Township of Rockaway DRAFT Highlands Element for Municipal ...

DRAFT Highlands Element to the Rockaway Township Master Plan November 2010
the development and use of land in the Planning Area, to conform with the goals,
requirements, and provisions of the Highlands RMP.) This supplement to the Township
Master Plan, designated the “Highlands Element,” represents a first step toward achieving
full conformance with the Highlands RMP.
The Highlands Element sets forth the policies that shall guide the future land use and
development of the Township Highlands Area. It provides the rationale and the framework
for the adoption of land use regulations that are protective of Highlands resources and
consistent with the Highlands RMP. With regard to specific regulatory requirements, these
shall apply primarily (but not exclusively) to non-exempt land use activities in the
Highlands Area. “Non-exempt” land use and development refers to uses, activities, and
development projects not expressly listed as exemptions in the Highlands Act (N.J.S.A.
13:20-28). Highlands Act exemptions pertain to specific “activities, improvements and
development projects.” With the exception of the lands of federal military installations
existing at the time of enactment of the Highlands Act, the exemptions do not apply acrossthe-board
to lots, tracts, or any other divisions of land, whether existing or proposed at the
time of passage of the Act. Land use activities, improvements, and development projects
that are exempt from the Highlands Act shall remain subject to all other applicable
provisions of the underlying municipal Master Plan, Zoning and Land Use Ordinances, and
Development Regulations.
The Highlands Element amends or creates in limited form (where not already existing),
each of the components of the municipal Master Plan, as provided in the sections that
follow. The Highlands Element is intended to apply in conjunction with the language of the
existing Township Master Plan to the maximum extent feasible. In the event of conflicts
between the two, the Highlands Element shall supersede, unless the existing municipal
Master Plan provisions are more restrictive.
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