish the fund that pays for the acquisition of parkland and farms and the upkeep of historic sites.With the Garden State Preservation Trust now out of money for new land buys, the groups called on lawmakers to put a question on the November 2007 ballot renewing the fund. "We're in a race to save open space," said Dave Pringle of the New Jersey Environmental Federation. "We need to be in it to win it and we're about not to be in it."
The ballot initiative being championed by the environmental groups would dedicate $225 million a year for open space acquisition, $100 million a year for capital projects and $56 million a year for operations, to be spread among all communities. All but the operations portion of the funding could be bonded, the advocates say.
