A proposal would be to support regional clearinghouses. Mr. Hamill distributed a statement to the committee on the Concept for Land Use Reform in New Jersey. In his initial remarks, Mr. Slaugh suggested that the Committee look at New Jersey's role in the country in a land use context. This being that New Jersey is the most densely populated State in the country, has the second highest household income, with population being highly educated. New Jersey's planning process puts planning first where only a handful of other States require planning first and regulation second.
New Jersey has an open process though it can be lengthy.
The weak link in the process is regional planning. New Jersey has specialized regional planning entities but they are not well integrated. He felt that the county planning legislation is weak and that the emphasis should be on functional plans and land use aspects tied in at the local level. Mr. Hamill suggested there be an inter-municipal review board represented by each affected municipality and County Planning Board member. The board would have the authority to decide on a development application and would replace local review for these projects only.