Hundreds cheer, boo testimony; 200 turned away.

LEBANON TWP. -- About 200 people were turned away from a legislative hearing on the proposed Highlands preservation bill because fire codes would not allow more people in the auditorium of Voorhees High School.

Several tractors with placards in the window protesting the legislation were parked outside the school. Supporters of the bill distributed fliers and also had placards, though state police did not allow the placards to be brought inside the auditorium.

The 450 people who did get a seat inside the auditorium cheered and booed testimony given to a joint meeting of the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee and the Senate Environment Committee. Assemblyman John McKeon, the committee chairman, said 150 people asked to speak.

Eileen Swan, the Republican mayor of Lebanon Township and a member of the Highlands Task Force, said panels appointed by three governors all concluded that the Highlands need to be protected for the benefit of the entire state. Swan cited statistics that half of the state's drinking water comes from the Highlands and population growth in the region is 50 percent faster than the state growth rate.

"We have an opportunity now to plan for a sustainable future," Swan said.

Some opponents of the bill said it will force people to move out of the area. Ed Israselo of Pulte Homes builders said the bill will reduce the availability of affordable housing. He said there should be "significant grandfathering" for development projects. Representatives of Weichert Realtors and the New Jersey Builders Association distributed flyers prior to the hearing for individuals opposed to the legislation.

Several farmers who spoke opposed the Highlands bill because they say it will significantly reduce the value of their properties.

Deborah Post, a farmer from Chester Township in Morris County, said the bill "decimates a farmer's net worth."

Post said the legislation does not contain a definition of fair market value in cases where the state exercises the right of first refusal on properties. She provided a list of proposals to amend the legislation.

"The definition of fair value must not punish those who are still tilling the land today while favoring those who have sold to developers," Post said.

Kurt Alstede, president of the Morris County Board of Agriculture, said the provision of the bill that prohibits disturbance of more than 3 percent of the impervious cover on a property will "literally make it impossible to perform agricultural practices." Alstede also urged the committees to mandate agricultural representation on the proposed 15-member Highlands Planning Council.

Senate committee Chairman Bob Smith noted after Alstede's testimony that agricultural amendments to the bill have not yet been made.

Somerset County Board of Agriculture President Bill Randolph said, though farmers are an endangered species in New Jersey, they know they have the equity of their land to fall back on. Randolph urged the defeat of the Highlands bill, but said if it must be passed, it should include a blanket exception for all agricultural activities. He also demanded that equity protection clauses be included.

Though most of the farmers who gave testimony expressed concern for decreased land value, Styra Eisinger of Bethlehem Township said she has seen property values increase where land is preserved. Eisinger, who said she works with land preservation efforts in Hunterdon County, said property values increase further when a tract of land is surrounded by other preserved properties.

"This is a piece of visionary legislation that comes almost at the last moment, if the drought of 2002 is any indication," Eisinger said.

Allison Mitchell of the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance said the state's farmland preservation program, which is now thriving, was initially opposed by most farmers. She said regular agricultural land uses will not be affected by the Highlands legislation.

Mitchell thanked the committees for "putting the needs of the public in front of the desires of a few to profit from unreasonable exploitation of our natural resources."

( The next hearing on the Highlands legislation is scheduled for 10 a.m. on April 22 in Trenton.