Smart growth is a familiar term, which means sustainable, controlled, and better-managed development, according to most of the office holders in the study. For example, most support proposals to stop the flow of tax dollars to pay for new roads, sewers, and schools in new sprawl developments, and for the state to guarantee extra redevelopment funds to communities that redevelop rather than encourage commercial development on new land. Mixed views on state government's role. These decision-makers believe the state government has an important role to play in helping local areas purchase land to preserve as open space. But at the same time, they do not trust the state to have a hand in local decisions about zoning or other regulations that relate to development.
Developers exert influence.
Many in our study see developers as wielding the most influence on land use decisions, and they feel helpless to stop the drive to develop. They feel this way, as we have stated, in some measure because of perceived weaknesses in the State Redevelopment Plan, and because of the threat of lawsuits. In conclusion, these decision-makers feel they are referees in a fight for every inch of New Jersey's land. They do not shrink from the task, but they are still searching for solutions that are right and also politically viable. They do not trust the state government, but they are looking for leadership to show them the way out of the pressure cooker they currently inhabit.