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.
Land Preservation
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.
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.
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.
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
Finding Room for 1 Million New Residents
Friday, February 28th, 2003There is no denying redevelopment’s enormous potential for accommodating new residents and businesses without taking away open lands.
Buying Land Not Only Way to Protect It
Thursday, November 14th, 2002New Jersey’s land use law expressly empowers municipalities to zone land for agriculture, and to restrict its development in ecologically sensitive areas.
Sprawl 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.
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.
Real Winter Warmth?
Tuesday, December 11th, 2001The way we use our land in New Jersey is changing our climate, and in turn, could dramatically change our economy and way of life.
