UPDATE: NJDEP's Letter to Supporters
December 13, 2007
Wow, what an amazing response so far to the North Brunswick Citizen’s Call to Action Campaign in support of the proposed North Brunswick Train Station and Transit Village! YOUR VOICES HAVE BEEN HEARD IN TRENTON!!! Everyday more and more supporters are joining this grassroots campaign to win support for the North Brunswick Transit Village. Thus far, over 400 emails were sent to Governor Corzine’s Office in support of a Train Station in North Brunswick. This is a resounding success and your efforts have been noted at the Governor’s Office and at the highest levels of NJ’s governmental departments and agencies.
Thank you for taking the time to express your support for the North Brunswick Transit Village and please tell your friends to join you in the campaign. If you or your friends have not yet participated, and want to show your support, please visit www.ourtowncenter.info and click on the yellow button that reads, “Want a Train in NB”. Future Citizen’s Call to Action alerts are in the works for our local and county officials.
In addition to the Governor’s Office, your emails were also received at the following agencies: Office of Economic Growth, Office of Smart Growth, NJ Department of Transportation, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, and NJ Transit.
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection issued a response to the Transit Village supporters. The following is a reprint of that letter:
December 10, 2007
Subject: Train Station and transit village
I would like to thank you for your email correspondence dated November 26, 2007. Your support for the proposed train station and Transit Oriented Development in the Township of North Brunswick has been noted. This proposed project has already garnered the attention of the State's various Departments and Agencies. One notable presentation of this proposed project was made earlier this year before the Development Opportunities Inter-agency Team, which was coordinated and facilitated by the Department of Community Affairs' Office of Smart Growth. At that time, representatives from eight state agencies interacted with the project developer and North Brunswick municipal officials in a beneficial discussion.
Clearly, this proposed development at the former Johnson and Johnson facility provides for an innovative reuse of the presently underutilized site.
Furthermore, the project proposals and related correspondence that I have reviewed thus far suggest that serious consideration has been given to incorporating smart growth principles into the overall site planning.
Accordingly, we are encouraged by North Brunswick's ongoing efforts to integrate multi-modal transportation opportunities into their local land use planning activities as part of a comprehensive growth management strategy.
However, as you may be aware, discussions at the local, regional and state levels are still ongoing. These discussions continue to include both the technical and financial aspects of the project's implementation.
In partnership with our state agency partners, we fully anticipate that a development proposal of this scale will have the potential to provide a significant regional benefit, while at the same time we anticipate balancing the need for a protection of environmental resources and open space, the containment of urban sprawl, more efficient use of land and infrastructure, the provision of a variety of housing options, reduced congestion pressures along the Route 1 corridor through increased public transport usage, and air quality benefits due to a reduced reliance on personal vehicles. The latter is clearly consistent with Executive Order 54, which was signed by Governor Corzine on February 13, 2007. This order specifically calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, followed by a further reduction of emissions to 80% below 2006 levels by 2050. Notably, New Jersey is one of the first states in the nation to adopt such aggressive goals.
In conclusion, the Department of Environmental Protection remains committed to working with our state agency partners and North Brunswick's municipal officials by providing the necessary guidance and assistance to ensure a favorable outcome with this development process, wherein both local goals and statewide interests can be appropriately balanced and accomplished.
Again, thank you for your commitment to making New Jersey a better place to live, work and enjoy. Should you have any further questions please feel free to contact Joseph Donald at (609) 777-0376 or by email at joe.donald@dep.state.nj.us.
