Jersey Devil Land Development

Today’s APP has a story that describes all land available in the Pinelands for future development. Apparently there is plenty of room. When the housing bubble deflates enough at the Shore, I bet that development projects on the edges of the Pinelands will come to a screeching halt. I think that much of the development of the Pinelands over the past ten years was caused by the run-up in houses prices in Middlesex County, Monmouth County and Northern Ocean County. I think that many locals from those areas that did not have to commute to NYC each day sold their houses for decent gains and moved into bigger houses further south into the Pinelands. Given that house price appreciation is finally starting to stall, it seems likely that fewer people will be willing or able to sell their house in West Long Branch and move to Lacey.


Separately, too much development in the Pine Barrens will disturb the natural habitat of the Jersey Devil, or Bigfoot, or any number of ghosts.

[BY KIRK MOORE
STAFF WRITER

More than 40,000 acres of land remains zoned for growth in the Pinelands counties, leaving plenty of room to meet housing demand over the next 20 years, according to a new study released by state Pinelands Commission officials.

Atlantic County has the most room left by far, with a potential 18,150 acres still vacant, followed by Ocean County with an estimated 9,310 acres left in its growth areas, according to a housing task force the commission assembled from state and county planning agencies.

"The development goals that were designated in 1980 were thought to be more than sufficient to meet housing demands into the middle of this century," said John Stokes, the commission's executive director. "Based on the best population estimates that exist today, it's abundantly clear these Pinelands areas still have more than enough capacity to meet Pinelands housing demands in the next 20 years and past the 2020s."]

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