820-Home Community Proposed for Highlands

The project does face some major hurdles before it can proceed, although officials of this 16,000-population, 12-square-mile town have already said that they back the proposal. The Sussex County location is within what is called the Highlands Region of New Jersey, a wooded, hilly area covering much of northwestern New Jersey in which the administration of Gov. James McGreevey has vowed to virtually shut down development as part of its anti-sprawl agenda.

The project would involve leveling a substantial portion of the site's tree coverage, although the development group, which is headed by principals of Windsor Management, proposes to preserve about half of the site as open space or for recreational purposes.

Also at issue is the McGreevey administration's effort to restrict development near the Garden State's sources of drinking water. The site of the proposed Village Grande borders Lake Hopatcong.

For their part, town officials have pointed out that the proposed development is next to a "town center" site that has already been designated as such by state planning officials. Indeed, the Hopatcong Borough Council recently submitted an application to the state's Office of Smart Growth, which operates within the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, to expand the town center designation to include the Village Grande site as well.

Ratables are also expected to be a key factor: Local officials say that the built-out Village Grande will generate more than $5.3 million in real estate taxes. The site, which is owned by a local family, is now being assessed as farmland, and as such generates less than $700 a year in tax revenues, according to local tax information. No timetable for the project has been released.