Public Invited to County Planning Conference

The public is invited to a planning conference: "Vision Bergen: Blueprint for Our Future," which will be held  from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 18 at the Sheraton Mahwah, 1 International Boulevard, Mahwah.

"The one-day conference will bring together Bergen County citizens, business owners, planning professionals, municipalities, public and private sector stakeholders and regional agencies who will have the opportunity to contribute their ideas to help shape the future of Bergen County," said county Executive Dennis McNerney. "The ideas and suggestions gathered at this planning conference will be used to revise the county's Master Plan, which has not been updated since 1973."

The Master Plan will create a unifying vision for the county's 70 municipalities and help them plan for sustainable growth while protecting environmental resources.  The goal of the conference is to foster further discussion of the key quality-of-life issues in Bergen County including transportation, open space, land use, economic vitality, sustainability, taxes and creative financing.   

The planning conference, which includes various workshops, will be hosted by the Bergen County Department of Planning and Economic Development in conjunction with Regional Plan Association and Maser Consulting. The conference follows a series of visioning sessions that were held throughout the county between November 2009 and January 2010.  

For registration and additional information, visit  www.co.bergen.nj.us/planning/masterplan.