"Woolwich Twp. has set a great example of planning andimplementing smart growth principles," says Joseph Doria,commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, ina statement. "I encourage more municipalities to work with ourSmart Growth Office to receive endorsement."

Initial Plan Endorsement is a tool developed by the StatePlanning Commission to help towns, counties, regional and stateagencies to meet the goals of the State Planning Act. The processis voluntary and establishes a method through which governmentagencies can develop capital investment and implement plans thatwill achieve the goals and strategies of the State Plan.

"Woolwich Twp., in the face of some of the most intensedevelopment pressure in the state, has done an outstanding job indeveloping a plan to proactively manage that growth and protectmore than 4,000 acres of important farmland," says Agriculturesecretary Charles Kuperus. "This is more than what the townshipcould hope to accomplish through even the most ambitious use of ourtraditional farmland preservation programs."