Garden State Preservation Trust Hearing

On Tuesday night, 3/20/07, there was a public hearing in Morristown held by the NJ Assembly Agricultural committee to get public input on the proposal to renew the Garden State Preservation Trust. Unfortunately, members of the public were almost entirely lacking in the audience. The overwhelming presence was that of dozens of environmental non-profit groups, all in favor of renewing the GSPT. Why would they want to renew it? After all, the new trend in land preservation in New Jersey is to get the Legislature to simply regulate private property so severely as to render it worthless, just like they did with the Highlands Act. Taxpayers only have to pay for the regulatory beaurocracy, and don't have to pay a penny for the land itself. Since the environmental lobby was effective at getting the land preserved for free and can no doubt get any other land preserved the same way, why do they need the GSPT? Well, they all get millions and millions of grant money from it which feeds their lust for more control and more regulations. They get grants to broker the deals. They get grants to take care of the land they acquire. They get grants to acquire the land outright and take it out of the control of both the landowner and the state who actually paid for it. The taxpayers of NJ are gladly turning over their hard earned money and billions of dollars of assets to these groups under the guise of open space preservation. In return, those billions of dollars leave the economy forever and control of vast amounts of land is transferred to the non profit organization with little oversight by the state since they are just too broke to do much about it. Thankfully, there are a few of the non profits who do a fantastic job with the properties they own. Many historical sites have been saved and renovated as a result of their efforts. But most of them are driven by the desire to continue to pay their own salaries with taxpayer money and to take control of large tracts of land.

The GSPT has it's place. But it is not the answer to compensation in the Highlands since few properties actually qualify for any of the programs. And it could use some significant improvements. The stewardship program needs to be expanded so that property owners who actually take care of the land can be compensated instead of just the non-profits. The state needs to do more to support the Agriculture industry - what good is saving the farmland if we make it impossible for the farmer to survive? The development rights should not just disappear out of the economy forever. To use Governor Corzine's pet expression, they should be "monetized". The state keeps telling us that we will be able to sell our development rights. If that was so easy, what aren't they doing it themselves, and putting the proceeds back into the pockets of the people who pay the GSPT tax?