Byram to form Highlands working group for more input into plans
Byram — Residents interested in Byram’s part in the Highlands preservation and planning can have a voice through a new working group started by the township council.
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Councilman Scott Olson convinced his colleagues a working group of residents would be the best way to represent the township’s interests and to be an active participant with the Highlands Council. The group will consist of representatives from the council, the planning board and environmental commission as well as residents who have an interest in and knowledge of planning.
Olson pointed out, “Several other towns have Highlands working groups. Mountain Lakes is one and Bedminster is another.” Although those upscale communities are in Morris and Somerset counties respectively, they are similar to Byram in that large sections of their towns fall in the Highlands preservation area.
Once a municipality sets up a working group, it can be an active participant with the Highlands Council in “creating the part of the process by which the method of conformance is determined.” “It is our hope to get in on the ground floor in this part of the planning process,” Olson said. He was authorized to start recruiting members for the group when the council voted to establish it at the Monday, Sept. 17 council meeting.
Also at the meeting the mayor and council unanimously endorsed the latest preservation bond act.
The bond act will authorize the state to issue $200 million in bonds for Green Acres, farmland, Blue Acres, and historic preservation. It will be on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 6. Olson is a proponent of the bond. He said, “We have a wonderful opportunity this November to continue our ability to preserve open space n and our rural quality of life n something we all value here in Byram. Even with our township being almost 97 percent within the Highlands Preservation Area, we need a stable funding source to continue protecting these sensitive lands and historic sites.”
According to Olson, the bond would allow preservation programs to continue operating while a long-term, stable funding source for the Garden State Preservation Trust, which is quickly running out of money, can be identified and secured.
Among the uses for the funds are clean drinking water, safe and attractive playgrounds and urban parks, farmland preservation, the Blue Acres program to purchase flood-prone properties from willing sellers, and the purchase and maintenance of the state’s numerous historic sites. Preserving open space, farmland, and historic sites supports the local economy by stabilizing local property taxes and protecting the region’s quality of life.
“These open spaces provide recreational opportunities for New Jersey’s citizens and visitors and are critical to creating a high quality of life, livable communities and sustainable economies in places like Byram,” said Joanna Wolaver, Conservation Project coordinator for New Jersey Audubon Society.
If approved by voters in November, the bond act will allow the state treasurer to issue general obligation bonds totaling $200 million with $109 million directed to the Green Acres program, $73 million for farmland preservation, $12 million for the Blue Acres program to purchase flood-prone properties, and $6 million for historic preservation purposes.
“Byram residents need look no further than the ailing buildings at Waterloo Village to see the need for increased funding to help preserve and maintain New Jersey’s historic treasures,” said Olson.
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