Highlands preservation bill: Big win for environment

Wednesday, June 16, 2004
By JAMES AHEARN
The bill establishes a strong state regional planning council, a remarkable achievement in a state that sets as much store by home rule as New Jersey does.

THE HIGHLANDS preservation bill passed by the state Legislature last week is much stronger than we could reasonably have expected. It is, in fact, a major achievement in land-use planning, not just for the state but for the nation.

It is going to save from suburban sprawl most of 145,000 privately owned acres in a vast expanse of forested ridges, wetlands, and farms extending from Mahwah and Oakland in Bergen County west and southwest through Ringwood and West Milford in Passaic, through most of Morris, and through significant portions of Somerset, Warren, Hunterdon, and Sussex.

The bill, now awaiting the governor's ceremonial signature, establishes a strong state regional planning council. The preservation plan it adopts will supersede local ordinances. Counties and 88 towns will have to conform their plans to the council's. That, in and of itself, is a remarkable achievement in a state that sets as much store by home rule as New Jersey does.

Congratulations are in order for Governor McGreevey, for legislative leaders, both Democratic and Republican, for environmentalists and their supporters, prominently including the State Federation of Women's Clubs, for the state commissioner of environmental protection, and for the legislative committee members who actually improved the bill while accommodating legitimate political and financial interests.

You can see for yourself, by going online, at www.njleg.state.nj.us/. Enter the bill number, S1, in the Bill Search window. Click on the statement of the Senate Environment Committee, which explains the amendments that finally won passage. The statement runs 21 legal-size pages, and it is not easy reading, but it is easier than the bill itself.

Some points worth noting: The builders' association had complained, with some justification, that although the bill carefully demarcated the preservation zone of the 800,000-acre Highlands, in which little development would be permitted, it did not specify where construction would be allowed. Where is the state's growing population supposed to live, the association asked. The amended bill has an answer. It divides the Highlands into two areas, one for preservation and one a "planning zone." This last is essentially all the remaining private and previously developed Highlands land. The bill now says that the regional plan adopted by the new council must recommend tracts where development will be permitted, and it must make construction possible in those tracts through transfers of development rights from the preservation zone.

The new Highlands Council will review county and municipal master plans to make sure they conform to the council's regional plan, and if they don't, the council can force these localities to change their documents. The council could issue "stop construction" orders if a local government attempted to defy it. The council could also reach out and intercept a preservation-area development proposal before a local government could even act on it. Hoo, boy, strong stuff.

The State Planning Commission, administrator of the toothless State Plan for Development and Redevelopment, will play a constructive role in the new scheme for the Highlands. The council will consult the commission on which areas should receive development.

Receiving areas will be eligible for three varieties of state assistance, providing they agree to accept residential projects with a minimum density of five units per acre. First, the town will qualify for a planning grant of $250,000. Second, the council will pay the town the costs of amending its ordinances. Third, the town can levy an impact fee on a new development of $15,000 per unit.

A fund will be established to provide state aid for towns that experience reductions in property tax ratables in the preservation zone. The fund will be financed with $12 million a year for 10 years from fees paid on real estate sales, and after that, with $5 million a year from the same source, in perpetuity. The fund will also finance grants issued by the council and, for five years, $1.8 million a year for a separate property-tax assistance fund for towns in the Pinelands region. This last diversion, sought by a South Jersey senator, is acceptable in size and duration.

The council will pay for legal representation for any Highlands town sued for action taken under the new law. Good.

The Department of Environmental Protection will issue interim development rules pending adoption by the council of the regional plan.

The bill passed with strong bipartisan support in both houses. The vote in the Assembly was 69-0 and in the Senate, 34-2. What opposition there was came from Highlands Republicans concerned about loss of home rule and about property ownership rights. But two prominent Republican senators representing the region - Leonard Lance of Hunterdon, the minority leader, and Robert Martin of Morris - both voted for it. In years to come, the legislation will be seen as good for the region and good for the state.

On Monday, legislative committees approved a follow-up bill sought by developers. It would create a new position, "smart-growth ombudsman," in the Department of Community Affairs. This official could force state regulators to act on a request for a construction permit in a growth area within 45 days of the application's being deemed complete. Builders would pay extra for an expedited permit. The money would be used to hire additional staff to process the request. If no action was taken on the request within the time limit, the permit would be granted automatically.

Environmentalists were appalled. The Sierra Club director said it was "the worst sprawl and pro-pollution bill our Legislature has ever seen." But the sponsors and the state administration said the measure would simply cut red tape, encouraging development to take place in areas designated for it. No environmental protection rules would be curtailed, they say.

They may be right. However, if passage of this bill is a done deal, everybody with a stake in the matter should watch carefully how it works, which projects get built, and which don't. If bad things happen, the new law can always be amended.

James Ahearn is a contributing editor and former managing editor of The Record.

Copyright © 2004 North Jersey Media Group Inc.