Draft NJ Highlands Plan Restricts Development in more than 80% of Highlands Region

The master plan to save North Jersey's Highlands Region would restrict development in more than 80 percent of the mountain region stretching from Mahwah to the Delaware River. That proposed area is much larger than what was planned when the Highlands Act became state law in 2004 and is the result of more detailed state studies of the region since then.

Following nearly five hours of discussion and public comments in late November, 12 of the 14 members of the New Jersey Highlands Council voted to release the plan, which was two years in the making and is already six months late. The 250-page plan sets three basic zones to overlay existing municipal zoning:

• In the protection zone, which is more than two-thirds of the region, only one house could be built per lot on most lots.
• In the conservation zone, which is largely agricultural land comprising about 18 percent of the Highlands, a maximum of 2 of every 10 acres could be developed on most lots.
• In the planned community zone, which covers the rest of the region, development would be allowed, but the amount and type would depend on the environmental characteristics of a given lot and the quality and quantity of water available to it.

The plan protects lakes and streams and the land surrounding them, steep slopes, forests, and endangered species habitats to different degrees depending on the zone. Virtually no disturbance of sensitive areas is allowed in the protection and conservation zones but some development of sensitive areas is allowed in the community zone. Two years after the federal Highlands Conservation Act was signed into law, none of the money it authorized has been awarded. http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061201/COMMUNITIES/612010352/1203 

The public comment period on the Highlands Master Plan has been extended until March 2. To view the Master Plan, submit a public comment, and see a list of public hearing dates, visit http://www.highlands.state.nj.us/.