The New Jersey Assembly is considering passage of a bill that, in its current form, will undermine the goals of the state's Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program and weaken the state's long-term economic competitiveness. Regional Plan Association is joined by New Jersey Future, American Planning Association/NJ Chapter and Tri-State Transportation Campaign in recommending that the bill, A4306, be amended to avoid the erosion of the tax-credit program's capacity to level the playing field between urban and suburban markets and ensure that the program encourages truly transit-oriented development.

Sustainable planning in New Jersey just got a big boost from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has given $5 million to the North Jersey Transportation Authority region, one of 29 grants awarded under the highly competitive Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program. The grant means that both sides of the Hudson River are now working with HUD and other agencies in the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help towns and regions improve their economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools and transportation.

New Jersey has long been a national leader in planning at the state level. The 1985 State Planning Act (N.J.S.A. 52:18A-196 et seq.) established the State Planning Commission and authorized the preparation of the NJ State Development and Redevelopment Plan (the State Plan). First adopted in 1992 and revised and adopted in 2001, the State Plan helped set the bar for coordinating planning objectives to balance growth with conservation needs statewide. Yesterday, Governor Christie announced the release of a new State Strategic Plan with the intent that it eventually be adopted as the official State Plan.

RPA applauds the Governor for taking steps to encourage development and redevelopment in suitable areas of the state while ensuring the protection of natural resources throughout. This plan lays out an early strategy for how to do that, while attempting to find efficiencies in the process. While there still remain questions about specific details and implementation, we are pleased that there is recognition of the importance of regional planning at the state level. RPA looks forward to working with the State to ensure that a State Plan emerges from this process that provides a clear framework to maximize economic growth, community revitalization, and protection of our critical natural resources.

RPA today released "Redevelop Camden," a research report that evaluates Camden's capacity to implement land use and redevelopment plans based on its prior experiences. The report makes recommendations to the public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors to improve urban planning outcomes over the next decade and help to lower barriers to redevelopment in this important city of need.

Transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of the regional economy of the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region. For ninety years, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has helped the region's economy grow by investing in the systems that connect us to each other and the rest of the world. The Port Authority generates funds from the facilities it operates and then reinvests these funds in projects with strong regional and interstate benefits to maintain and expand our infrastructure and economy.

Regional Plan Association supports today's announcement that the Port Authority will be increasing tolls on the Hudson River crossings it owns and operates. A robust capital plan must allow our port to continue to receive goods from around the world; maintain our tunnels and bridges; increase capacity at our airports; and repair our road and transit network. Particular attention must be paid to expanding capacity across the Hudson River, which will handle increased demand over the coming years.

While public attention has been appropriately focused on the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, the Port Authority's core mission is to create the opportunity for economic growth in the metropolitan region by investing in interstate systems. Today's announcement by the Port Authority supports that mission.