From the Association of
Municipal Planning Project
ANJEC Highlands
Herald
July 25, 2008
From the Association of
Welcome to ANJEC’s
Please free to share
this information with other environmental commission members, members of your
planning board, municipal experts, your elected officials and members of the
public. If you would like to add a recipient, please send the e-mail address
to dpeifer@anjec.org
In This
Issue
·
Regional Master Plan Adopted
·
Grant Funding Available for Conformance
·
Additional Information on Conformance
·
HGIS, an Interactive Web-based Geographic Information Tool
The Highlands Council adopted the Highlands Regional Master
Plan (RMP) at its July 17 meeting. The
Council then approved the minutes of the meeting at its July 24 meeting and
sent them to Governor Corzine for his approval.
The Governor has 30 days to approve the minutes, after which the RMP
will be formally adopted. Additionally,
the Council resolved at its July 24 meeting to send the RMP to the State
Planning Commission for its “endorsement”.
Once endorsed, the RMP will have the same impact as the State Plan in
the Highlands Region. Interactions between
the State Planning Commission and the Highlands Council will be governed by the
executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) previously
executed between the two agencies.
RMP Available On-Line
The Council has indicated that the RMP will not be available
on CD or in printed format until after the close of the Governor’s review
period at the end of August. However,
the RMP is now available on line at www.nj.gov/njhighlands/. The lengthy document will be subject to
several amendments approved by the Highlands Council at its July 17
meeting. The Council’s website also
includes all the technical papers prepared during the RMP’s preparation.
Importantly, adoption signals the beginning of the
“Conformance Period” for towns and counties in the Highlands Region. The Highlands Act requires that
municipalities and counties with land in the Preservation Area must conform
their planning and zoning for these areas to the requirements of the RMP within
9 to 15 months. Municipalities and
counties with land in the Planning Area may voluntarily comply at any
time. The Council is expected to produce
a schedule that will govern the timing of the conformance process.
Grant
Funding Available for Conformance
All
The Council has allocated $1.5 M to assist local governments
with the initial cost of evaluating their existing planning and zoning and
comparing it to the requirement of the RMP.
Thus far, 13 municipalities have received grants in the range of $15,000
for these initial assessments.
Receipt of an Initial Assessment Grant does not
obligate municipalities or counties to conform to the RMP with respect to lands
in the Planning Area. According to the Highlands Executive
Director, Eileen Swan, these grants are “Good faith grants, to help towns make
an informed decision about conformance.”
Importantly, receipt of one of these grants will not preclude a
municipality from receiving additional grants from the Highlands Council.
The Council recognizes that each municipality’s needs will
differ and is flexible about what the funds can be used for. However, the municipality must submit a clear
proposal that sets out the scope of work and costs for each item. The following tasks may be funded:
ANJEC strongly recommends that environmental commissions and
planning boards review the format and contents of their Environmental Resource
Inventories first. These documents are
the basic data source upon which the master plan and ordinances of the
municipality depend. The Council will
provide digital data for incorporation into revised ERIs and a digital,
computer-based ERI is essential. The
commission may also want to use grant funding to address known local issues.
Justified, local governments may incorporate more stringent standards. The Council recognizes that its mapping and
data compiled at a regional scale and based on available data may be inaccurate
at the local level. Factual changes,
called “map corrections,” such as the extent of sewer and water service and
recent developments, can be corrected during conformance and should be
identified early.
The RMP requires
new components of master plans and zoning ordinance packages that may be
unfamiliar to local government. The
initial assessment should identify these requirements. Municipalities should also be aware that the
RMP’s requirements are considered minimum standards and that, where Commissions
should evaluate this option against their experiences with development
applications.
Initial assessment grants may be utilized to update ERIs and other
mapping in the municipality.
Municipalities have the option of pursuing either “Basic
Conformance” or full Conformance. Basic
conformance is intended to assist Preservation Area municipalities in
submitting the mandatory Plan Conformance revisions in the required 9-15 month
period.
For further information on Initial Assessment Grants,
contact Lindsey Interlante, Manager of Grants Administration lindsey.interlante@highlands.state.nj.us.
Additional
Information on Conformance
Additional information on conformance is readily available
on line at the Council’s website, www.nj.gov/njhighlands/stake/municipalities.html, “Initial Assessment Grant Program”, “Frequently Asked Questions”, “Basic Plan
Conformance for Municipalities: Key Requirements” and “Plan Conformance for
Municipalities: Key Requirements” are good beginning points.
Plan Conformance Standards
The Council has prepared a series of standards sheets as
guidance for municipalities in the conformance process. Currently these are available on the
Council’s website. Go to “Calendar”,
meeting of 7/10/2008 and click on the individual standards. Each subject area (e.g., Steep Slopes)
contains guidance as to which part of the municipal planning package is
involved, the status of municipal response, the specific standards that must be
met and “commentary” that provides additional information.
Standards are available for:
HGIS, an
Interactive Web-based Geographic Information Tool
The Highlands Council has developed a new, interactive geographic
information tool that presents most of the data collected during the
development of the RMP. The display
looks initially like a Google Maps output.
Background coverage may be shifted from this format to a satellite image
or a terrain simulation.
A wealth of information is available to municipalities
including water availability, wildlife habitat, stream corridors and
agricultural areas among many others.
The system can be accessed at the Council’s website under “Highlands
Interactive Map”.
This is an important tool for municipal planning and
conformance. While the price is free,
the value to a municipality is very great.
These data can readily be used to check for map corrections and
importantly, to upgrade and supplement ERIs. Environmental commissions will
also find the information useful in doing site plan reviews. Individual properties may be located by
entering address or lot and block.
It will take some time to learn how to produce informative
maps but the process is quick and intuitive.
CONTACT US
Dave Peifer, ANJEC’s Highlands Project Director is available to help
answer your questions at (973)539-7547 or dpeifer@anjec.org.
SUPPORT US
A click on www.anjec.org/html/memberindivform.htm takes you to our
website where you can make a secure contribution using Mastercard or VISA (or
print a form to mail in).
It only takes a minute, but makes a big difference for ANJEC.
ANJEC
www.anjec.org
973-539-7547
fax: 973-539-7713