Water-use tax floated to help stop Warren sprawl
Money would be for preservation purchases in Highlands region.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

By MICHAEL P. BUFFER

The Express-Times

HARMONY TWP. -- An impromptu debate about last year's controversial Highlands legislation took place Wednesday at the Warren County Farmers' Fair.

It was a few minutes after noon when Rick Cowell, of Harmony Township, started listening to representatives of the Phillipsburg Riverview Organization speak at their booth at the fair. The PRO representatives were endorsing proposals to stop sprawl in Warren County.

They also endorsed legislation to create a water-use tax to raise money for preservation purchases in the Highlands region, which includes parts of Warren, Hunterdon and five other counties.
"So you still can't steal my property," Cowell interjected.

Cowell said land in the Highlands preservation area is "basically useless" because development is limited and it can't be sold to developers. Cowell doesn't own land in the Highlands region, but he believes the legislation will hurt his excavating and septic business.

"The Highlands act is nothing more than a land grab," Cowell said. "You tree huggers. You want to grab everything We're leaving the state because this is becoming a dictatorship."

State regulations for the Highlands preservation area allow only one septic system on 88 acres in heavily forested areas and on 25 acres in disturbed areas, such as farmland and areas previously developed.

Reggie Regrut, executive director of the Phillipsburg Riverview Organization, said land use regulations prevent Warren County from looking like sprawl-ridden Bergen County.
"There are restrictions on everybody's property," Regrut added. "I can't build a whorehouse on my property."

The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act divides the Highlands region into a 415,574-acre preservation area that limits development and a 443,449-acre planning area that allows "appropriate" development. Critics of the legislation have said the state isn't able to compensate landowners who agree to land preservation deals.

But critics, as well as supporters of the act, are backing a water-use tax to help fund preservation efforts inside the Highlands preservation area. They argue that a water-use tax is fair because the Highlands region supplies water to 64 percent of New Jersey residents, about 5.4 million people.
"Water is not free," Regrut said.

Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, a sponsor of the Highlands act, is sponsoring a measure that would establish a water-use tax to raise funds to protect water supplies. The proposed legislation would cost most households in the state about $3.20 a year, Regrut said.
Regrut also said he wants to see legislation that would stop small town planning boards from allowing sprawl. He said local boards rely on volunteers who lack the resources needed to stand up to developers.

The current planning system has resulted in plans for 7,549 new homes in Warren County, Regrut said. Michael King, chairman of the Phillipsburg Riverview Organization, said local municipalities often allow development by blaming state mandates to build affordable housing, but he said those mandates are poor excuses that allow development.

King also criticized the Strategic Growth Plan proposed by the Warren County Planning Department, saying it encourages development on the 2,000-acre Pohatcong grasslands between Alpha and Interstate 78. Development on the environmentally-sensitive area threatens the home of six bird species, King said.

The county should encourage redevelopment in Washington, Phillipsburg and Belvidere, instead of encouraging new development on open space, King said. County planning department Director David Dech was not available for comment Wednesday.

King said the county shouldn't build a new library on Route 519 in White Township and suggested relocating the library to an old warehouse building along the Pequest River in Belvidere. The new library could include a coffee shop to help pay operating costs, King said.

Reporter Michael P. Buffer can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at mbuffer@express-times.com.