Once again, N.J. backs bond issue to conserve space

New Jersey voters approved a $400 million bond measure yesterday to fund conservation of open spaces.

The ballot question about financing preservation measures won with just more than half of the votes cast, according to election results compiled by the Associated Press. The state now has authority to sell general-obligation bonds and use the proceeds to create parks and save farms and historic sites from urban sprawl.

Voters in New Jersey, the country's most densely populated state, have approved all 12 open-space questions on the ballot between 1961 and 2007, providing more than $2.1 billion to keep land from development.

Two years ago, they approved a $200 million bond act for the Garden State Preservation Trust, which finances state conservation efforts. That bond act passed with 54 percent, the lowest rate at the time for such a question in New Jersey. This vote appeared likely to finish even lower.

Gov. Corzine, who lost his bid for reelection to Republican Christopher J. Christie yesterday, signed legislation in August appropriating the last of those 2007 funds.

Corzine supported the bond measure. His major challengers, Christie and independent Chris Daggett, opposed it, saying the state needed longer-term open-space funding. Christie also said he did not support more borrowing for that purpose.

The New Jersey-Keep It Green Campaign, a coalition of 150 groups supporting the measure, estimated that a $400 million bond issue would cost the average household $10 a year.