Things are really popping in the way that New Jersey towns, residents and lawmakers are dealing with thorny land-use issues, once pretty much the purview of local planning and zoning boards.
Consider two very different actions in Gloucester County in recent days.
In Mantua Township, a nearby resident has started a change.org petition to halt any residential development in a section called “Mantua Woods,” located between built-up Mantua Heights and semi-rural Cold Springs Forest. The area, which supporters say consists of over 7 acres of old-growth trees, has attracted the interest of a developer. Petition founder Ashley Levinson says the woods are environmentally sensitive and provide habitat for numerous wildlife species. The two-week-old, non-binding petition had just under 360 signatures as of Friday afternoon.