NJ Govornor abandons ‘BIG map’

Adivided state legislature and opposition from builders have dissuaded New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey from pushing much of the anti-sprawl agenda he proposed last January. The New York Times reported Oct. 21 that McGreevey, a first-term Democrat, has “abandoned the BIG map, for Blueprint for Intelligent Growth, which had divided the state into areas open for more growth, some growth and no growth.” “All that remains of Mr. Mc-Greevey’s legislative agenda are a noncontroversial proposal to help farmers sell development rights, giving the developer who pays for them a bigger project somewhere else, and possibly one allowing towns to charge developers additional fees,” The Times reported. However, the governor used his environmental regulatory powers to close 7,865 acres around reservoirs to development and to impose buffers along 69 miles of rivers and streams.