Northwest legislators call preservation bill ill-conceived

North Jersey residents should revolt against a proposed Highlands preservation plan, some Republican legislators from the region urged yesterday, saying it could jeopardize home rule, hurt property values, hike local taxes and violate the state constitution.

A half-dozen representatives stood outside the new Berkshire Valley Golf Course in Jefferson, with Bowling Green Mountain as a backdrop, to attack the preservation effort as ill-conceived and to question Gov. James E. McGreevey's motives.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) said officials in the seven-county, 90-town region have long worked to protect undeveloped land and safeguard the environment, and they do not need an outside regional council to dictate development and preservation practices.

Many mayors, local officials and some of Republican legislative colleagues have supported the Highlands effort, citing the need to safeguard water and interlocking greenways. DeCroce said they are well-intentioned but wrong.

"We understand that there is a need to protect a region which provides drinking water for millions of New Jersey residents, but we must balance those concerns with the rights of farmers, property owners and local governments," said DeCroce, who contended Republicans, who control Northwest Jersey, are being ignored in the creation of a plan that will control the fate of many of their constituents.

He said the bill would create a commission subject to the governor's veto, in effect giving the governor virtual control over the region, and that it could devalue farmland and unintentionally increase sprawl outside the Highlands core area.

Joining DeCroce were Assemblymen Michael Carroll, Richard Merkt, Joseph Pennacchio (all R- Morris), Assemblywoman Connie Myers (R-Hunterdon) and Assemblyman Guy Gregg (R-Sussex). Also present was Morris County Republican Freeholder John Inglesino.

Their comments came as the five-member Senate Environment Committee failed to release the bill to the full Senate, following private discussions with two South Jersey Democrats on the committee who are seeking a political deal to benefit their region. The measure passed an Assembly committee earlier this week.

DeCroce and his colleagues said they favor protection of the region's water supply and green spaces but prefer a "less onerous" method than the 100-page bill that has dozens of amendments. They said adopting the Highlands bill would prevent construction of many worthwhile projects such as the Berkshire Valley Golf Course.

Merkt charged the governor is only pretending to care about the environment but really is looking to create a bureaucracy that can provide jobs for political supporters who will donate to his campaign.

Pennacchio likened the preservation plan to communism, saying it would include a "taking of land" that smacked of the principles of Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin.

But state Sen. Robert Martin (R-Morris), who is co-sponsoring the Highlands legislation, said from his office in Trenton that his GOP colleagues are making a mistake in not joining in a bipartisan effort on the issue.

"When they were driving up to Jefferson, didn't they look around, didn't they see what is happening with development up there?" asked Martin. "If they don't see the new development going up all around them, if they don't see the need for protection of the water and environment, they must be blind."

Martin said their failure to participate in the process might be politically motivated by their opposition to McGreevey. But he said it puts them at a disadvantage in trying to better craft and amend the bill for the benefit of their constituents.