Owners of properties for which a Pinelands "Waiver of Strict Compliance" has been denied may be eligible to participate in a joint Federal/State program to purchase properties in the Pinelands with limited development potential. This is known as the "Limited Practical Use" land acquisition program. Property owners who have received a Waiver of Strict Compliance which awarded a transferable development right rather than the opportunity to develop the property may also be eligible. Although the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan guarantees that every property in the Pinelands will have economic use, the need to minimize environmental harm results in some properties having more limited uses than others. It is these properties, which have more limited uses, that this program is intended to address.
Because there are other tests which must be met, including a requirement that the landowner not own 50 acres or more of land anywhere in the Pinelands National Reserve, potentially eligible property owners must complete a questionnaire and return it to the Pinelands Commission. Anyone who feels s/he may qualify should contact the Pinelands Commission for more information about the program by calling Ms. Betsy Piner at (609) 894-7300 or writing to the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, P.O. Box 7, New Lisbon, NJ 08064.
