With two of our offices located in the heart of the Highlands, Maser Consulting PA's staff of planners and engineers has closely followed the Highlands Legislation since its inception. We have attended conferences and workshops focused on the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act, as well as Transfer of Development Rights Legislation. Because of our familiarity with this subject, we have sponsored a seminar for municipal officials concerned about the Highlands Act. We can assist
your municipality in determining the impact of the new regulations.
Our Award - Winning Maser Consulting Team includes professional planners, professional engineers, professional land surveyors, certified landscape architects, and environmental scientists supported by staff technicians, construction inspectors, CADD operators, and administrative personnel who are proven creators of successful solutions. Our comprehensive in-house multi-service approach can address the broad range of planning challenges presented by the new legislation.
The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act
is a law signed in August 2004 that will protect the precious water resources that supply drinking water to more than half of New Jersey's families, and to preserve exceptional natural resources such as contiguous upland forests, wetlands, and wildlife habitats in the Highlands area. The Highlands Region consists of over 800,000 acres of land, and is shown in the map below.
There are two designations within the High-
lands Region: the Highlands Preservation Area shown in green which constitutes about half of the Highlands Region, and the High-
lands Planning Area shown in yellow. A Regional Master Plan that will be created by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council will govern the entire Highlands Region. Because the preservation area contains exceptional natural resources, special environmental standards have been developed and are currently being adminis-
tered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in an effort to protect these valuable resources. These standards and regulations apply to all Major Highlands Development within the Highlands Preservation Area.
The Highlands Planning Area is the portion of the Highlands that is not included in the Highlands Preservation Area. Although the Preservation Area standards do not apply to this area, the Highlands Regional Master Plan will provide enhanced standards for smart growth development within this area of the Highlands.

The Planning Area offers more development possibilities than the Highlands Preservation Area, including being the recipient of a development transfer in accordance with the Transfer of Development Rights Act.

To better understand these proposed regulations and how they could impact your municipality contact one of the following individuals:

Joseph J. Layton, PP, AICP
at (908) 684-5500 or by e-mail jjlayton@maserconsulting.com

Paul M. Sterbenz, PE, PP, CME
at (908) 684-5500 or by e-mail psterbenz@maserconsulting.com