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Hotel Booking State Sen. William Gormley says he has lined up substantial support for his plan to divert Pinelands-mandated development into Atlantic City, but his failure to discuss his plan with city officials appears to be jeopardizing the support of Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford.

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Travel Agency Gormley, R-Atlantic, wrote Gov. James E. McGreevey last week with a proposal to redirect to Atlantic City the Pinelands-mandated development that is unwanted in Egg Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton townships.

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Cheap Hotel Gormley says switching Pinelands development from the rural townships to Atlantic City, where roads, sewers and jobs already exist, is the kind of "smart growth" McGreevey is encouraging.

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Flight Booking The Casino Association of New Jersey on Monday endorsed the proposal, joining a growing list of diverse interests that includes everyone from the Sierra Club's New Jersey chapter to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Gormley has discussed his plan with Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough, the state environmental commissioner, the state education commissioner, leaders in the building trades and two Atlantic City council members, all of whom have offered encouragement, he said.

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Travel Agent But Gormley on Monday said he has "not had the opportunity to talk yet" with Atlantic City's mayor.

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Hotel Chicago Langford said Gormley's slight of the local leadership has not gone unnoticed.

Online Booking "I resent the senator's heavy handedness, and he should know I'm not having it," Langford said. "Decency and common courtesy would suggest that he come to us first."

Travel Health Insurance The mayor said the senator's approach on this issue is typical.

Hotel Reservation "That speaks to the fundamental disrespect and lack of sensitivity that this maniac has for Atlantic City," Langford said. "This is in keeping with his arrogance and imperialistic demeanor when it comes to Atlantic City."

London Hotel Booking As for the proposal itself, Langford said he is extremely suspicious of it.

Discount Travel "He (Gormley) would have us believe that one municipality's junk should be perceived as Atlantic City's treasure," the mayor said. "I'm not so sure. We already have a density problem and must be careful to preserve our quality of life."

Orlando Hotel Thomas Forkin, chairman of the Atlantic City Democratic Committee, offered a similarly cutting assessment Monday.

Booking Agency Former Gov. James Florio, the new chairman of the Pinelands Commission, said he needs to see more specifics before commenting on the proposal, but he said it's important that Atlantic City officials be consulted.

International Travel Medical "The receiving city should be engaged in the process," Florio said. "All the stakeholders ought to be engaged in working this through."

New York Hotel Gormley said he plans to introduce legislation on Nov. 14 that would amend the Pinelands Protection Act to make Atlantic City the designated growth area for Atlantic County. If passed into law, the change would need the approval of the Pinelands Commission and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

Online Travel Booking The existing growth areas in Egg Harbor, Galloway and Hamilton townships are currently zoned for more than 30,000 new homes, although past development patterns indicate no more than 20,000 would likely be built, said Fran Rapa, spokesman for the Pinelands Commission. That's in addition to developments that already have local approvals.

Travel Medical Insurance Gormley said his plan would not stop all development in the growth areas, but much of it would be funneled to Atlantic City, which he estimated could accommodate as many 5,000 more homes.

Miami Hotel "I'm calling into question how much is mandated to be built anyway," Gormley said. "All that should be built in the townships is what they could reasonably absorb."

Air Deccan Booking Rick Van Osten, executive director of the Builders League of South Jersey, said for any smart-growth proposal to succeed, it must address the problems that deter many urban home buyers: High property taxes, crime and under performing schools.

Las Vegas Nevada Travel "Builders want to build where people want to live," Van Osten said.

Las Vegas Nv Hotel Atlantic City has infrastructure in place to handle rapid growth, and projects there can tap into redevelopment money controlled by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, or CRDA, Gormley said. He hopes to anchor the growth with a "renaissance zone," a new state initiative that would build small, community schools alongside new, privately built housing and stores.

Hotel Florence Booking Online The senator concedes many details of his plan are not yet worked out.

Orlando Travel "This is the initial phase of a concept that obviously has to be refined," Gormley said. "The intent is to replace townships as growth areas. Let's see what happens beyond that."

Hilton Hotel Timothy Wilmott, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, said there was across-the-board support for Gormley's plan at Monday's monthly meeting.

Booking Delta Com "We talked about it conceptually because we don't know the details, but we are as an industry very supportive of this concept that helps Atlantic City by creating new stable neighborhoods," Wilmott said. "It also helps increase the tax base in Atlantic City, which is a concern among all of us business owners in town.

Travel Insurance Online Wilmott said Gormley's plan would create more opportunities for casino workers to live near their workplace. That's crucial with the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa opening next summer and creating 4,000 to 5,000 new jobs, he said.

London Hotel "The CRDA has had experience in managing housing projects within city limits before, so I think there's enough expertise within the state government to get this done," Wilmott said. "This is something that has legs."

Online Hotel Booking He said the plan alleviates casino industry concerns about the current development moratorium in Egg Harbor, Hamilton and Galloway townships.

Travel Insurance McGreevey on Sept. 22 invoked his powers under the statewide drought emergency to temporarily ban most new development in those three communities, declaring their increasing water consumption a threat to the region's water supply. The three townships accommodated three of every four new homes built in Atlantic County in recent years.

Paris Hotel By Jack Kaskey and Mark Tyler
The Press of Atlantic City - 11/5/2002

Topic: Pinelands

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