Preserving open space sounds like an easy decision in a place such as Cape May County, where beaches, wetlands, farms and undeveloped land are central to the region's identity.But Kevin Quinn, Cape May County's director of Open Space and Farmland Preservation, said county officials increasingly have to weigh conservation against another pressing problem: the cost and availability of housing. He told WOND , “If we're taking the wrong properties out of the equation, it could have a detrimental effect on, you know, the affordability.”