Our View
Open space pursuit worthwhile

The Jackson Township Committee is diving headfirst into the effort to preserve its share of New Jersey’s dwindling supply of open space.

On Monday, the governing body passed a resolution that will authorize $20 million to be set aside as part of an application it will make to the state for matching funds for open space acquisition. The resolution does not commit Jackson to spending the entire $20 million package.

Census figures indicate that from 1990 to 2000, Jackson’s population rose from 33,233 to 42,816. Judging by all of the residential construction still going on, there is every reason to believe that trend will continue.

Although Mayor Michael Kafton noted that "for the past 29 years, Jackson spent nothing on open space acquisition," it wasn’t until the last decade or so that the purchase of open space by municipalities really became the thing to do. It wasn’t until communities began collecting special tax assessments and using that money to fund bond issues to buy up open space that the issue became a priority for local governments.

Twenty years ago it seemed impossible to believe that every square inch of our towns would be built upon if action wasn’t taken. That no longer seems so difficult to believe.

Kafton said the properties purchased will be used in accordance with the committee’s priority of providing recreational fields and facilities for the town’s growing population as well as preserving its open spaces. We’d like to suggest that some open space be left as is — open. Not every square foot of grass has to become an athletic field, any more than every square foot of Jackson has to be developed with homes.