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Suburban sprawl popular target in governor’s race
Originally appeared in the Press Plus on October 25, 2001
Gubernatorial candidates Jim McGreevey and Bret Schundler both want to limit suburban sprawl.
They want to give local officials more help in determining how that should be done.
The differences kick in after that.
Republican Schundler wants to revitalize the state's cities, saying that would relieve suburban development by attracting people who want to live in vibrant, clean and safe urban areas, perhaps even Camden.
He also wants to scrap the Mount Laurel affordable-housing plan, saying it helps force unwanted residential development on suburban municipalities.
Democrat McGreevey wants to create what he calls a "suburban sprawl council" that would help enforce the state's development plan. He also would provide assistance -- perhaps legal and financial -- to municipalities to fight development.
Former Jersey City mayor Schundler believes his plan is innovative, while Woodbridge mayor McGreevey believes his proposal make more sense.
They are not shy about telling each other that, either.
"Mr. Schundler opposes the state plan, because it means saying no to developers," McGreevey argues.
"Jim McGreevey supports what we have today, and what we're getting today is the continuing abandonment of our cities," Schundler contends.
Finding ways to curb suburban sprawl has drawn more attention during this year's gubernatorial and legislative campaigns than in other statewide elections.
Part of that involves a growing movement on behalf of state, county and municipal government to preserve New Jersey's shrinking open space.
Schundler points to his accomplishments in helping to rebuild Jersey City as proof that his plan will work.
Jersey City is increasingly becoming an attractive place for people to live, he said, and many of those people ordinarily would have opted for suburban living.
"The centerpiece is to make it very attractive to build in cities and less easy to build in the suburbs," Schundler said.
Schundler support is growing for that kind of thinking: Suburban communities no longer believe in widespread development that ultimately forces higher costs for services and education.
Another aspect of Schundler's plan is to scrap the Mount Laurel decision, which he says usurps local zoning laws.
Schundler also calls the Mount Laurel decision a failure, because it created only about 27,000 new affordable housing units in 20 years. There is plenty of potential affordable housing available in the state's cities, he contends.
"What you have is affordable housing that's been abandoned," Schundler said. "Lower crime rates, reduce property taxes and improve education and we can have people who would want to live in Camden again," he said.
McGreevey says there's nothing wrong with the state development plan, which "simply" outlines were certain areas are off-limits to development, preserves open space and targets certain areas, such as cities, for development.
"The most frustrating aspect is, for the past 50 years, the decline of open space through the lack of thoughtful planning," McGreevey said.
One problem, he said, is that municipalities can't wage the fight against development alone.
"In many cases, municipalities are outgunned by the development community," McGreevey said. "It underlines the importance of working with mayors and with municipal officials who are attempting to do the right thing.
"We simply cannot let mayors grapple with this problem by themselves."
McGreevey also said Schundler's contempt for the Mount Laurel decision is a smokescreen, saying the ruling resulted in only about 5 percent of the housing developments in the state.
McGreevey's plan to stymie development also includes preserving as much open space as possible -- and not in remote areas of the state.
"We need open space that we can walk to, not just drive 45 minutes to," McGreevey said. "We have to work cooperatively with mayors and preserve open space in downtown areas, where we live, where we work."
Schundler said his plan to give more control over development to municipalities also will result in local governments, especially those trying to stop sprawl, being able to preserve open space.
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