Green Jersey

Gov. Corzine still deciding on the Highlands plan

Gov. Corzine has three more weeks to accept the Highlands Master Plan as is, or assign his veto, as many environmental groups are urging. (He doesn’t have to take any action.)

He has until Sept. 5 to deliver a veto, but is still making up his mind, according to the Star-Ledger.

Environmental groups like the New Jersey Sierra Club and New Jersey Environmental Federation say the master plan approved by the Highlands Council July 17 doesn’t do enough to protect the region and its critically important water supply. They say it fails to address affordable-housing requirements and wrongly allows high-density housing clusters, exemption opportunities for builders, and development in already water-deficient areas. Environmentalists had proposed amendments to the plan that addressed their concerns, but most were rejected.

Last month, more than two dozen organizations signed onto a letter to Corzine asking him to seek changes to the plan.

“I think (the plan) fails to uphold the intent of the Highlands Act,” Doug O’Malley, field director for Environment New Jersey, told Green Jersey last month. “While it’s not hard to argue that a weak plan is better than no plan, this plan is not protective of the Highlands’ water supply — and the multiple amendments which were rejected speak to that failure.”

Corzine told the Star-Ledger he hadn’t yet reviewed the plan “with all of the people who have a stake.”

In an interview Wednesday, the governor said he wants to cover all the bases, and is sitting down with farmers, environmentalists, mayors and others before making a final decision. He offered no hints on his final decision but said he can’t make the choice based on one constituency.

“We’re going to do what we think is right with regard to the overall issue,” Corzine said.