Highlands regional land use conditions and smart design technical report

The New Jersey Highlands are part of the great sweep of the Appalachians that shadows the East Coast from Maine to Georgia. The region contains nearly 860,000 acres of forested ridges, rolling farmlands, diverse recreation, abundant wildlife and historic treasures. New Jersey’s Highlands stretch about 60 miles, from Phillipsburg in the southwest to Oakland in the northeast. They lie within portions of seven northwest New Jersey counties — Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren — and include more than 88 municipalities within the legislated region. The NJ Highlands provides more than half of New Jersey's population, 5.4 million people, with clean drinking water. A large sector of the State's industrial base also relies on abundant clean water from the Highlands. Click here for a map of the 244 municipalities in 16 counties that depend upon the Highlands for all or some of its water supply. The Regional Land Use Conditions and Smart Design Technical Report covers multiple topics relating to land use planning in the Highlands Region. The report generally assesses current land use conditions and considers approaches for evaluating future scenarios for the Highlands Region, through the lens of smart growth and design strategies. Topics include land use changes, municipal zoning characteristics, Highlands Build out Model overview, housing, employment, regional development and redevelopment, and smart design. A sound understanding of these topics will contribute to effective regional planning in the Highlands Region