7 Town Group - History
Being a newly elected Mayor, I was aware of but not familiar with the history of the 7 Town Group. I asked Mayor Nick Corcodilis of Clinton Twp to give a brief history -
” The 7 Town Group formed during the NJ State Cross Acceptance process several years ago while we worked on our municipal submissions for the NJ State Plan. We realized that we have common regional interests, and that it was important to work cooperatively. The CA process in fact requires a regional approach to planning, so we just took it up another notch. Our challenge was to demonstrate, using hard science and good data, why the planning designations we suggested were correct and right for our region. The Office of Smart Growth agreed to eliminate Planning Area 2 (high growth, suburban) from all of Hunterdon County directly as a result of our work. We used the process properly to advocate for a regional approach, as the CA process requires. This allows our towns to still grow, but in ways we have more control over. The change in Planning Area helps remove the big “bullseye” that developers had put on our backs in the past.
The Group has stayed together, and there are now actually more than 7 towns involved. We’ve kept the name because it stuck, and our group is known and respected around the state. You might say we’ve developed a very good “political” reputation as a Hunterdon advocacy group. We’ve worked on other projects, including regional transportation issues, and have had good success as a regional force in Trenton. Working together on COAH matters is natural for us”.
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