2. a. The Pinelands Commission shall develop a pilot program to assist rural Pinelands municipalities in non-growth regions in the Pinelands area in identifying economic development opportunities that complement regional requirements for resource protection and in attracting such development to the area. The pilot program shall be developed by the Pinelands Commission, together with several rural municipalities within non-growth areas in the Pinelands area chosen by the commission, to enable similarly situated municipalities to match local conditions with compatible economic development opportunities. The commission shall choose municipalities to participate in the program based on the extent to which: the entire municipality or large portions thereof are located in an environmentally sensitive area; limited sites are available for development; sewer service is unavailable in most of the municipality; large portions of the municipality are owned by the State; and no local resources are available for economic development planning.

b. The Pinelands Commission shall establish a partnership with each municipality participating in the program. The municipality shall be given technical and other assistance in developing a local economic development entity. Each local economic development entity shall, together with the commission, perform a community assessment to determine community interests and opportunities for development, and to identify sites for development that are compatible with resource protection and that take into account constraints on the scale of allowable development. The commission, together with the local economic development entities shall develop strategies for attracting development and shall develop promotional materials for that purpose, and shall develop links with county and regional economic development entities. The commission shall develop strategies for the expedited review of development applications and permits for such projects.

L.1997,c.233,s.2.