Session attracts forces from both sides of the issue

Forces for and against a proposed Highlands protection bill mobilized last night for a final public hearing, sporting slogans on T- shirts, buttons and signs and occasionally breaking into spirited debate.

A crowd of more than 600 began gathering hours early at Voorhees High School in Hunterdon County to stake out prime territory for the hearing before the Assembly and Senate environment committees.

The committees are expected to vote on the bill Thursday, and builders and other opponents continued to accuse supporters of ramming through a complex proposal with sweeping impact.

The bill (S1) would sharply curtail development in a huge preservation area covering roughly half the northern Highlands, a seven- county area that cuts across northwestern New Jersey and holds the water supply for half the state.

It would create a regional council with veto power over all major development in the sensitive watershed lands.

Commercial real estate agent Ed Croot from Long Valley debated the merits with Ted Korth of the New Jersey Audubon Society, as they waited outside in a chill wind for a seat.

"I'm mad as hell," shouted Croot, noting he was concerned that the bill would limit his ability to develop industrial lots he owns in Hardyston in Sussex County. "You are telling me you're going to destroy jobs for Americans that I produce."

"Our natural resources are important to everyone who lives and works in this region," Korth fired back. "We must protect them for the benefit of all of us."

Environmentalists, outmaneuvered by a large contingent of builders and other real estate interests at a hearing Monday in Morris County, arrived more than two hours early last night to have their voices heard.

"I felt strongly enough to come here, because we need to take a longer-term view of the issue to protect New Jersey from development," said Jill Clougherty of Long Hill in Morris County, who arrived with her 2-year-old son on her back and another infant in a stroller.

"I know we need jobs and places to live, but we need more than that. We need our natural spaces, we need our water," she said. "Without that, we have nothing."

Stuart Kramer, a builder from Long Valley who got shut out of the hearing with hundreds of others, faulted organizers for not securing larger halls.

"They don't want to hear from the people," he said, noting that he viewed the bill as a "land grab."

Tom Gilbert, chairman of the Highlands Coalition and a member of the governor's task force, accused builders "and others seeking to maintain the status quo" of spreading misinformation about the bill.

"They are trying to play to people's fears and grossly exaggerating the impact of the legislation on the average person," he said. "What this will do really is benefit the public by ensuring we all have clean water."

But Cliff Hendrickson of Belvidere, who is concerned he might not be able to build his retirement home on seven acres he owns in White Township, didn't want to hear those arguments.

"No one has the right to tell me what I can or can't do on my property," he said. "It's despicable."