Press Release

EHT Mayor Protests Pinelands Conference

Egg Harbor Township Mayor James J “Sonny” McCullough has written a letter to John Stokes, the Executive Director of the Pinelands Commission and Governor Jon Corzine explaining why no one from Egg Harbor Township will be attending the “Pinelands Comes of Age” Conference, a two day event being held in New Brunswick September 28 and 29^th. Billed as a “Celebration” of the 25^th Anniversary of Pinelands Legislation, McCullough tells the Governor Egg Harbor Township has nothing to celebrate.

According to McCullough, “Pinelands Legislation has been devastating for Egg Harbor Township due to its designation as a mandatory high growth zone. Pinelands is supposed to be regional planning legislation but it offers no support system or financing for the municipalities that are forced to take the development not permitted in preservation areas. Our residents have had to deal with the cost of maintaining miles of additional roads, hiring more police and other employees and the most crippling of all, building a new school every few years.”

Egg Harbor Township has been mandated to build the most houses in all of the Pinelands, a build out number that approaches 22,000 units.

“It disturbs me, as an elected official, that the Pinelands Commission is telling only one side of the story of regional growth to elected officials from surrounding states. By ignoring the very real problems of high growth areas, they give these officials a false impression that there is no down side to regional planning. ”

McCullough urges all township residents to use this anniversary of Pinelands Legislation as a reminder to contact their legislators and the Governor urging an immediate change in Pinelands Legislation. “The Pinelands Commission refuses to acknowledge the weakness of their plan, but the state legislature and the governor do have the power to change things. They need to hear from the residents though.”