Mahwah February 24, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 State budget woes impact Highlands Council plans by Frank J. McMahon The state’s budget problems could have an impact on Mahwah’s plans to revise the township’s master plan and development regulations to conform to the regional master plan of the state’s Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (Highlands Council) for a certain portion of the township. In December, the township council passed two resolutions indicating its intention to voluntarily conform to the Highlands Council Master Plan for the part of the township known as the planning area. That area includes the land east of Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202) and east of the southern portion of Route 287. According to Joseph Burgis, the township’s professional planner, conformance with the Highlands Council Regional Master Plan is required in the preservation area portion of Mahwah which lies west of Ramapo Valley Road. The cost of revising the township’s master plan to conform with the Highlands Council Regional Master Plan was to have been covered by grants from the Highlands Council, some of which have already been received. But the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, a four-state alliance of nearly 200 nonprofit, municipal, state and federal organizations that work collaboratively to protect natural resources in the highlands of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, recently advised that money is no longer available for those grants. According to Julia Somers of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently declared a fiscal emergency in the state and eliminated $18.5 million from the Highlands Protection Fund, $88,000 from the council’s operating budget, and, $13.2 million that was intended to help compensate municipalities like Mahwah for revenue losses as a result of compliance with the state’s Highlands Act. “The Highlands Protection Fund provides municipalities in the region with grant money to do the necessary planning to conform with the Highlands Council Regional Master Plan and this cut in resources will adversely impact the conformance process,” Somers stated. “We hope the governor recognizes how successful this program is and (continued on page 11) Eagles earn title Mahwah residents Steven Neer, Zac Palmer, Anthony D’Allesandro, Paul Gatto, and General Manager Doug Cinnella helped lead the PBI Eagles high school team to a 5-2 win over the Bergen Swamp Rats to win the 2009 Elite High School Division Championship, capping off an 8-2 season. Front row: Aaron Miranda, Aaron Soloman, Michael Epstein, Steven Neer, Zac Palmer, and CJ TenHoeve. Second row: GM Doug Cinnella, Anthony D’Alesandro, Alec Fenstermacher, Corey Mulligan, Glen Cocks, Paul Gatto, Jordan Klingler, and Head Coach Joe Spafford.