COMMENTS to HIGHLANDS COUNCIL, RE: REGIONAL MASTER PLAN
from REALsmart, The League for Real Smart Growth, Phillipsburg, New Jersey, 08865

Comments:
Highlands Council has wisely created the Conservation Zone in recognition of the world class farmland which had been excluded from the Preservation Zone in the original draft of the Regional Master Plan. REALsmart's motto is 'NO MORE HOUSES ON FARMLAND". With REALsmart's goal in mind, and in light of the creation of the Conservation Zone by the Council: 

Please consider:

The farmland of the Highlands can be the economic engine of the entire region if the region is to successfully compete in the global economy.

We cannot afford to allow houses on these world class soils. They are our common weal. Put in this economic perspective and claiming the value of development rights makes it much more affordable and something we cannot afford not to do.

And also consider:
The public/government has the right to claim a major part of the development right value, that has accrued to the property, because of the public investment made in infrastructure, while the property has been in the NJ tax subsidized, farmland assessment program. This would give farmland assessed properties in the Highlands a status very similar to the lands in the Preservation Zone of the Highlands. Land owners wishing to sell would have until a date in the future (such as 2010) to sell the remaining value of the land based on value tied to the date of enabling legislation.

A view of the farmland resource in just one town:
Franklin Twsp, Warren County has 11,000 tillable acres. Almost all of this farmland is in the planning area and zoned for growth. The town is counting on it along route 57. We need something to catapult this resource in its entirety out of the reach of the developers and into permanent status as farmland. It can be justified simply by the economic benefits this world class farmland can offer as the economic basis for Warren County. Are we just going to sit by as it is divided piece by piece? Preserving a piece here or there as funds are available for those willing to settle for $45,000 an acre. * (see below, the most recent town purchase went for this if you exclude the 300 foot buffer from the C1)

The piece by piece development of farmland, has unfolded across the state and no rules currently in place in the Highland's planning area will break this pattern.  We need an action plan to preserve these lands or face their continued loss. I have proposed a few ideas here which justify a plan for action and propose a method.

11,000 tillable acres (you can't believe you're still in Jersey, when you see it) blows the doors out of the existing preservation programs. These programs have worked for towns with just a few properties remaining undeveloped, sometimes, depending again on the willing seller needed to be eligible for state funds,  but not for preservation of agriculture at this scale. Consequently, if we do not face this reality, we will be lucky if 25% of these farms are preserved at the end of 20 years.

Mike King, Coordinator, for REALSMART
the League for Real Smart Growth
68 S. Main Street Phillipsburg, New Jersey
phone and fax: 908-454-4141
www.proriverview.org

*And it should be noted that just this one of purchase, (of the property across from the Franklin Twsp school) nearly wiped out the entire township open space fund, that is six cents on the hundred, they've been
collecting for years. The guy up the hill wants the same money in exchange for not building 17 houses but town folks call it extortion, because it is not across from the school, I guess, even though, it is zoned the same and allows the same amount of houses acre per acre, as the property across from the school.

They're even going to name the new open space park, across from the school, after the former farmer/owner, since at $45,000 an acre, he could have done even better financially, developing the land. And it has to be mentioned, that Green Acres allows appraisals to include the land from the creek to 300 feet, as if, houses could be built in the 300 foot buffer of a C1. The program does this to encourage a willing seller, because, it must have a willing seller. Problem is that at these prices, we cannot preserve the development rights of even a fraction of the land available for development.