ACTION ALERT

The draft New Jersey STATE DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT PLAN (SDRP) - an important tool for limiting sprawl and over-development - has been released. The State Planning Commission seeks public comment on the draft before its final adoption on February 28, 2001.

Your help is needed to support this plan. The New York - New Jersey Trail conference is developing and maintains trails throughout northern New Jersey. These trails exist under a constant threat from development. This well thought out plan will offer welcome relief to those that seek to protect our trail corridors and other sensitive areas.

Incorporated into this final draft are development guidelines for local communities as well as

Important incentives to protect open space through planning. The Trail Conference supports the Planning Area 5 ("Environmentally sensitive, not to be developed") designation for most of the Highlands Region, which is the recommendation presented in this final draft State Plan.

Parcels of land are designated to one of five "Planning Areas". These range from PA-1 (urban), through PA-2 (suburban), PA-3 (fringe), and PA-4 (rural/agricultural/forested, not to be developed) to PA-5 (environmentally sensitive, not to be developed).

The Commission will review comments and suggestions after each hearing. All of northern New Jersey Counties will have hearings before the end of January. These are:

1. Morris County Wednesday, January 3 at 7 pm
County Administration Building, Freeholder Meeting Room, Court Street, Morristown
973-829-8120

2. Bergen County Thursday, January 11 at 7 pm.
Freeholder Public Meeting Room, Room 301 - East Wing, Court Plaza South, 21 Main Street, Hackensack
201-646-3132

3. Warren County Wednesday, January 13 at 7 pm
Pequest State Fish Hatchery, 605 Pequest Road, Oxford
908-829-8120

4. Hunterdon County Thursday, January 18 at 7 pm
County Complex, Freeholders Meeting Room, Route 12, Flemington
908-788-1102

5. Passaic County Monday, January 22 at 7 pm
Passaic County Police Academy Building, Oldham Road, Wayne

Written comments will be accepted until February 23.

If you would like to examine this proposed plan you can access it on the Office of State Planning website http://www.state.nj.us/osp or pick up a "CD" or hard copy version at any of the county hearings.

Please attend a hearing to show your support.