The Highlands Act specifically recognizes the impact the provisions of the Act will have on landowners within the Highlands Region.  Specifically, the Act requires that the RMP and the more stringent environmental regulatory standards “should be accompanied, as a matter of wise public policy and fairness to property owners, by a strong and significant commitment by the State to fund the acquisition of exceptional natural resource value lands.”

To ensure that Highlands Region landowners seeking to preserve their property through the State Farmland Preservation Program or the Green Acres Program receive the fairest property valuation, the Highlands Act mandates that property appraisals under these programs be assessed on the basis of local zoning, State environmental laws, and NJDEP regulations in effect as of January 1, 2004 and those in effect at the time of the proposed acquisition.  The higher of these two values are to be used as the basis for negotiation. 

The Highlands Act also requires the establishment of a transfer of development rights (TDR) program. With this program, growth is shifted from sensitive areas where no development will occur (“sending zones”)to growth-compatible areas (“receiving zones”) allowing landowners in the sending zones to receive the value of the development rights and preserving their equity.