New Jersey is a broke state, but it does have some money to disperse to a limited number of municipalities to help them follow through with their own smart growth initiatives — so long as they are in-line with the state’s policies.##M:[more]##
The state will do so, given those municipalities, like West Windsor — which is a top contender for state aid — show they are committed, in the form of sound Master Plans and, in West Windsor’s case, a comprehensive redevelopment plan, said Adam Zellner, former executive director of the NJ Office of Smart Growth, and current director of policy under Gov. Jon S. Corzine. Zellner spoke to a crowd of about 40 residents at the township municipal building on May 1, describing the state’s current smart growth initiatives and what West Windsor can do to be a part of it.
He said the state is willing to work with the township as long as it shows it wants to work with the state. “We have a responsibility as a state to go out and try to find communities that want to work with us and vise versa,” he said. And, he says, the state understands that municipalities don’t like to be told what to do by the state. “The state of New Jersey is not interested in trying to force anything,” he reiterated many times during throughout the discussion.
Instead, state officials will devote the small amount of money available to communities who show that they can follow through with well-planned initiatives and development, he said. In the past, the state has spent money on and helped other municipalities that were unprepared or not willing to work with the state, but now the state is looking for projects in which to invest, he said. “We need to make some changes,” he said, referring to the state’s goal in reducing its impact on the environments and developing better methods of planning.
Transit development is one of the smart growth initiatives the state is interested in promoting, said Zellner. “Development around a train station satisfies multiple policy objectives in the governor’s eyes,” he said. He also pointed out that state policy prefers structured parking over surface parking, which he said was “not efficient, and has a lot of problems with it,” including when it comes to stormwater management.
When it comes to smart growth, Zellner said the state is in the process of creating the Energy Master Plan for the state of New Jersey, a draft of which has already been released for public review and comment. Zellner said that as the need for environmentally-friendly initiatives is growing, municipalities in the state can either engage in their own smart growth plans or risk seeing their tax rates go up as a result of poor planning. “Towns that engage can do a lot for their future,” Zellner said. “Because we’re broke, and because our programs are geared toward those willing to do it, we have to be limited.”
He said that redevelopment needs to be done comprehensively, “or you’re not going to help the whole community,” he said. “Traffic will not go away by itself.”
He said once West Windsor creates a redevelopment plan, “the state will be here to offer programs; the state will be here to offer money,” he said.
Village Grande resident Al Lerner asked Zellner if there were guidelines that the state can give municipalities so they have some insight as to what the state is looking for. Zellner said the state is looking for the town’s commitment, which comes in the adoption of a Master Plan, so state officials can understand what the township’s vision it. And, it would also include a redevelopment plan.
Zellner pointed to the situation with Vaughn Drive as an example of a project that could be funded by the state, if the township shows it is serious about following through with it. Earlier this year, state officials notified the township that they would not be including their half of the funding – $19 million – for the Vaughn Drive project in this year’s state budget because a redevelopment plan had not yet been created. “I need programs, I need investments to look at for us to respond,” he said. “They have to be projects that show us what kind of returns we are getting.”
Zellner if the state is going to help improve infrastructure, like building a parking deck, it all comes down to the state feeling comfortable that the township is serious on following through with the redevelopment. Some residents asked what they could do to help the process along. Resident Lynn Livingston recalled that responsibility for designing the plan has gone back and forth between the council and the planning board.
“Continue to push so that you can get to a final plan,” Zellner responded. “When you’re finished with a plan, we’d love to be involved as you need us. When you guys have finalized that vision, we’re here to help.”
Residents asked what would happen the town did nothing. “Money goes to other places, and you are left to bear the brunt of the cost of living increases,” he said. “The penalty is just that we won’t be here.”
Windsor Drive resident Bob Akens said he was wary of the Smart Growth initiatives. “Nothing’s been done long enough in Smart Growth to see if it really works,” he said. Akens said he’s lived in the township for 33 years without talk of having centralized development plans, and wondered why “it’s necessary right now to do a centralized plan.”
Zellner admitted that “maybe centralized planning is not perfect. But absent planning, what you have is sprawl,” he said. Zellner said smart growth is a new concept, but the reality is that locating services nearby to the train station and having this type of smart growth has been around for a long time, particularly in places in Europe, like London, and New York City. And, “unplanned spending doesn’t get you the leverages we talked about earlier.”
He also said there are certain parameters the state has with regard to reviewing municipalities’ plans. “You can’t simply blow through state regulations,” he said. “We’re pretty good at letting individual towns” decide the planning for what they want, he said, “providing they don’t run afoul of the state regulations.”
