The Highlands of New Jersey features the newest of the mandatory regional land use plans. State leaders and activists justified the adoption of aggressive land use controls for the rural Highlands region first and foremost to protect the water supply for millions of urban residents living in cities like Newark, which lies far outside the Highlands planning boundary.
The Highlands program has an unusually divided structure, with the regional plan written and adopted by a Highlands Council but the implementing regulations written and enforced by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The Highlands is separated into a Preservation Area, with very stringent limits on new development, and a Protection Area, with a mix of growth and conservation zones in which local governments retain a great deal of zoning latitude. The Council only adopted the first edition of its Regional Management Plan in July 2008, so this project is in its infancy.
Vital Statistics:
Chapter of the Book: 7
State: NJ
Year Established: 2004
Geographic Scale: 860,000 acres
Mandatory or Voluntary over Local Government: Mandatory
Authorizing Laws: State
Agencies and Organizations:
New Jersey Highlands Coalition
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Resources:
Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq
Highlands Regional Master Plan
Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:38 (pdf)
