The DEP just issued it's first reversal of a Highlands Council decision to block development. In this case, there is a rather small tract of land that falls under the domain of the Highlands Council in northern Holland Township. Some of you will know the general area if you have fished the Musky gorge. There has been a hotly contested development proposal for the steeply sloped area that has cat. 1 trout production stream headwaters in it. The council had rejected the proposed development, but the meatheads at DEP decided it's now ok.

See also: Friends of Holland Highlands

Article from Hunterdon Democrat:

DEP approves controversial Highlands housing project in Holland Township

A Hunterdon County housing project rejected by the New Jersey Highlands Council in one of its first reviews of development in the environmentally sensitive region has received a key and controversial approval by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Huntington Knolls, a project proposing 116 age-restricted apartments, affordable housing units and commercial space on 84 acres in Holland Township, has been approved by the DEP for inclusion in the state's Upper Delaware Water Quality Management Plan. It is a major step toward water and wastewater permit approvals for the project, which the Highlands Council rejected in January 2008 as inconsistent with environmental preservation standards established for the region.

It is the first time the DEP has reversed a recommendation made by the Highlands Council, which is charged with carrying out the 2004 Highlands Act that imposed restrictions on land use in about 88 towns across seven northern New Jersey counties. The law established the council to review proposed development within that region, but its decisions are only advisory when it comes to the DEP.

Environmentalists who battled to protect the Highlands for decades were livid at the reversal and concerned about the precedent it would set.

"It's the wrong project in the wrong place. This is exactly the type of project the Highlands Preservation Act was supposed to stop--sprawl development in the middle of nowhere, on steep slopes and in environmentally sensitive areas," said Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

New Jersey Highlands Coalition, a group of environmental watchdog organizations monitoring the state's commitment to impose the Highlands Act provisions, called the DEP action a contradiction to the executive order signed in September by Gov. Jon Corzine. The order tightened restrictions on development in areas with water shortages and stated that nothing trumps the need to protect the Highland's water supply, including the need for affordable housing. The region supplies water to the northern half of the state.

"We are extremely concerned about the precedent set here. This area has been defined as being in a water deficit area. If the DEP and Highlands Council are not going to be working together, they will be wasting everyone's time to an extraordinary degree," said Julia Somers, executive director of the coalition.

The DEP defended the approval, contending the purpose of the Highlands Act was not to ban all development in the Highlands region.

"It's a delicate balance between protection of the resources and development in appropriate areas," said DEP spokeswoman Elaine Makatura. "When you look at the bigger picture, the Highlands regional master plan and the resources with in the Highlands, the decision does not contradict the focus of environmental protection."

She said the DEP "gave great weight" to the analysis of the Highlands Council, but concluded the natural resources sought for protection in all Holland Township will not be adversely impacted by one housing project.

"The resources in question are not unique to the Hunting Knolls site," Makatura said.

She said changes were made in the project's design to alleviate potential impacts, including a storm-water management system that will maximize the amount of water that gets recharged into the soil. Makatura also said the DEP considered the value of 28 housing units included in the project for low- and moderate-income families.

But Mike Keady of Friends of Holland Highlands, a township group opposed to the project, noted building a new development increases the town's obligation to provide affordable housing, essentially making the deal a wash.

He also said the project's designation as age-restricted stands to be changed, and families may move into the new housing -- increasing all estimates of water use and wastewater generation considered in approving the project.