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Eatontown - The 12th District Legislators announced that the bill creating the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority passed unanimously out of the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee on Thursday according to a press release.

The bill includes amendments created in response to concerns by the three communities that host the fort. The amendments include having all issues of density to be approved by local land use boards, as well as a supermajority of seven of the nine voting members of the authority on any significant modification to the plan, and requiring the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders to submit a list of five Monmouth County residents to the Governor to be chosen as one of the Governor's appointments to the authority. This will give the authority five voting members who are residents of Monmouth County and have a personal, vested interest in the future of the county.

The other voting members include the mayors from the three host municipalities, a member of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, two additional gubernatorial appointments, plus a member of the Governor's staff, and the Chairman of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The authority would also have non-voting members, consisting of the Commissioners of the Departments of Transportation, Labor, Environmental Protection and Community Affairs.

"By taking the time to listen to the people who will be most impacted by the closure of Fort Monmouth," said Senator Jennifer Beck, one of the bill's sponsors in the State Senate, "we've been able to strike a balance that permits local control over density issues, while taking into consideration the regional and statewide impact the closure of the fort will have. That is why we have sought to have a supermajority on all major issues, as well as pushing for the majority of voting authority members to be residents of Monmouth County, the area with the most to lose when the fort's gates come down in 2011."

"After meeting with local officials and residents of the host towns," said Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, "the concern we heard over and over again was about development, and specifically about density of new development. The amendments that provide local municipalities control over density safeguards against municipalities losing control of what happens within their communities.

"Our constituents made it very clear that they wanted more a voice concerning the future of the Fort Monmouth property," said Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, "which is why I am pleased that these amendments are now in place. The fort has been an important factor to the local, regional and State economies for nearly a century, and we have a responsibility to make sure that we have the right balance of interests on the authority board as this redevelopment moves forward."