New Jersey leads the class when it comes to spending per pupil, and in over-reliance on local property taxes to get the job done.
Author Archive
NJ Out of Line in School Spending, Funding
Friday, August 16th, 2002Affordable 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.
Property Tax System Broken, Too
Tuesday, March 26th, 2002The “dumb growth” that’s damaging New Jersey’s environment and hollowing out many older communities is driven in large measure by New Jersey’s broken property tax system. The over-reliance on property taxes forces communities to chase new development — even when the development doesn’t fit the community’s vision or character, adds to its traffic problems or eliminates its open space.
Transit Towns Good Places To Grow
Friday, March 8th, 2002Rebuilding transit communities frequently means reviving downtowns, both large and small, along with a wide range of housing options, from brownstones, to apartments to bungalows. It also means providing more choice in how to get around, from train, to bus, to simply walking.
Leaders of the Pack
Monday, February 18th, 2002The nation’s most densely populated state took an important step toward curbing sprawl Jan. 31 with the creation of a Smart Growth Policy Council within the governor’s office. Made up of Cabinet heads and leaders of key state agencies, the council will meet bi-monthly or as needed.
