"This state has been waiting for decades for this day," says McGreevey, in a statement. "Local and state officials and members of the public have long sought protection for the Highlands region, and today this administration and this legislature got it done."
Under the terms of the legislation, which sources say the Governor will sign into law within the next few days, a regional council will be set up to oversee the 800,000-acre Highlands region of northwestern New Jersey. The model for the council and its role is a similar body that has been in places for years to oversee what happens in the one million-acre Pinelands region of Central and Southern New Jersey.
While it won't stop all activity in the Highlands, the legislation will effectively shut down development in a 395,000-acre core region, mostly along streams, lakes and reservoirs. The Highlands region provides drinking water for about half of the state's residents, and protecting the water supply was the driving factor for the McGreevey administration's support of the bill.
The first chore for the council, when it is assembled, will be to devise a master plan for the region. Besides delineating what's off-limits for developers, that plan will also include upwards of 15,000 acres that would be targeted for development. The northwestern counties of New Jersey have, in recent years, been the fastest-growing part of the state.
The legislation also carries some incentives for local communities to follow the game plan. A number of municipal officials in the region have argued that the legislation will limit their ability to add ratables and continue to grow their economies. The incentives include the ability to charge developers impact fees, as well as assistance from the state's attorney general in the event of lawsuits from developers.
The support for the legislation was clearly bi-partisan, with the Assembly voting 69-10 and the Senate voting 34-2. While both houses have Democratic majorities, those majorities are relatively small.
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