222 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



N.J., after four years of endeavour to apply city planning within its 

 area, and recently that city organized a conference on interurban im- 

 provement for the purpose of discussing questions relating to the 

 general plan of the territory comprised in some eighteen neighbouring 

 municipalities. 



In New York State there has been organized a West Chester 

 County Planning Commission, indicating the first effort on this con- 

 tinent to organize the planning of a county area. 



As, therefore, it may be necessary for the success of a scheme 

 that it include land in more than one municipal area this involves 

 that there must be some higher power than either of the two authori- 

 ties to determine whether or not the area of the scheme should include 

 land outside the area of the council preparing the scheme and ques- 

 tions arising in respect of overlapping jurisdiction. To secure effi- 

 cient administration of planning and development acts a department 

 of the Provincial government, with skilled advisers, should act both 

 as a bureau of advice and a tribunal of appeal. The former is espec- 

 ially necessary to render assistance to the small municipalities. 



There are two other important reasons why new legislation is neces- 

 sary and why it is found essential in such legislation to provide for 

 co-operation between the Provincial government and the munici- 

 palities. In the first place a local authority must have complete 

 control over any building and street development within its area 

 during the period while it is preparing a scheme, and, in the second 

 place, it must be made exempt from spurfous claims for compensation 

 which might otherwise be set up during that period. To enable it 

 to have that control, and yet to prevent it from injuring legitimate 

 private interests, it is essential that owners receive adequate notice 

 of the intention to prepare a scheme, that they should have the power 

 and opportunity to object, and that a third party, other than the local 

 authority or the owners, should hear such objections in public. It is 

 important that a public hearing held for such a purpose should be 

 conducted by an expert connected with the Provincial department 

 devoting its attention to the work of planning and development. 



CO-OPERATION BETWEEN PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND 

 MUNICIPALITIES 



The granting of any additional powers to local authorities to 

 control development of land, which affects property in such a way 

 that the right of eminent domain will be interfered with, in- 

 volves that certain procedure has to be carried out for the protec- 



