As a boomer raising a family in Morris County N.J., I have seen my share of woods and fields paved over in the name of development. The traffic became horrendous, as you might expect. But one thing that the Jersey people got right was the setting aside of park land. We had an abundance of soccer fields, softball fields and even a county park with picnic tables and a pavilion that you could book for a corporate party or family reunion. I don’t see that happening in Sussex County, and we will regret it.
The Sussex County model seems to be having HOA communities provide private recreational space for their own residents. That’s all well and good, but it does not build community overall, and leaves precious little for families who do not have access to private amenities. Rather than bicker among ourselves about whether certain spaces should be retail or residential, how about we insist on more county park land?
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