New Jersey § 13:17-1

§ 13:17-1.

It is hereby declared that there are approximately 21,000 acres of salt water swamps,

meadows and marshes which are commonly known as meadowlands, in the lower Hackensack

river basin; that extensive portions of this area have so far resisted comprehensive

development because of their low elevation, exposure to tidal waters, unfavorable

soil composition, and, in some instances, their distribution among many municipalities;

that this land acreage is a land resource of incalculable opportunity for new jobs,

homes and recreational sites, which may be lost to the State through piecemeal reclamation

and unplanned development; that much of this acreage may be subject to redevelopment

under section 3, Article VIII, of the State Constitution ; that the orderly, comprehensive development of these areas, due to their strategic

location in the heart of a vast metropolitan area with urgent needs for more space

for industrial, commercial, residential, and public recreational and other uses, can

no longer be deferred; that insofar as meadowlands are State-owned lands they are

an asset of the fund for the support of free public schools whose integrity may not

be impaired; that while the State, in the name of the people, has an obligation to

assert its interests in meadowlands that are clearly State-owned, it has an equal

obligation to establish a framework within which private owners may assert their interests

and take title to meadowlands that are privately-owned; that these areas need special

protection from air and water pollution and special arrangements for the provision

of facilities for the disposal of solid waste; that the necessity to consider the

ecological factors constituting the environment of the meadowlands and the need to

preserve the delicate balance of nature must be recognized to avoid any artificially

imposed development that would adversely affect not only this area but the entire

State; that it is the purpose of this act to meet the aforementioned needs and accomplish

the aforementioned objectives by providing for a commission transcending municipal

boundaries and a committee representing municipal interests which will act in concert

to reclaim, plan, develop and redevelop the Hackensack meadowlands; and to safeguard

fully the interests of the fund for the support of free public schools, all to the

extent and manner provided herein.