WHEREAS,
Executive Order No. 59 (2003) established the Billboard Policy and Procedure
Review Task Force (hereinafter "Task Force"); and
WHEREAS, the Task Force was directed (1) to undertake a comprehensive
review of the existing procedures involved in the siting of billboards
on public and private property, and the degree of involvement that State
and local government agencies have in the siting and approval process,
(2) to catalog the existing policies and practices in place for all State
departments, agencies and independent authorities regarding the sale,
lease, development and erection of billboards in the State, (3) to make
recommendations concerning how the process and procedures should be altered
in order to insure the integrity of the siting decisions and associated
contracts; and (4) to evaluate the feasibility of reducing new billboard
construction in New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 59 imposed a 120-day moratorium on the approval
of any permit application, contract, sale or lease for billboards on State-owned
property or property of any State department, agency or independent authority;
and
WHEREAS, the Task Force has completed its mission in a timely and exemplary
fashion, and has transmitted its report containing recommendations for
legislative and policy changes designed to achieve the goals of Executive
Order No. 59, namely that higher, uniform standards be followed by State
agencies in dealing with the billboard industry, and that local communities
must be provided the opportunity for meaningful input regarding all billboards
sited in their municipalities; and
WHEREAS, it will take time to convert these recommendations into proposed
legislation and to achieve their enactment; and
WHEREAS, there remains a compelling need to continue the suspension of
the siting and construction of new billboards on State property until
the new legislative framework is put in place;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. McGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the
Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
- The moratorium on the approval of any permit application or contract
for the design, construction or erection of any new billboards on State-owned
property or property owned by any State department, agency or independent
authority established by Executive Order No. 59 is hereby continued
until the current legislative session of the New Jersey Legislature
is completed, so that the Legislature has an opportunity to enact appropriate
legislation.
- The New Jersey Department of Transportation and New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection are hereby directed to make recommendations
on increasing the number of billboard-free roadways in scenic locations.
- This Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 29th day
of August in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
and Three, and of the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Eighth.
James E. McGreevey
Governor
[seal]