Battle of development vs. Pinelands

[dogg57]

A disagreement over a single zoning definition could bring Egg Harbor Township back into court after decades of sparring over state Pinelands regulation.
Township Administrator Peter Miller said amendments being pushed by the Pinelands Commission would introduce an overly broad definition of “impervious surfaces.” The definition, he said, would include common driveway materials such as crushed stone and seashell — both of which allow stormwater to seep into the soil — into ground cover calculations.
This could surprise homeowners who come in with plans to build an addition or outbuilding, Miller said. Suddenly, their stone driveway could count against them.
“If they have a one acre lot and their driveway is 100 feet long and 10 feet wide, that’s a lot of impervious cover,” he said. “They may not be able to build as much as they thought they could.”

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_84510d40-7543-11e1-a308-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[PancoastDrifter]

Balderdash.

 

[bobpbx]

Interesting article because there is so much to consider when you read it. Designated a regional growth area, they had to accept a lot of construction. Now they are frustrated because the homeowners are mad at them for not letting them do anything on their properties. By the way...the sea shell and rocks probably allow a lot of the rain that fell on that surface to evaporate. Good? Bad?

But wait, what about the poor bay? Do we worry about what high construction does by adding all the runoff from homes to that?

One thing is abundantly clear. Without the decisions taken in the late 70's to create the Pinelands National Reserve and the Pinelands Commission, it would be an outrageous free for all. Imagine if the upper Oswego were not on state property. There would be a home every 300 feet along it's banks.