New Jersey Is Running Out of Open Land It Can Build on

NY Times (non-fiction ed.) ^ | May 24, 2003 | LAURA MANSNERUS

[Pharmboy]

Riddle me this, Freepers: I live in northern NJ and there seems to be puh-LENTY of land around. What are these people talking about?

[Dutch Boy]

Sounds like a lie to either raise property values or some other underhanded move. BTW - It's the USA. If it's too crowded in one place move to another.

[Rodney King]

American appetites for space have put ever-smaller families onto ever-larger lots.

I don't get it, if you don't like crowded streets, then you should support everybody having a huge lot.

[KevinDavis]

A case for human colonization of space or a case for telling where people can live.

[mewzilla]

American appetites for space have put ever-smaller families onto ever-larger lots.

I don't know what this guy's smoking. Around here anyway, Upstate NY, it's McMansions built on wee postage stamp lawns with no trees or landscaping that might require any work. Never understood why folks who could afford more room would want to live cheek by jowl with their neighbors.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

It's a conspiracy to make NJ a suburb of NY.

[Pharmboy]

It's just more envy and class-consciousness, I believe. Notice they managed to get an anti-SUV message in. Typical, one-sided Times reporting.

[geege]

Well Hunterdon County is getting to be like Yonkers NY (where I originally came from).....Every available piece of land has a mansion built on it.....traffic is unbelieveable compare to when I moved down here 6 years ago......it's very congested.....

[Pharmboy]

That's horsey country...beautiful, rolling green hills, right?

[Pharmboy]

That's horsey country...beautiful, rolling green hills, right?

[mewzilla]

But the have a point with the SUVs, and it's not being picky. Especially in cities or high pop density areas. Ever watch an ambulance or emergency vehicle try to navigate a congested street with huge cars parked on either or both sides? It really is a problem. An unintended consequence of the nation's love of big vehicles colliding with the reality of narrow streets. And it can really come back to bite you on the backside if it's you or a loved one depending on that emergency vehicle. But this should have been taken into account. It's not a new problem, just getting worse.

[ricpic]

Jersey Pizza....................Ahhhhhhh

Route 17 Services.........Ahhhhhhh

The Jersey Horse Country..............Ahhhhhhh

The Jersey Shore...........Ahhhhhhh

[leprechaun9]

This issue has nothing to do with land development! It is an orchestrated effort to replenish the large voting blocks that the Democraps control in the inner cities. That is why the State Development Guide Plan "encourages (i.e., subsidies)redevelopment of the cities.

When I grew up in Newark, NJ in the 1940-1950 era, the peak population was ~480,000. In the last census, that number has fallen to ~220,000. Many of the people have moved into the suburbs (except those who have left the state because of corruption and taxes) and diluted the large voting blocks for statewide elections.

[geege]

Yes lots of rolling hills but too many houses are going up.....they just stopped them from building a "Lowes" on a nice piece of farmland by Pittstown.....thank God because it's like LIE already with Wal-Mart and Shoprite right around the corner.......

[bart99]

Seems like there is plenty of land available - for the right money, time, and effort for those who want it, or have an 'agenda'.

See
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/916161/posts

[bart99]

" Never understood why folks who could afford more room would want to live cheek by jowl with their neighbors."

---

Townhouse communities are popular cause of the little maintenance required. No lawn mowing for example. More time for enjoying the evening and weekends...... elsewhere.

[Pharmboy]

A most interesting take! I knew there would be a Freeper out there with an insight worth sharing.

But really, can you imagine the demonrats doing this for votes? ;-)

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

I hope you don't live in what I call 'Home Depot City' (Philippsburgh) :))))

Did you happen to be on I-78 yesterday evening?

[Kay Ludlow]

land consumption is increasing faster than the population is growing. As in other parts of the country, land is consumed three to four times faster than the population grows. "

So what does this say? New Jersey has more households with 2 or fewer people, and they are buying homes with more space. That's a function of wealth.

If you look through the census site (as I did several years ago, when I was curious about the sprawl thing) you'll see that the average household size in the 50's and 60's was a little over six people per household. Now, it's down to a little over two. As all the baby boomers will soon be living by themselves or with one other person (and they are still the demographic driver), this problem is going to fix itself. It's unlikely the average houshold size will fall under 2, as that would mean very few people have children and most live by themselves. It certainly can't fall under one. Once the smallest practical household size is reached (and we're close now), "sprawl" will magically stop. Not that no new places will be built, but as demand falls off the prices of existing homes will fall, making it cheaper to buy used than to build new.

Actually, I won't be surprised to see, in the next decade or two, serious real estate devaluation for this reason. Of course, if government continues it's recent pattern of excessive land use regulations, they may restrict supply enough to keep prices up, defeating their own purposes ;-)

The environmentalists who keep screaming about this issue are often the ones themselves contributing to it by living ALONE, instead of sharing their home with other family members or the poor homeless...

This is really an issue created because focus groups said it would work. The real purpose is to meet the Agenda 21 goal of putting all land use decisions in the hands of government and taking them away from the property owners. Private ownership (or control) of property interferes with the UN's goals of social justice and income equity.

[A Vast RightWing Conspirator]

The Jersey Shore?????

Last time I spent a few days there we had to wake up before sunup to get a good swim or the stupid lifeguards would have the SWAT team pick us off the water as soon as we walked where it got above knee-level.