NJ pinelands gives Stafford Township a poor mark

[dogg57]

An annual report on the state of the New Jersey pinelands gives Stafford Township a poor mark for its decision to support a solar power project atop a landfill in the Stafford Business Park.
The Pinelands Preservation Alliance's 2011 State of the Pinelands report says the township's decision sets a bad precedent.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...cle_5369ff52-c7a1-11e0-a082-001cc4c002e0.html

 

[Spung-Man]

Lovely, perhaps Stafford would consider adopting a “twin towns – sister city” designation with Buena Vista Township.

 

[joc]

Ok , i'm dating myself , but Rt 72 used to have 4 things in Stafford :Airstrip, drive- in movie theater, car dealer and a gas station.Its now similiar to RT 46 in Bergen County .There were no controls of any type on development.Apparently none of the Pinelands zoning laws were ever utilized in Stafford. They just never, ever stop building .In 1980 the pop was 10k .Its now almost 30K. I realize things change , but 200% growth in 30 yrs is a bit much.Problem is they have the same highways as the 1970's .

 

[Spung-Man]

Joe,

As I understand, the Pinelands Commission allows, or even encourages, "fill-in" development between built areas. It is up to each of us to let our municipality know that we want more protection and preservation than economic "enhancement" of Pinelands resources, and demand that all development must adhere to the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).

S-M

 

[joc]

Thanks for the response ! I hope Stafford's Environmentally /conservation minded folks get a bit more aggressive.Maybe its because in my lifetime (i'm 51 ) Stafford's growth just seems out of control. I could be wrong but Burlington Co, Atlantic , etc seem to have done a better over-all job. The general understanding years ago (laymans) was anything west of the GSP would be considered Pinelands .Obviously , this was not accurate .The No. portion of Ocean has been developed for a while - Toms River ,Brick etc ,Having said all this , they seem to be aggressive on protecting the Bay .Not to be cynical , but its probably because the county's largest industry is tourism.

Joe,

As I understand, the Pinelands Commission allows, or even encourages, "fill-in" development between built areas. It is up to each of us to let our municipality know that we want more protection and preservation than economic "enhancement" of Pinelands resources, and demand that all development must adhere to the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).

S-M