TCNJ News
For Immediate Release
June 9, 2008
TCNJ's Municpal Land Use Center to draft state plan for development and redevelopment
EWING, NJ … TCNJ’S Municipal Land Use Center (MLUC@TCNJ) is drafting the third iteration of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan. This plan will serve as a guide for the state government in respect to public investments policies and programs affecting wide-ranging quality of life concerns.
The plan seeks to promote beneficial economic growth, create opportunities for affordable housing, integrate transportation with land-use planning, protect the environment and preserve farmland. In addition, some new topics are likely to be included in the latest State Plan iteration such as the concept of “sustainability.”
Before the 1970’s, almost all states relied on local governments to draft their own plans but this approach has been questioned in recent decades by New Jersey and other states. In 1986, the New Jersey State legislature enacted the State Planning Act that called for the coordination and integration of planning in New Jersey among the State departments, agencies, counties and municipalities.
The State Planning Act established a 17-member State Planning Commission that includes members of the Governor’s Cabinet, local government representatives and public members that are drawn from major stakeholder groups interested in the State’s growth management.
New Jersey’s 21 counties and 566 municipalities are required to actively participate in the development of the State Plan, a labor-intensive planning process that has typically taken six years in the past. The current process is nearing eight years and the State Planning Commission enlisted MLUC@TCNJ to complete the effort.
Dr. Martin Bierbaum, MLUC @ TCNJ Director, formerly served as Assistant Director to the State Planning Commission and was responsible for writing the first State Plan iteration between 1987 and 1992.
After serving as Director of Environmental Planning for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bierbaum was asked to lead State Plan Implementation Teams in the six departments represented on the State Planning Commission to facilitate State Plan implementation between 1998 and 2001.
“I thought that I had left the State Plan behind me when I left State government to come to TCNJ in 2004.” However, he added, “I look forward to this assignment, now my third State Plan stint. I hope to draw upon my past experience, to review the extensive comments made during the cross-acceptance process, and to provide the State Planning Commission with a draft for its consideration and hopefully eventual adoption.”
TCNJ student interns are assisting Bierbaum with this project that will continue throughout the summer and perhaps into the fall 2008 before it is submitted to the State Planning Commission.
About The College of New Jersey
TCNJ currently is ranked as one of the 75 "Most Competitive" schools in the nation by Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, is rated the No. 1 public institution in the northern region of the country by U.S. News & World Report, and is one of Kiplinger's Personal Finance's top educational values in the country. In 2006, the College joined an elite group of institutions when it was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Fewer than 10 percent of the nation's colleges and universities share this honor.
