Planning & Development: A Tale of Two Cities

Today's Courier carried an interesting story on how North Plainfield's leadership is planning to involve residents in the process.

I immediately thought of those 'compare-and-contrast' questions we all so hated in high school. Except this time, it is a truly enlightening exercise -- comparing the approaches of Plainfield and North Plainfield.

Like twins joined at the hip, the two communities share a boundary -- the Green Brook -- and function pretty much as an economic entity, far as I can tell.

But the way the two towns are approaching their futures strikes me as markedly different.

In the Courier piece, North Plainfield officials --

• Paint an overview of what's going on;
• Solicit public participation -- and 'court new people';
• Involve the business community.

By contrast, in Plainfield --

• Who knows there is a development forum scheduled for Wednesday evening unless they read the blogs?
• The working style is top-down and command-oriented; public participation is not really sought out;
• The business community? One reason for Wednesday's meeting is that the light manufacturing businesses -- an important element -- were left out completely in the Mayor's transit-obsessed development plans.

Will Wednesday's meeting truly be a forum where business people -- especially those who showed up at last month's Council meeting -- will get a chance to air their concerns and get some straight answers to their questions?

Or will it be another highly-scripted, Rove-ish production number, all meringue and no substance?

You might want to check it out.

---

Community Forum on Economic Development/Redevelopment

Wednesday, June 27
7 PM

Hosted by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs

Washington Community School
427 Darrow Avenue
Parking in Spooner Avenue lot and on street

-- Dan Damon

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