Plan would tap sales tax for open space
By Angela Delli Santi
Associated Press

TRENTON - Hailing the state's open-space preservation program as one of the most successful government efforts on record, proponents say it's vital to the quality of life of all New Jerseyans to replenish the funding.

A legislative resolution calls for asking voters in November to approve dedicating a portion of the state sales tax to the Garden State Preservation Trust. The program oversees open-space acquisition and preservation of farms and historic sites.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a similar request in 1998, resulting in $2 billion in land purchases. But the fund ran out of money for new projects this year - two years ahead of schedule.

"By many accounts, this is a program that is well-run and has a lot of stewardship," said Assemblyman Douglas Fisher, a sponsor of the resolution.

Fisher (D., Cumberland) will hold hearings in the next month before he takes the plan to the Agriculture Committee, which he chairs. The first hearing was to be held last night in Gloucester County.

"I think what we're going to find out is that this program has had, and will continue to have, one of the most broad-based coalitions of support in the state's history," Fisher said.

His proposal would ask voters to dedicate $175 million annually from the sales tax for preservation and to buy acreage in flood-prone areas. The proposal is designed to fund land purchases for 10 years."

Open-space programs in New Jersey are the most successful governmental programs in state history," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Not only have they bought hundreds of thousands of acres of lands in New Jersey, they've provided greenways and bike paths, protected areas from flooding, prevented sprawl."

Gov. Corzine acknowledged in his State of the State address in January the need "to protect our open space and create more urban parks, particularly in light of the need in 2007 to ask the voters to renew the Garden State Preservation Trust."

He appears to have backed off that position lately, saying in last week's budget address that leasing a toll road could help fund open-space efforts.

"The governor singled out open-space preservation as one of the many long-term capital needs the state does not have the ability to meet given the present structure of our finances," Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said. "He will work with the Legislature and all stakeholders to identify a source of funding that will be sustainable over the long run."

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