WEST MILFORD The Highlands Act, which was enacted for the good of New Jersey residents is proving financially harmful to some. This begs the question, should taxpayers be responsible for an investment that has lost its value? Thomas McCann, town resident and proprietor of two local businesses, is the current owner of the 58 and a half acres which rests just off Canistear Road. He recently approached the town council and ask them to buy it as preserved open space. The land was an investment bought 20 years ago by McCann’s mother, Nell. When a plan to build ten houses on the land fell through, Nell McCann sought to sell the land to the state. She received an offer through the state’s Green Acres project, but the state made two appraisals using distinctly different scenarios. The first one looked at the land value prior to enactment of the Highlands Act, the other assumed the act was passed. They came up with two purchase prices $1.4 million pre-Highlands Act, and $476,000 if the act passed. On January 1, 2004, the Highlands Act became law and Nell McCann received a letter from the state dated Dec. 20, 2005 offering the lesser of the two amounts. Thomas McCann said the letter had a devastating effect on his mother, “She passed away on January 20. The day she got this letter was the end of her life. This letter made her so sick.” McCann is now seeking to sell the property and hopes the new owners will be the residents of West Milford. McCann asked the town council to consider purchasing the land using open space funds, and in conjunction with Passaic County and possibly the state, paying the higher price of $1.4 million as appraised by the state. According to the Councilman James Warden, there is a provision in the Highlands Act that says property owners with large parcels sold as open space would be given pre-Highlands Act prices. “It’s my opinion that McCann shouldn’t be asking the township taxpayers to buy it, he should be asking the council to help him represent himself to the state. They passed the legislation. They made the provision. He should be given fair market value (pre-Highlands Act) but from the state, not West Milford.” The town has earmarked the majority of its approximate $750,000 open space funds to purchase the Eagle Ridge tract to prevent development of 280 homes there by K. Hovnanian. McCann however considers this plan a folly, “I read about the open space funding being used to stop building with a return to the people of this township of nothing. This property here would provide cross country skiing, hiking horseback riding, so many different things. What will the town get back by purchasing the other property?” McCann also highlighted the fact that when it comes to paying taxes to the town for all property and business owned by his family, it reaches a total of more than $81,000 per year. McCann is keen to stress he is not looking for any favors from the township: “I’m not looking for the town to make up on my loss. I do not expect the township to look at this in any other way other than spending open space dollars wisely.” Councilman Phil Weisbecker was in broad support of at least considering the land for purchase. Weisbecker said, “I would ask that we direct the environmental committee who are acting as the open space committee to go and take a look at this and come back and advise the council as to what their findings are.” Fellow council member Joseph Smolinski was equally supportive of the idea, saying, “I did walk Tommy McCann’s property today and it is one of the most beautiful pieces of land in West Milford. We have a responsibility to all open space in this town and I know we have a commitment to another large tract. But we have a responsibility to a family that’s been around in West Milford for so long and has done so much for this town; we owe it, if we can see a way, to help this situation out.” The council agreed to investigate the matter further and will wait for reports from the Environmental Commission.