Green Jersey

The grass is always greener…

Is grass an impervious surface? Members of the Highlands Council seem to think so, and that opinion has sparked a debate in the environmental community. From the Star-Ledger:

Critics say this because the few sites in the protected area that developers can build on must already be mostly covered with an impervious surface — a material that water cannot pass through. If grass is considered impervious, then more land can be targeted for revelopment.

“We find it difficult to believe that the drafters of the Highlands Act envisioned that lawns may be treated as impervious surface,” said Ross Kushner, executive director of the Pequannock River Coalition. “They’re playing games with the numbers in this proposed policy to the benefit of development.”

That’s not how the Highlands Council sees it.

Eileen Swan, executive director of the council, said the state law created to preserve the land defined impervious surface very broadly. The council is just trying to find a practical method for developers to calculate how much land is already covered.”We’re not trying to be problematic. We’re trying to figure out, how do we map it?” Swan said.

The council is taking public comment on the method to determine impervious surface until March 3.

Meanwhile, Warren County has joined an effort to get Superior Court Judge Paul Innes to rethink a lawsuit that alleges the Highlands Act is unconstitutional. The suit, brought by the county and 9 landowners, was dismissed by Innes last month. If Innes won’t revisit the case, the county Board of Freeholders may appeal to the state Supreme Court.