Statement from New Jersey Future on State Planning Act

October 5th, 2009 by Jay Corbalis

Last week, New Jersey Future released the following statement regarding proposed updates to the State Planning Act:

Friends of New Jersey Future,

New Jersey Future is pleased that a considerable amount of attention is being paid this fall to the State Planning Act and the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. As those of you who subscribe to our Future Facts know, we believe the state planning mechanism is badly broken and needs to be fixed. We also believe there are reasonable and responsible ways of fixing it that build on the present statute and incorporate the other state departments who have jurisdiction over some of the most important areas that the State Plan addresses.

Here are some of the specific actions we are taking:

We are working with a group of 16 nonprofit groups representing planning, housing, transportation and the environment to assess the specific shortcomings of the State Planning Act and its implementation. The purpose of this exercise is to find common ground among these groups in order to propose changes to the state planning process that will make it simpler, more efficient and produce better results.
We are talking with – but are not, as has been reported, a member of – a coalition of real estate organizations that intends to propose legislation to amend the State Planning Act this fall. While the specific mechanisms will require additional debate, the coalition’s draft bill language appropriately focuses on one important element of change that is needed: coordination between and among state agencies. We look forward to working with the coalition to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed bill and provide insights into how this legislative initiative can be widely supported.
On October 16, New Jersey Future, together with Princeton University’s Policy Research Institute for the Region, will host a symposium titled Where Are We Growing? Planning for New Jersey’s Next 20 Years, where we hope to broaden the dialogue and debate by presenting some specific strategies for change and improvement in the state planning process that will garner broad and diverse support.

Through these initiatives and others, we seek to build on the body of work New Jersey Future has been doing for the past two decades: monitoring the state planning process, and advocating for reforms that will help New Jersey achieve the vision of the State Planning Act and the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

Please contact us if you have any questions.

New Jersey Future