The Highlands Act vs. Affordable Housing Mandates

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 06:19:26 PM EDT

It's been classified as "Smart Growth vs. Environmental Planners", regarding the new Affordable Housing Law and the effects it has on the Highlands Master Plan requirements. In this corner we have Smarth Growth and Regional Planning Groups:

NJFuture, the Regional Plan Association and SmarthGrowthNJ have written to Corzine, urging him not to veto the minutes of the July 17 meeting where the Highlands Council adopted its regional master plan, a blueprint for the region's future development and preservation of the region.
"The sooner the Highlands Council is allowed to begin implementation of the RMP, the sooner we will find the quirks and wrinkles that need to be ironed out, the sooner we can actually get to work on the preservation and regeneration of the region," the letter says.

And in the opposing corner, we have environmental groups:

Jeff Tittel, director of the state's Sierra Club, dismissed the group's letter as a plea from "lobbyists for massive sprawl.
"Their organizations have supported just about every law and regulation that favors paving over New Jersey," Tittel said. "Our scientists and engineers looked at the Highlands Act and came up with 68 pages of constructive criticism, based on hard work and science. These groups, however, offered nothing. ... It's outrageous that now they are weighing in on the issue."

The Governor has up to 30 days to act on the master plan report. While both sides have taken to the media, it's pretty clear that the issue will end up in court. This is what a spokewoman for COAH had to say recently:

Right now, we're confused, Sceusi said. "It just gives a bad impression the state doesn't seem to know how to reconcile these things ... The bottom line is going to be much more litigation, many more years of fighting ... and very few affordable houses, unfortunately.

The question is, what will towns do while the process plays itself out with no one appearing to have any answers?

Jason Springer :: The Highlands Act vs. Affordable Housing Mandates

Tags: affordable housing, COAH, Highlands Act, (All Tags)

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The Highlands Act vs. Affordable Housing Mandates | 1 comments

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Thanks for posting about this issue, as it seems the Highlands Act, a regulatory environmental mechanism that has come under fire recently, is a progressive issue that we haven't really been talking about much on Blue Jersey.

The current plan for the Highlands Act, from what I gather, actually adds more controls to development in the "middle zone" of the Highlands Act. Tittel must be onto something, though, if he unilaterally opposes the current revision of the Highlands Act, though.

If Rockaway Township is anything like my town, they've been neglecting their affordable housing mandate since the Supreme Court ruling, which hasn't had any teeth until now, so it seems that they've made their own bed; they've got to build affordable housing.

by: Martin @ Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 00:30:20 AM UTC