The lush and protected Black Run Preserve in Evesham in the center of the photo. The large Kings Grant development is in the upper right.
Cherry Hill Township Council approved the resolution on Tuesday evening.
Both Camden County and Cherry Hill this week are expected to join the list of local governments urging state legislators to let New Jersey voters decide if they want a proposed "Green Amendment" written into the state Constitution.
Cherry Hill Township Council on Tuesday evening is scheduled to consider a resolution pushing legislators to move, and the Camden County Board of Commissioners has a resolution supporting the amendment on its agenda for Thursday.
Although the Cherry Hill resolution notes it is in "support of New Jersey Legislature's adoption of a Green Amendment to the New Jersey Constitution," the proposed legislation actually provides wording for the amendment and, if passed, would put the amendment on the ballot at the next general election. If state voters give their OK, the amendment would become part of the state Constitution the following March 1.Â
"Every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, a safe climate and ecologically healthy habitats, and to the preservation of the natural, and scenic, historic, and esthetic qualities of the environment. The state shall not infringe upon these rights, by action or inaction," according to the resolution for the amendment stalled in the state Senate and Assembly.
Although New Jersey got an early start eight years ago in building support for the amendment, other states including Pennsylvania and New York have already added environmental rights to their constitutions.
The Pinelands Preservation Alliance, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, has been lobbying for the proposed amendment to appear on the ballot so voters get a choice. The organization is working with Green Amendments for the Generations, which has compiled a list of local governments in New Jersey that have supported putting the amendment before the voters.
The list includes the Burlington County Board of Commissioners, which unanimously passed a resolution four years ago. In Burlington County, Bordentown Township also has passed a resolution, according to the organization.
Others supporting getting the Green Amendment on the ballot include Ridgewood Village, Metuchen Borough, Essex County Board of Freeholders, Cape May Point Borough, Aberdeen Township, Bradley Beach Borough, Franklin Townships (ones in Somerset and Hunterdon counties), Princeton, Fair Lawn Borough, and Somerset County.
The amendment does have its detractors.
"It is crafted on the premise that the Legislature cannot be trusted to protect the public and make the right decisions," the New Jersey Business & Industry Association's Ray Cantor said in written testimony to the Senate last year. "It seeks to go around the Legislature, and the Governor and Executive Branch as well, and allow any person to go to the courts to get the result they want."
Previous 70and73.com coverage
Green Rights: Environmentalists host Camden meeting to add support for Constitutional amendment.
Greening the state Constitution: How NJ is behind some others in environmental rights.
