Picking apples and the Highlands Preservation Act

**DarkSkies** · 10-03-2010, 07:17 PM

Pebbles and I went to pick some apples in Morris County today. We had a great time. As we were leaving we met the owner of the farm and her sister. We had a great time there, the first time I ever went apple picking.

There was another place that offered the same thing, plus more...corn maze, farm animals, etc, but the atmosphere to us felt like the circus. There were over a 1000 people there, and it just felt like one big pitch to buy stuff. So we ditched that and went to Riamede Farm on 122 Oakdale Rd, Chester.

Riamede Farm had a much more laid-back atmosphere, pleasant help. We spent the afternoon in a mellow state of mind without the screaming and yelling at the other place.

We would highly recommend them and their friendly service for the apple picking for either couples or family groups.

**DarkSkies** · 10-03-2010, 07:49 PM

The reason this is in the main forum is that it relates to what towns and states do to control how people use the land in certain areas.

The Public Trust Doctrine applies to all people who want to us land bordering water below the mean high tide line.

The legislation that has arisen to restrict this usage stems from the town and state interpretation of littoral rights, and riparian rights. These pertain to homeowner or property owner rights. The right of use and enjoyment pertains to the end-user, in many cases a sportsman, fisherman, hunter, or anyone else who uses or passes near the land with the intent of using the water it borders.

We've had a few cases documented here where sportsmen are restricted from accessing the land because of questions about property boundaries and rights of the owners....Long Beanch, Deal, Ocean City in NJ.... Sayville, Shoreham Beach, and now Riverhead in LI.

In many cases the distinction isn't clear, hence the confusion and the bad feelings when fishermen are blocked from accessing property they have had a history of permitted access to.

**DarkSkies** · 10-04-2010, 01:48 PM

This act is known as the Highlands Act, http://www.state.nj.us/dep/highlands/faq_info.htm

but more accurately called the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlan...d_Planning_Act
The Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act is a 2004 New Jersey law aimed at protecting the development of the Highlands region of northwest New Jersey under the supervision of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The Highland region covers 859,000 acres (3,480 km2), nearly one-ninth of the state,[1] and is home to 880,000 residents.[2]

The area is primarily in the Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Passaic, and Sussex counties. The act is intended to preserve both large volumes of New Jersey's fresh water sources for 5.4 million residents and the rich biodiversity in the area, in the face of increasing development in the exurbs of New York City.[3] The act was signed into law on August 10, 2004.

**DarkSkies** · 10-04-2010, 01:54 PM

As stated, the above act controls land use from the perspective of the homeowner, whereas the Public Trust Doctrine controls land use from the perspective of rights of individual citizens to enjoy that land which commonly belongs to all.

Many landowners feel they were railoaded with the Highlands Act. For example, the owner of Raimede Farms mentioned she lost 17 units of potential development when this Act was passed. She can still use the land for apple trees, but lost the right to develop certain portions as the water rights are now restricted.

I present these cases to you folks here because I have always had an interest in Land Use and Planning. Moreover, I think it's important to show that it's not always the fishermen who suffer from short-sighted decisions on the part of politicians, there are homeowners who suffer too.

The way the land is used affects everyone, and we owe it to ourselves to keep informed on the various cases where we live.

**DarkSkies** · 10-04-2010, 01:58 PM

If you or anyone you know are looking for a fun, mellow day picking apples at a real orchard, stop by and take a look at Raimede Farm. You'll be glad you did.