The Evolution of Municipal Open-Space Policies in New Jersey

This article examines the evolving policy context of municipal open-space acquisition in New Jersey. The authors hypothesize that voters’ interest in open-space protection is sensitive to changes in state policy and that municipal acquisition may have exclusionary effects. The authors examine local acquisition practices using three different approaches: voting behavior, municipal acquisition, and parcel-level characteristics of acquired lands. They find that support for preservation is responsive to growth pressures and changing state policy environments. They also present evidence that municipalities are targeting land able to accommodate higher-density development in their preservation efforts and that municipalities that preserve open space are also active in transferring away their affordable housing obligations.