Achievements
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE 1968
Land Use
2008
- Created a coalition of coalitions consisting of New Jersey Regional Coalition, the Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment, the Platform for Prosperity Coalition, the Smart Growth Economic Development Coalition, Homes NJ, and Keep it Green Coalition. The purpose is to create a non-partisan platform for the 2009 election demonstrating the need to stop polarizing issues and push for all the goals New Jersey needs to succeed – jobs, housing, water, open land, transportation, and reducing the concentration of poverty.
- Advocated for an updated State Development and Redevelopment Plan and State Planning Act consistent with our new land use planning framework and for the State Planning Commission to resolve differences among state agencies to advance all goals.
- Held a statewide conference and published a handbook describing our new framework for the reform of land use planning, regulations and infrastructure to integrate economic, environmental, regional equity and infrastructure efficiency goals.
2007
- Launched a statewide network to champion comprehensive land use reform in New Jersey and redirect the national smart growth movement to integrate economic, environmental, regional equity and infrastructure efficiency goals in their programs.
2006
- Created 4-E Planning©, to revive the practice of comprehensive planning and to provide a framework for coordinating all branches of government to achieve a range of goals in the economy, environment, efficiency and equity.
- Created a public process, called Regional Action Plans©, or RAPs, to implement 4-E Planning ©.
- Created PlanMetrics to operationalize broad, statewide and regional goals to provide specific targets at the county level, guided by a Land Use Score to reflect existing conditions in different places.
2005
- Launched the Smart Growth Economy Project to connect the economic forces driving growth to land use decisions in specific locations.
- Partnered in the development of a plan for the Bay Shore region of Monmouth County for the State Plan Endorsement Process.
2002
- Developed three County Master Plan projects based on 3-Systems Planning© to strengthen the role of regional analysis and planning to influence land use decisions at the local level. Ongoing.
- Invented Trend Shift© methodology for setting growth targets using Smart Growth principles.
- Invented 3-Systems Planning©, a decision-tree for weighing the impacts and benefits of various strategies across critical regional systems – economy, transportation and the environment.
- Completed the Urban Growth Targets Project to determine the growth capacity of Trenton, a vision for future growth.
2001
- Invented Plan Mapping© a template for comparing plans within a region and testing for consistency.
1999
- Developed GOZ®, a computerized zoning build-out model that allows decisionmakers to compare existing zoning to Goal-Oriented Zoning and other alternative scenarios for impacts on natural resources, infrastructure, and public costs.
1998
- Invented Goal Oriented Zoning® as an alternative framework proposed to revolutionize zoning and implement the State Plan.
1995
- Created and ran until 1999 FORUM 2020, covering issues on the economy, environment, land use, infrastructure and governance,resulting in VISION 2050, a concept plan for the region based on transit corridors to shape land use decisions.
1994
- Wrote the award-winning Redesigning the Suburbs: Turning Sprawl into Centers, a guide for citizens and local officials, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
1992
- Convened the first of eight Planning Institutes to explore cutting-edge concepts in planning.
1989
- Wrote the Growth Management Handbook, one of PlanSmart NJ’s most popular publications among planning board members in New Jersey and elsewhere.
1985
- Created and ran until 1987 the REGIONAL FORUM, an innovative public/private partnership with 200 active members that developed the center-based strategy used in the 1992 State Plan that has shaped the public planning debate since then.
1983
- Partnered with others to write the “Elements of a State Planning Act,” which shaped the 1986 Act.
Transportation
2008
- Supported the Turnpike Authority’s plan to increase tolls to pay for investments in New Jersey’s infrastructure: the ARC Tunnel, the widening of the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway and provide funding for Transit.
- As a member of the Access Code Advisory Committee, advocated to remove obstructions to growth in designated growth areas.
2006
- Created a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculator to help local governments connect their land use planning decisions to the number and length of trips (Transportation contributes to about a third of New Jersey’s total greenhouse gas emissions). This tool is one of a number of PlanMetrics Calculators that we have created.
2005
- Developed land use/transportation scenarios, using our GOZ® model, for Passaic County.
2004
- Demonstrating the value of zoning scenarios in New Jersey Transit’s plan for a new Bus Rapid Transit Service in the Route 1 Corridor.
2003
- Developing an integrated land use and transportation strategy for the Route 1 Corridor, based on the region’s role in the global economy. Ongoing.
2002
- Developed the first county highway access management code project in the state. Developed a “Hot Spots Atlas” for use in the project and will use our GOZ® model to demonstrate the benefits of land use changes. Work is still ongoing.
2000
- Attracted state investment in planning for new transit services, by demonstrating the benefits of center-based zoning to the 13-town Central Jersey Transportation Forum.
1990
- Developed a breakthrough methodology to study the impact of land use decisions on transportation for the Federal Transit Administration (then UMTA). Our study demonstrated that State Plan-centers, when combined with aggressive demand management and improved transit services, could reduce growth in traffic in the region by 60 percent.
1988
- Partnered with the Urban Land Institute to sponsor debates on traffic reduction ordinances, demand management strategies, and local land use controls to reduce traffic congestion.
1983
- Created the first private TMA on the East Coast, called the Greater Mercer TMA.
1982
- Conducted public outreach for the first major corridor
study in the state, resulting in a NJDOT plan
to upgrade Route 1 and in two innovative laws: 1) to
create transportation financing districts and 2) stronger
control over highway access. Project ended in
1985.
1981
- Attracted $125 million of the money designated for the abandoned section of I-95 to the Route 1 Corridor, where development and infrastructure already existed.
1979
- Partnered with others to stop the extension of Interstate-95 through the Sourlands, replacing it with a plan to make the NJ Turnpike the designated Interstate corridor.
Water Resources
2008
- Convened a regulatory reform roundtable to make recommendations to NJDEP’s Permit Efficiency Task Force.
2007
- Launched a campaign to get DEP to change rules that “protect land from infrastructure, but not from development in the wrong places.” In fact, rules are discouraging growth in adopted growth areas, encouraging sprawl, which will degrade water resources.
2004
- Developing a GIS-based methodology for Counties and local governments to use to prioritize open space preservation. Work still ongoing.
2002
- Invented a risk assessment methodology, using GOZ® and other tools, to guide decisions to improve water quality and protect water supply.
- Demonstrated the benefits of zoning changes to municipalities in the Doctors and Crosswicks Creek Watershed Management Area, using our GOZ® model to explore build-out of existing zoning and alternatives that would better protect the water.
- Created an innovative approach to watershed management for the Central Delaware Tributaries Watershed Management Area, writing a model Settings Report, Action Plan.
1978
- Partnered with the D&R Canal Commission to write model regulations to protect stream corridors.
1976
- Succeeded in changing a sprawl-inducing proposal to sewer the Hopewell Valley to one that would correct failing septic systems in the Boroughs and provide service to a section of the Township where highways, a rail line and the airport made it more appropriate for development.
Open Space,
Urban Forestry, Farmland
2008
- Completed a handbook for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to demonstrate how to integrate the value of natural capital into local land use planning and zoning regulations.
2007
- Developed an Open Space Access Score, which evaluates places for their access to open space, pointing out equity issues in the amount of investment that goes to suburban, rather than urban areas.
2006
- Used our GOZ® model to demonstrate ways in which Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), a seldom used planning tool, could be used in Salem County.
2004
- Developing a model planning process to plan for Transfer of Development Rights from land targeted for preservation to land targeted for growth. Ongoing.
2001
- Wrote the Green Infrastructure Guide for the US Department of Agriculture on the importance of natural resources in community planning, attracting national press and the attention of a national publisher.
1992
- Created and managed a major urban forestry demonstration project, developing, the Mercer County Green Links Plan and educational materials for local residents.
1989
- Partnered with other groups to create a land trust for the region, the Delaware and Raritan Greenway.
1981
- Wrote Planning for Agriculture in New Jersey, still a valuable primer on farmland preservation techniques.
1980
- Conducted an analysis that became the basis for New Jersey’s farmland retention program and for the delineation of Agricultural Development Areas (ADAs).
Affordable Housing
2008
- Completed a report for the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness in which we developed an analysis to estimate the number of units needed provide opportunities for affordable housing.
- Worked with the New Jersey Regional Coalition on a bill to reform some housing policies and abolish Regional Contribution Agreements. The bill was signed into law in July.
2007
- Active in demonstrating ways COAH rules, the Fair Housing Act, and other housing programs should change to produce more affordable housing for families in safe neighborhoods with good schools and jobs.
2006
- Developed PlanMetric Calculators to connect jobs to incomes to housing, and to improve access of the urban labor force to jobs and affordable housing in suburban locations.
2004
- Provided an evaluation of various ways to set affordable housing targets to use as background for our own critique of current and proposed government programs as well as shaping the positions of other non-profits.
1998
- Partnered with others to create the statewide Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment. PlanSmart President, Dianne Brake, is Secretary of the Board. The Coalition has shaped open space preservation legislation to include urban areas, put together an 85-member coalition in opposition to proposals to cut back on affordable housing production, and initiated a lawsuit against COAH rules that would reduce the amount of affordable housing built. Ongoing.
1996
- Established the Regional Housing Partnership to promote alternatives to the “builders remedy” to provide affordable housing.
1991
- Held “Red Bricks Green Fields” conference, the first of its kind in New Jersey to bring together environmental and affordable housing advocates.
1984
- Shaped and advocated for the adoption of the 1985 Fair Housing Act and the 1986 State Planning Act.
1978
- Filed a brief, joined by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association, in support of good planning when locating affordable housing sites. The Supreme Court agreed in the 1983 Mt. Laurel II decision.
1970
- Wrote Housing and the Quality of the Environment to call attention to the limited amount of land zoned for housing as opposed to the amount zoned for jobs.
Governance
2008
- Upon his invitation, met with Governor Corzine and senior members of his cabinet to outline our land use and regulatory reform package.
2005
- Worked with the New Jersey Regional Coalition on an advocacy platform for property tax reform, including regional tax-base sharing and targeted school funding to support poor school children wherever they are located. Ongoing.
2003
- Devised a regional planning process that ends in multi-jurisdictional agreements on changes to plans, regulations and investments to achieve Smart Growth. This agreement is called a Regional Action Plan©, or RAP.
- 1997
- Convened a coalition for property tax reform that filed a brief with the NJ Supreme Court in the Abbott v. Burke school-funding case, and testified to Governor Whitman’s Property Tax Commission, advocating a broader-based source of revenue to fund schools and other public facilities.
1996
- Created and managed the Land Use, Infrastructure, and Environment Project (LUIE), resulting in detailed proposals for New Jersey to integrate decision- making, streamline permits and provide better environmental outcomes.
1987
- Partnered with others to create New Jersey Future, an organization whose mission is to promote state planning and advocate for the implementation of the State Plan.
Economy And Justice
2008
- Testified as to the Smart Growth benefits of the enactment of a Permit Extension Act to reduce the duration of the recession. It was enacted into law in September.
- Joined the Smart Growth Economic Development Coalition to revise laws and regulations to support redevelopment efforts.
- Demonstrated in a handbook and at a conference how to reform land use planning, regulations and infrastructure to achieve racial and economic integration and reduce government costs, while pursuing economic and environmental goals.
2005
- Launched the Smart Growth Economy Project to promote the location of new jobs in areas consistent with the State Plan, as well as to harness New Jersey’s growth sectors, especially Transportation, Communications and Utilities that have significant land use implications, to create Smart Growth outcomes. Ongoing.
2003
- Partnered with others to form the New Jersey Regional Coalition and hire national Smart Growth and regional equity expert, Myron Orfield, to report on New Jersey’s pattern of racial and economic segregation. PlanSmart President, Dianne Brake, is Treasurer of the Board and co-chair of the policy advisors. The Coalition, which consists of faith-based and union groups as well as policy and planning organizations, focuses on organizing a constituency to support racial and economic integration, more affordable housing in the suburbs, property tax reform and stronger regional planning. Ongoing.
1999
- Created the Regional Economic Partnership to develop regional guidelines for local economic development activity, with over 70 recommendations to ensure that economic development would achieve smart growth.