He said the key to handling those new workers is expanding the commuter train lines and moving ahead with plans for light-rail passenger trains. Instead of always having to hop in their cars, county residents could walk or take trains to work, stores, or home, he said. It's an entirely new world. At the same time, Mattson said, the county and its towns must actively buy remaining open space for preservation. But, as several people complained at Thursday's meeting, the state development plan is voluntary.
Nothing requires municipal and county officials to follow it.
The State Planning Commission expects to adopt the development plan by the end of February and is in the midst of holding hearings on the issue around the state. A meeting in Passaic County is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at the county police academy on Oldham Road in Wayne. A state environmental group and local activists, however, have viewed the St. Lawrence Cement Co. plant, now nearing completion, much differently. Some residents of the mostly black and Hispanic neighborhood fear serious health consequences from the discharge of dust particles into an area where 61 percent of residents have reported respiratory problems. They say no one ever gave them a chance to comment publicly on the project until construction was well under way.