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Featuring Gary Rose, Chief of the New Jersey Office of
Economic Growth, and DCA Commissioner Susan Bass
Levin, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, along with
several business and chamber organizations throughout
New Jersey, held policy forums at Fairleigh Dickinson
University and Richard Stockton College in December
and February to begin to develop an over all strategy
on economic development for the suburbs. The final
report and surveys from the participating businesses,
Mayors and government leaders and officials will be
presented at the New Jersey Conference of Mayors
Annual Convention on Friday, April 13, 2007. As the
NJCM coordinator for the forums I was interviewed by
NJBIZ and below are a number of excerpts from the
interview:
Reporter:
What is the modern definition of the suburb? Has the
concept changed?
Weber:
The only thing that has changed is the broadness of
the definition. “Suburb” used to be anything
immediately outside of the city. Now it is much
broader. I would suggest that, except for extreme
Southern and Northern New Jersey, the whole state is
either a city or a suburb. Rural
New Jersey
is becoming a thing of the past.
Reporter:
What is the economic state of the suburbs?
Weber:
In one word: Challenged. The suburbs in New Jersey are
among the first developed after World War II and they
are now facing a number of challenges that the urban
communities have been facing for years- such as an
older population, older infrastructure, rising taxes,
and reduced tax retable’s to name a few.
Reporter:
How has the expansion of the suburbs changed the
state’s economy?
Weber:
Through transportation and the need for the State to
develop a transportation system that works both in the
suburban and urban areas. Education would be another
emphasis. There is huge pressure on the various
suburban education systems to expand its schools and
this will take a great deal of money and the taxpayers
are already overburdened.
Reporter:
What are the economic strengths and weaknesses of the
suburbs?
Weber:
The strength is location. Many suburbs, particularly
in
Northern New Jersey,
are located near well-developed railroads, bus
stations, and highways and many have good education
systems and shopping. The weakness or challenge is
the fact that they were built a long time ago and
their infrastructures are getting older–their roads,
sewer and water systems are getting older and need
repairs. Most suburbs are overtaxed and their
population is getting older and their senior
population is having a difficult time maintaining
their homes. In the newer suburbs the challenge is
growth and the stresses it has on an expanding
community. The cost of police, fire and the rest of
municipal services keep rising as the community grows
and finally, the cost of housing is too expensive.
Reporter:
What can be done to create more work force housing?
Weber:
Three steps should be taken. One, we need to create an
opportunity so that the average worker can afford to
buy a home and educate their families near their place
of employment. Two, We need to make it more attractive
for the developers to have the incentive to build more
affordable homes in the areas of zoning and planning
without sacrificing environment protection and local
controls.
Reporter:
How can local suburban governments support economic
development and redevelopment?
Weber:
One way is by having more working dialogue between
government and business. Perhaps they can find a
common approach to a subject matter through economic
summits like the one sponsored by NJCM. Another
suggestion maybe to review the permitting process to
see if there is a way of making it more “user
friendly” so that business has one place to go to get
all its questions and issues answered. If it’s not
user friendly to get information, business owners have
a tendency to find another location. Businesses just
want answers they can rely upon so that they can
develop a strategic plan. In this climate, I think
business and government need to find newer ways of
creating economic development. The deep pocket is
gone and until the overall economy changes, I think
both government and business have to think smarter and
be more creative. Government needs to be more of a
facilitator so that it is easier for business to stay
and expand in
New Jersey. |
