NJ "Planning Groups" Fronting for Builders Against Highlands Protections

NJ Environmental Federation -- Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter

For Immediate Release Contact: Jeff
Tittel, Sierra Club, 609-558-9100 Thursday, August 7, 2008 David Pringle, NJ Env'l. Fed., 732-996-4288

NJ "Planning Groups" Fronting for Builders Against Highlands Protections

The New Jersey Environmental Federation and Sierra Club's New Jersey Chapter issued the following joint statement today in response to New Jersey Future, Plan Smart New Jersey, and Regional Planning Association's press release yesterday urging Governor Corzine to oppose protecting the Highlands region, home to the water supply for over 5 million New Jerseyans and the state's three largest industries:

"These groups who call themselves planning groups are really fronts for development companies. Two thirds of their boards are in the development industry (see attached 2 page addendum). They are developers, work for developers, consult for developers, or finance developers.

"They are all currently working to weaken environmental protections through the Department of Community Affairs' Housing Task Force, which environmentalists were specifically excluded from, and have been kicked out of multiple environmental alliances over the years, including the Environmental Summit many years ago and the New Jersey Highlands Coalition within the past couple of years.

"New Jersey Future actively worked to pass Fast Track and weaken the Highlands Act in 2004 and has taken anti-environment positions in the Department of Environmental Protection's Permit Efficiency Task Force and on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) this year.

"A representative from Plan Smart New Jersey was the formal spokesperson for the builders' coalition in support of the Permit Extension Act in June. The group also lobbied in support of Route 92, an environmental and economic boondoggle if there ever was one, and supported Merrill Lynch sprawling over farmfields in Hopewell just a few years ago.

"RPA's New Jersey director gave the sponsor of Fast Track an award for it when it was passed in 1994.

"It's now no surprise they're continuing doing the builders' bidding by attacking the Highlands."

-- end of statement, 2 page addendum attached -- Developer Interests on NJ Future's Board of Trustees (Source: http://www.njfuture.org <http://www.njfuture.org/> ) Anne S. Babineau, Esq. Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer P.A. Jorge H. Berkowitz, PhD, Langan Engineering & Environmental Services William Best, Community Development Banking, PNC Bank Dorothy P. Bowers, Merck & Co. Andrew M. Chapman, Macquarie Infrastructure Management, Inc. Anthony J. Cimino, CMX Thomas P. Corcoran, Cooper's Ferry Development Association Samuel A. Delgado, Vice Verizon W. Cary Edwards, Esq., Edwards & Caldwell Robert W. Frantz, Tyco International Robert Geddes, FAIA , Architect and urban designer, Robert S. Goldsmith, Esq., Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP Richard F. X. Johnson, Matrix Development Group Jane M. Kenny, The Whitman Strategy Group, LLC Beth Kitchen, PP, AICP, Kitchen & Associates Architectural Services, PA Joseph J. Maraziti, Jr., Esq., Maraziti Falcon & Healey LLP Steven J. Pozycki, SJP Properties Peter S. Reinhart, Esq., Hovnavian Enterprises, Inc. Wanda I. Saez, Wachovia R. Edwin Selover, Esq., PSE&G Lee Wasman, Atlantic City Electric Steven D. Weinstein, Esq., Blank Rome LLP

Developer Interests on Plan Smart NJ's Board (http://www.plansmartnj.org <http://www.plansmartnj.org/> ) Karen Alexander, NJ Utilities Association Robert A. Bartolini, Ph.D., Sarnoff, Retired Linda Bentz, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Carol L. Beske, ACT Engineers Inc. Philip B. Caton, PP, AICP, Clarke Caton Hintz Ignace L. Conic, SPHR, Prudential Lawra Dodge, Excel Environmental Resources, Inc. Raymond A. Ferrara, Ph.D., Omni Environmental LLC Gordon B. Fisher, PNC Bank Jeremiah Ford, III, AIA, Ford3 Architects, LLC Richard S. Goldman, Esq., Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP Pamela Hersh, Princeton HealthCare System J. Robert Hillier, FAIA, Hillier Architecture Joanne M. Jaeger, PE, CIH, Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Kathleen Kerr, NJ Natural Gas Melvin R. Lehr, DMJM + Harris, Retired Kevin J. Moore, Sills Cummis & Gross Joseph J. Maraziti, Jr. , Esq., Maraziti, Falcon & Healey Robert Marshall, Atlantic City Electric Joseph A. McNamara, NJ LECET Anthony Pizzutillo, Smith Pizzutillo LLC Ciro A. Scalera, Verizon New Jersey Mark Solomon, Esq., Pepper Hamilton LLP Michael Willmann, WMSH Marketing Communications Melanie Willoughby, NJBIA

Nancy Witt, Sweetwater Construction Corporation Robert J. Wolfe, Picus Associates, Inc

Developer Interests on Regional Planning Association's Board of Directors (http://rpa.org/) Laurie Beckelman, Beckelman + Capalino J. Max Bond, Jr., Davis Brody & Bond, LLP Frank S. Cicero, Lehman Brothers Jill M. Considine, Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. Kevin S. Corbett, DMJM+HARRIS Christopher J. Daggett, J. M. Sorge, Inc. Alfred A. DelliBovi, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Brendan P. Dougher, , PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Brendan J. Dugan, Independence Community Bank Douglas Durst, Durst Organization, Inc. Fernando Ferrer, Fleishchman-Hillard Government Relations James J. Florio, Xspand Timur Galen, Goldman Sachs Mark B. Goldfus, Public Policy Analysis & Special Counsel, Merrill Lynch & Co. Peter W. Herman, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy Dylan Hixon, Arden Road Investments Ira H. Jolles, Thelen, Reid & Priest, LLP Mark Joseph, Allied Junction Corp. Matthew S. Kissner, The Kissner Group Robert Knapp, Ironsides Partners LLC John Z. Kukral, Northwood Investors Richard C. Leone, Century Foundation Charles J. Maikish, TABS (Toxin Alerting Building Systems) Joseph J. Maraziti, Jr., Maraziti, Falcon & Healey, LLP Kevin J. Pearson, M & T Bank Corporation James S. Polshek, Polshek Partnership Architects LLP Thomas F. Prendergast, Americas, Parsons Brinckerhoff Richard Ravitch, Rice & Company LLC Gregg Rechler, R Squared LLC Michael J. Regan, JPMorganChase Thomas L. Rich, F. D. Rich Company Claire M. Robinson, Moody's Corporation Stevan A. Sandberg, ISBRE Holding Corp. Thomas J. Stanton, The Staubach Company Luther Tai, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. Marilyn J. Taylor, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Sharon C. Taylor, Prudential Financial Richard T. Thigpen, Public Service Enterprise Group Timothy J. Touhey, New Jersey Builders Association Karen E. Wagner, Davis Polk & Wardwell William M. Yaro, Shearman & Sterling

Becca Glenn, Program Assistant New Jersey Sierra Club

145 W. Hanover Street Trenton, NJ 08618

609-656-7612: phone

609-656-7618: fax

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