NJ Highlands Coalition
170 Longview Road, Far Hills, NJ 07931 Ph 908.234.1225 fax 908.234.1189

ALERT!
Your Participation is Needed!
6 Public Hearings in the Next 20 days
You helped pass the NJ Highlands Act – now help put a strong Highlands Regional Master Plan in place!

The adoption of the NJ Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act in 2004 was a historic effort to save New Jersey’s endangered water supply from the impacts of inappropriate land uses. The Draft Highlands Regional Master Plan is the mechanism for the implementation of the Act, and is now open for public discussion before final adoption by the Highlands Council.

Please attend a public hearing on the Draft Regional Master Plan. Your support of a strong RMP will help ensure that the final Plan protects our WATER, plus other significant Highlands resources! Please tell us which hearing(s) you plan to attend:
Julia Somers julia@njconservation.org or Wilma Frey wilma@njconservation.org

HIGHLANDS COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULE
Jan. 9, Tuesday, 2 pm and 6 pm – Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Morristown
Jan. 10, Wednesday, 4 pm – Ramapo College, Mahwah, Bergen Co.
Jan. 11, Thursday, 4 pm – Warren County Technical School, Washington
Jan. 17, Wednesday, 4 pm – Voorhees HS, Lebanon Township, Hunterdon Co.
Jan. 18, Thursday, 4 pm – Sussex County Technical School, Sparta
Jan. 24, Wednesday, 10 am – NJ State Museum, Trenton
No pre-registration required. Speaker sign-up sheets at hearing.
See Highlands Council website for more info: www.highlands.state.nj.us

A strong Highlands regional master plan is in the best interest of New Jersey’s families, economy, environment and the FUTURE. Members of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition have reviewed the plan and believe it is off to a good start, though it must be strengthened. Public support for a strong and protective final Plan is crucial. Raise issues of concern to you and your community at the hearings!


WHO RELIES ON WATER FROM THE NEW JERSEY HIGHLANDS?
New Jerseyans in 16 counties rely on the Highlands for all or some of their drinking water. Highlands reservoirs, rivers and aquifers provide drinking water for over 5.4 million people – 65% of the State’s water supply. Highlands residents in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon or Somerset county generally rely on groundwater from private or public wells.

Outside the Highlands in Passaic, Essex, or Hudson counties, some 50% to 100% of the water supply is Highlands water. Much of Bergen, Union, Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties rely on the Highlands for at least 25% of their supply. Even Monmouth, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties utilize some Highlands water. (Draft RMP) New Jersey’s three largest industries – food processing, tourism and pharmaceuticals – are all water dependent and need clean Highlands water.

WHAT IS AT STAKE IN THE NEW JERSEY HIGHLANDS?
• Water - The North Jersey District Water Supply Commission estimated that failure to protect the Highlands will cost NJ residents over $100 Billion for new treatment facilities and additional treatment costs over the next 50 years.
• Forests – the best protection for water supply and quality; forest fragmentation threatens critical interior forest habitat
• Wildlife/Biodiversity – 72 wildlife species and 135 plant species that are rare, threatened, or endangered make their home in the Highlands, including some that are federally listed
• Farmland – 3/4 of the region’s agricultural land – over 80,000 acres – is not preserved
• Historic, archaeological and cultural resources
• Recreational opportunities and eco/agritourism potential
• Scenic ridges, viewsheds, and corridors
• A “landscape of national significance” (1992 USDA Forest Service)


WHAT DOES THE DRAFT REGIONAL MASTER PLAN PROPOSE?
The Land Use Capability Map depicts three “Overlay Zone Designations” for the region, which apply in both the Preservation Area and the Planning Area delineated by the Highlands Act, and are the basis for implementing the RMP. These are: the Protection Zone, the Conservation Zone and the Planned Community/Specially Planned Areas Zone. Limitations on development are proposed for all of the zones, with zone specific standards based on resource concerns described in the text’s written policies, beginning on page 51.

The Protection Zone (green) was based on the presence of intact forests, good watershed characteristics, good quality riparian corridors, prime recharge areas, open water, critical habitats and steep slopes. The Conservation Zone (brown) was based on the presence of agriculture and important farmland soils and a rural low-density residential pattern. The Planned Community Zone/Specially Planned Areas (purple) were determined by development intensity and density, the presence of water and sewer utilities, population density, impervious cover greater than 30%, commercial/industrial land use and transit hubs within .5 and 1 mile.


WHAT ARE SOME POSITIVE ELEMENTS OF THE DRAFT PLAN?
• The draft RMP allocates nearly 2/3 (65%, 557,000+ Acres) of the Highlands to the ‘Protection Zone,’ which should be permanently preserved or with very strict limitations on any new development. The Protection Zone spans both the Preservation Area (64%) and the Planning Area (36%), confirming that both contain resources that merit strong protections.
• The RMP protects contiguous forests and critical habitat as strong indicators of high water quality and quantity.
• The excellent ecosystem management components include scientific assessment of forest integrity, prohibitions on clearing of forest vegetation, 300’ riparian buffers in the Preservation Area and many in the Planning Area, prohibitions on land modification in T&E habitat and significant ecological communities, and 1000’ buffers for vernal pools.
• The RMP recognizes most of Highlands water as in deficit or polluted – therefore needing strong protections.
• Municipalities that “opt in” to the RMP will receive beneficial incentives including grants, planning assistance and a legal shield.


WHERE COULD THE RMP BE IMPROVED?
• It needs to determine how much water is available, with updated water supply data, a build-out and capacity analysis.
• It should identify ‘no build’ zones as required by the Highlands Act.
• It should strengthen provisions to enhance and restore impaired waters and riparian sites.
• In the Conservation (agricultural) Zone, instead of requiring clustering of residential development, the RMP should prohibit non-farm development; strongly protect prime agricultural soils; regulate all sources of nitrates, including agricultural pollution; and safeguard grassland species, as well as historic, cultural, and scenic values.
• The Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program should require that Highlands municipalities conform to the RMP as a requirement for “receiving area” designation, and the program should function through the free market.
• Map and recognize the following constraints: karst limestone; historic and present mine locations; updated, advanced wellhead protection areas; and known contaminated areas.


IS PLAN CONFORMANCE WITH THE REGIONAL MASTER PLAN MANDATORY?
In the Preservation Area established by the Highlands Act it is, but in the Planning Area, RMP recommendations are voluntary and municipalities are encouraged to “opt in;” that is, conform their master plan, zoning and ordinances to the RMP. Benefits, including planning grants and a “legal shield” against developer lawsuits, will accrue to municipalities that opt in. Model ordinances will be prepared by the Council to assist municipalities in conforming to the RMP.

Municipalities that opt-in will not be required to participate in the State Plan Endorsement process. Municipalities that don’t opt in will be required to do so, and if they also have land in the Preservation Area, they will need to participate in both processes. COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) has made State Plan Endorsement a requirement for substantive certification (which protects against “builder’s remedy” lawsuits). Highlands RMP Conformance will be considered equal to State Plan Endorsement and therefore also satisfies the COAH requirement


IS THE HIGHLANDS ACT A “TAKING?”
No. Court cases at many levels have established the right of governments to regulate property for the common good, even if doing so lowers value. A “taking” legally occurs when ALL economic value is removed from a property, or when the property itself is transferred from the owner to another entity, as occurs in eminent domain. The Highlands Act ensured through exemptions that all land in the region retains some development rights (one unit per vacant pre-Act lot). In addition, the Act gives those who wish to sell their property to the state’s Green Acres or farmland preservation programs the right to appraisals for both pre-Act and post-Act values. Finally, the transferable development rights program being developed by the Highlands Council will provide landowners with liquid credits that can be held, sold or borrowed against.


HOW ARE HIGHLANDS WATER SUPPLY AND QUALITY THREATENED?
As development occurs on some 3,000 acres of the Highlands every year, replacing water-purifying forests and farmland with impervious surfaces – roofs, roads, parking lots, swimming pools, even lawns – water no longer makes its way into the underground aquifers that supply wells and replenish stream flows during droughts. Long-term monitoring has recorded groundwater level declines of 5 to 15 feet during drought conditions over the last decade, with declines of as much as 25 to 30 feet in the past 35 years in the Whippany River Basin, as withdrawals exceed the natural recharge rate of the aquifer. (USFS 2002)

Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause well interference and unacceptable depletion of streamflows. If current trends continue, groundwater withdrawals are expected to exceed sustainable yield in watersheds drained by the Ramapo, the Whippany and the Pequest Rivers, upper Delaware tributaries and Lopatcong Creek. The Rockaway and Upper Musconetcong basins could also experience similar shortages (USFS 2002) Demand for water already exceeds availability in over half of the Highlands watersheds. (Draft RMP) And demand will continue to grow as population – whether in the Highlands or its water service area – increases.

Impervious cover also increases surface water pollution and speeds runoff to streams, creating
flooding problems. The watersheds in the Highlands likely to have exceptional water quality (less than 10% impervious cover) could be reduced more than 75%. As native vegetation and forests are removed by development, water quality declines. The number of watersheds with more than 50% altered land cover could more than double in the Highlands. (USFS 2002)


HOW CAN I COMMENT IN WRITING?
Submit written comments by March 2, 2007. You are encouraged to leave written comments at the public hearings. You can also comment via email www.highlands.state.nj.us/njhighlands or by mail to New Jersey Highlands Council, Draft Plan Comments, 100 North Road, Chester, NJ 07930. The Council encourages comments on disk or CD as well as on paper, and requests that each comment be identified by a reference to a specific citation to the RMP Table of Contents, with the commenter’s name and affiliation following the comment. Copies of the draft RMP on disk or paper can be ordered for a charge via the Highlands Council website or by calling the Council at (908) 879-6737.


For further information:
David Epstein, President, Morris Land Conservancy, 973-541-1010 dje@morrislandconservancy.org
Wilma Frey, Highlands Project Manager, NJ Conservation Foundation, 908-234-1225 x131 wilma@njconservation.org
Amy Hansen, Policy Analyst, [agriculture issues] NJ Conservation Foundation, 908-234-1225 amy@njconservation.org
David Peifer, Project Director, ANJEC, 973-539-7547 x12 dpeifer@anjec.org
David Pringle, Campaign Director, NJ Environmental Federation, 609-530-1515 dpringle@cleanwater.org
Julia Somers, Executive Director, NJ Highlands Coalition, 908-234-1225 x103 julia@njconservation.org
Eric Stiles, VP Conservation and Stewardship, NJ Audubon Society, 908-766-5787 x13 eric.stiles@njaudubon.org
Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Chapter - Sierra Club, 609-656-7612 NJDirector@NJSierra.org