Environmental officials and activists marked the one-year anniversary of a landmark water-preservation law, gathering Wednesday afternoon before the picturesque Clinton Dam to share speeches and hopes for Year Two.
"When we come back for the second anniversary, we'll have even stronger protections in place," said state Environmental Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "It's clear this act came along just in time."
The controversial law placed development limits across the mountainous seven-county Highlands region, which provides tap water for 5 million New Jerseyans. It took the treasured "home rule" concept away from some communities by establishing the Highlands Council, a regional planning body. And, it set aside some funds to buy critical land and provide tax relief in the area.
But it has disappointed many of the affected communities by failing to designate an assured funding source to provide permanent compensation for property taxes lost in keeping land undeveloped. Campbell said Wednesday that the DEP recognizes "the need for an additional, stable funding source" for land acquisition and property-tax relief.
"We need to begin public debate in the Legislature," he said.
Asked for their reflections, developers and some environmentalists alike criticized the law - developers, because they contend it is monolithic, and environmentalists, because they say it has too many loopholes.
Still, in general the law seems to be on its way to fulfilling its principal mission: It has braked the pace of building in the Highlands.
Campbell said that "the act has had its intended effect" on construction, but that it was too soon to quantify that assessment with numbers. But the New Jersey Builders Association, contacted after the meeting, said that while new-home construction in New Jersey grew by 8 percent during the first five months of 2005, it dropped by 28 percent in the seven counties, from Bergen to Hudson, that include the Highlands.
The Highlands lost 5,000 forested acres to development annually from 1995 to 2000, according to the most recent records available.
The 8 percent growth rate statewide also was low compared with nationwide housing start figures, said Patrick O'Keefe, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Builders Association. He criticized the law for not designating specific growth areas and for not outlawing large-lot zoning adjacent to the protected lands.
"It's too early to tell how the builders, the developers and subcontractors will ultimately reconfigure their businesses," he said. "[But] we can expect a substantial reduction in the number of companies and as importantly, the number of jobs that are available in the development sector in that area."
Developers say that although land preservation is laudable, policymakers need to ensure that New Jerseyans have somewhere to live.
"It's a beautiful state," said Doug Fenichel, spokesman for K. Hovnanian in Red Bank, the state's largest builder. "But until we start talking not only about where we're preserving but where we're going to build homes, we're not going to strike the balance we need."
Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, called the law "a work in progress."
The organization is urging acting Governor Codey to place a development moratorium on the region until the Highlands Council completes its regional master plan, to allow towns to renegotiate fair-housing obligations with the state and to allow state environmental officials to complete water capacity studies, he said.
The moratorium also would freeze large projects that may go forward under special exemptions to the law. Already, developers for two large projects have earned the exemptions and have brought their fight to build to court: K. Hovnanian, on behalf of Eagle Ridge, a planned 280-unit town house development in West Milford; and Christ Church, a 5,000-member Montclair church seeking to relocate in Rockaway Township.
Both matters appear poised for further legal battles. In an interview, Campbell said he was prepared to defend DEP rulings - such as his decision to order water testing that would have effectively prevented Hovnanian from building the Eagle Ridge project. That decision was recently overruled by a state appeals court.
"We make our decisions based on the law and the facts, and we will defend them," he said. "As in the case of Eagle Ridge, we will resolve any uncertainties in favor of protecting resources."
Bill O'Hearn, executive director of the Highlands Coalition and deputy mayor in Ringwood, said his neighbors were pleased - so far - with the effects of the law. He challenged the crowd to keep close watch over the regional plan, and ask questions about the future impact of wider roads and dense growth.
"We've got to get it right," he said, "and this is the year to get it right."
E-mail: carroll@northjersey.com
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Fast facts
The Highlands Act restricts development to preserve water-supply streams in a mountainous region in North Jersey. That land provides tap water for 5 million New Jerseyans.
The Highlands Council is working on a master development plan for the region, due by June. The area includes 88 towns in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties.
The law splits the region into so-called "preservation" and "planning" areas. In the 395,000-acre preservation area, state-administered restrictions outlaw just about everything but small, single-lot buildings. In the 400,000-acre planning area, local officials retain home rule and may qualify for extra aid if they accept high-density development.
The law also includes some funding to buy land and provide tax relief for communities that must refuse development. One of the major land acquisitions so far: Camp Todd in Oakland, where a developer planned to build 400 homes.
New-home construction in the seven counties was down 28 percent during the first five months of 2005, compared with the same period last year, according to the New Jersey Builders Association. Statewide, new-home construction rose 8 percent during that period.
That is exactly what I have been saying would occur over the last year. The DEP will not sucomb to the pressure of the courts or the public. It must save face and will simply rationalize its ruling on CC. Nothing will change here folks.
Didn't have a chance to read this through, snuck on at work...
Highlands Act gets a birthday celebration
Sierra Club chief not altogether happy, though.
Thursday, August 11, 2005 By MICHAEL P. BUFFER The Express-Times
CLINTON -- Supporters of the state's Highlands legislation celebrated the law's first anniversary Wednesday, but one supporter said the law will be undermined without a development freeze in the region.
Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said developers are trying to take advantage of loopholes and beat the adoption of the Highlands master plan and land-use rules for the Highlands preservation area. Tittel also said the Sierra Club plans to file a lawsuit to stop the state Department of Environmental Protection from issuing exemptions from Highlands building restrictions.
The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act attempts to protect water supplies and the environment by controlling and planning development on 859,023 acres across parts of Warren, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, Somerset, Passaic and Bergen counties. Then-Gov. James E. McGreevey signed the legislation into law on Aug. 10, 2004.
After participating in an event celebrating the act's first anniversary, DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell said a development freeze wasn't necessary. Campbell also said DEP exemptions from Highlands rules are based on a criteria established by the legislation.
"We've been open and transparent," Campbell said.
Tittel disagreed, saying the exemption process doesn't allow public input and doesn't explain why exemptions are being sought. Tittel noted a motion filed last month by the state attorney general's office asking the state's Superior Court Appellate Division to send an exemption back to the DEP for more fact finding. The exemption would allow the construction of a new Christ Church complex in Rockaway Township, Morris Township.
The DEP Web site lists 326 applications for Highlands exemptions, with 83 listed as under review. The DEP lists 108 exemptions applications for land in Warren and Hunterdon counties, and 27 are under review.
The Highlands Act divides the region into a 415,574-acre preservation area that limits development and a 443,449-acre planning area that allows "appropriate" development. It provides several exemptions, such as allowing a landowner to build a single-family dwelling on a lot in the preservation area if the landowner owned the lot on Aug. 10, 2004.
The law also allows improvements to single homes, schools, religious or public facilities; and to major developments that received local planning approval before March 29, 2005, along with approval of one major DEP permit.
The act established a 15-member council, which started meeting in December and has to adopt a regional master plan by June. Tittel said acting Gov. Richard J. Cody should enact a building moratorium in the Highlands region until the master plan is adopted and other recommendations are implemented or completed.
"Over the past year, the council has shown a real commitment to the intent of the Highlands Act by hiring some expert staff, laying the groundwork for a strong master plan and involving the public throughout the process," Tittel said in a news release he distributed at Wednesday's anniversary event in Clinton. "This freeze would give them time to get their job done."
Campbell said a building moratorium in the region isn't necessary because it would be "short term" and added it isn't supported by the Highlands Act.
The legislation has been a source of controversy in Warren and Hunterdon counties, where freeholders have threatened a lawsuit if the legislation isn't amended. The freeholders want to ensure that local governments and landowners are fairly compensated if the legislation's restrictions on development devalue property. They are also concerned that legislation will result in unwanted development in the Highlands planning area.
During Wednesday's event, Clinton Councilwoman Janice Kovach, who also is a member of the Highlands Council, introduced several speakers. On Tuesday, Hunterdon County Freeholder Marcia Karrow scoffed at the anniversary event, referring to it as Kovach campaign event.
Karrow and Assemblyman Michael Doherty are the Republican nominees for the state Assembly's 23rd District, and Kovach and Scott McDonald are the Democratic nominees.
"It's not a campaign event," Kovach said Wednesday. "It's about the Highlands."
Kovach said the location of Wednesday's event was an "ideal place" because of its scenery. The event was held outside the Hunterdon Museum of Art, along the Clinton Falls dam.
Reporter Michael P. Buffer can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at mbuffer@express-times.com.
