Environmental Demagoguery

A while back, one of my Democratic adversaries castigated me – in an overheated press release probably crafted by his out-of-district Hired Gun – for failing to vote in favor of a proposal to repeal "fast track" legislation. Upon receipt of a copy of the press release, I pointed out the small difficulty that the Bill he accused me of opposing had not, in fact, ever been considered by the Assembly. Of course, he refused to permit something as trivial as the facts to stand between him and a good story. Alas. Somewhat typical of political discourse.

Rather than respond point by point to a misinformed press release, I thought I might muse briefly on the subject of Fast Track, the Highlands, and open space protection in general.

No other County boasts as impressive or as aggressive an open space preservation program as does Morris County. In additional, almost every one of our municipalities supplements this salutary program with a dedicated open space tax of its own.

Alas, the State is asleep at the switch.

Preservation of open space is not rocket science: you identify the properties most in need of preservation, and you buy them.

Unfortunately, the state chose to attempt to gain that result by regulation instead of purchase. I voted against the Highlands Bill for one very simple reason: if it’s unfair to seize the home of someone in Newark for economic development – and it is – it’s just as unfair to seize the property of someone in Jefferson without paying for it. And THAT was the purpose of the Highlands Act.

Governing requires elected officials to prioritize spending; we simply lack sufficient funds to do all the wonderful things government might legitimately do. When it comes to open space preservation, that requires us to prioritize spending, directing our purchases to those areas most in need of immediate protection.

If one accepts the premise that priority numero uno ought to be the Highlands, why are we spending tens of millions of precious, scarce dollars, fooling around with urban parks? Leaving aside the fact that local improvements should be just that – local – if the Highlands is so horribly threatened – as some so-called environmentalists assert – why aren’t we postponing efforts to construct ball parks in Newark until such time as the Highlands – you know, that place from whence folks in Newark get their drinking water? – is preserved?

Now, Fast Track wanted for a certain coherence. The point of the law was to ensure that projects in relatively environmentally insensitive areas received permits to which they were otherwise entitled in a timely fashion. Why the Democratic sponsors of the proposal insisted upon creating an entirely new edifice of government instead of simply insisting that DEP do its job in a timely fashion puzzles me.

But the hysteria this proposal generated in the so-called environmentalist community cannot be objectively justified.

From the perspective of a Morris County legislator, the matter is somewhat academic; the areas affected by Fast Track involve only a relatively small part of Morris County. And it impacts the Highlands essentially not at all.

One must recall, of course, that Fast Track applies only to projects which are, or will be, approved by the local municipal authorities. Nothing in the Bill affects the rights of a municipality to reasonably limit development through its zoning Ordinance. Hence, if someone asserts that the law undercuts municipal or county open space efforts, they’re ... not telling the truth.

And one should carefully consider whether some so-called environmental activists are really interested in preventing sprawl. The Mother of All Sprawl is Mount Laurel, that wonderful decision which undercut hundreds of perfectly reasonable zoning ordinances and produced so many magnificent condo complexes. Many of the same so-called environmentalists presently screaming bloody murder over Fast Track SUPPORT Mt. Laurel. They favor environmental protection and open space protection only if it doesn't undercut their social agenda.

If the State – and these so-called environmentalists – were serious about preserving the Highlands, they’d support the immediate repeal of Mt. Laurel and the redirection of open space funds to purchase properties in the Highlands. In the absence of such common sense policies, their baying cannot be taken as serious advocacy.