BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
Patrick Gillespie OLD BRIDGE — A top township official was appointed last week by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey to help coordinate New Jersey’s “smart growth” initiatives.
Patrick Gillespie, who is vice president of the Old Bridge Township Council, will serve as smart growth ombudsman for the state. Gillespie will coordinate efforts within the state Environmental Protection Agency and Transportation and Community Affairs departments, each of which has a division of smart growth.
Gillespie’s overriding goal will be to ensure that principles outlined under New Jersey’s Smart Growth Act are met.
“I’ll serve as a central point on smart growth issues,” Gillespie said.
His job will include the review of state regulations to make sure they comply with smart growth guidelines, he said.
“Pat Gillespie’s experience in government, both at the state and local level, makes him the ideal candidate for this position,” Codey said of the appointment, made on Feb. 8. “He brings a keen understanding of the principles of smart growth and the need to balance development and redevelopment with efforts to preserve and protect our open spaces.”
The state Office of Smart Growth, formerly the state Office of Planning, “promotes well-planned, well-managed growth that adds new homes and creates new jobs while preserving open space, farmland and environmental resources,” according to a state Web site.
The Smart Growth Act, signed in July, provides regulatory relief for development and redevelopment in smart growth areas. The law also allows for faster permit processing in smart growth areas, and could soon enable applications to move through state processes more quickly, Gillespie said.
Reducing that time frame can make a big difference to a developer working on a large-scale project, Gillespie noted.
“Overall, the goal is to take the next step as to how smart growth will continue,” he said.
Smart growth began in 1985, Gillespie said, and the administrations of former governors Christine Todd Whitman and James E. McGreevey both worked on improving the idea.
Using land well is important for quality of life, Gillespie noted.
“You have to try to provide for development in older, urban areas,” Gillespie said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to take that next step.”
Aspects of the Smart Growth Act are already in effect, but some are delayed, Gillespie said. Much of the act is still in the public comment stage, and in July the act will enter into its second phase of public comment.
After that, smart growth rules may go into total effect.
“The Legislature is still in discussion on changing the law,” Gillespie said. “I’m going to try to work with the governor, senators and assemblymen on that.”
Changes in the law are likely, he said.
Gillespie, who has been serving as deputy director of the New Jersey Senate Democrats, will begin the transition process into his position as ombudsman, leaving his previous state post behind.
“I’m glad that the governor picked me for this,” he said. “I’m hoping we can make a lot of progress on these issues.”
He said the position will not be a conflict of interest for him as a township councilman. If an Old Bridge-related application were to come to him as ombudsman, Gillespie said, he would limit his involvement with it. The issue is being looked into, he said.
Gillespie, 38, has been active in local and state government for several years. At the state level, he has also served as a senior research analyst for the Senate Democrats. In Old Bridge, he has served as a member of the council, Planning Board and Economic Development Commission.