The New Jersey State Planning Act states that "New Jersey, the nation's most densely populated State, requires sound and integrated Statewide planning in order to conserve its natural resources, revitalize its urban centers, protect the quality of its environment, and provide needed housing and adequate public services at a reasonable cost while promoting beneficial economic growth, development and renewal.." The State Development and Redevelopment Plan ("State Plan") provides the policy guidance to each level of State government by which this goal should be implemented. The law mandates that a review of the State Plan occur triennially to insure that the Plan remains in keeping with the State's prevailing needs. Governor Whitman has stated that the review process, which is currently occurring through the efforts of the Office of State Planning and other State offices, does not constitute a reason to delay the implementation of the State Plan as it now exists.
The Governor included in her Fiscal Year 1999 Budget two initiatives, Open Space Funding and Redeveloping Urban Properties, to further the goals of the State Plan. In an effort to realize the promise of her second inaugural address to preserve 300,000 acres of land in the next four years, Governor Whitman's budget includes $50 million for preserving New Jersey's farms and open spaces. These funds will be administered by the Department of Environmental Protection as part of its Open Space Local Matching Program. This Program provides a matching grant to counties and municipalities that have established a specific funding source to preserve their farmland or other open areas, such as watershed protection areas or wildlife habitat preserves. The Open Space Funding will revitalize the Green Acres program and the Farmland Preservation program, whose resources have been depleted. Additionally, the Governor included in her 1999 Budget $25 million to jumpstart the redevelopment of urban properties. Echoing the objectives of the Brownfield and Contaminated Site Remediation Act adopted in January 1998, this initiative targets abandoned or derelict properties that have strategic redevelopment potential, including urban municipalities and State Plan-designated urban centers.
The State Plan, supported by the budget initiatives, offers the guidance and means for municipal governments, developers and property owners alike to revitalize the State. It reconciles two seemingly conflicting ideals, namely continued economic growth and environmental resources preservation, both important concerns for those who live or work in the Garden State.
