The elderly prefer to be near stores, public transit and other amenities and are not as deterred by the problems of urban school districts. That will not change regardless of how the plan is followed. Jeffrey Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the plan is full of good intentions but needs considerable work to deliver on its promise of protecting the environment. Burchell said the plan works because much of the growth will be concentrated in small towns and centers in the suburbs. Development will be less sprawling, he said.
Residents find the area attractive because they can get jobs in close proximity to their homes.
The study also made numerous findings about the effects of open-space preservation. Despite the fears of builders, there will be plenty of land available for development in 20 years even with Whitman's program to protect 1 million acres, the study said. There are nearly 2 million acres available for development as of a 1995 Department of Environmental Protection study. Half would remain after Whitman's program. The Rutgers study says about 233,000 acres of the remaining 1 million acres would be consumed under the proposed state plan revisions.