To the editor: On January 10, 2007 the West Milford Council heard about the “purple blotches” on the Highlands Regional Master Plan’s map, signifying “Planned Communities,” namely high-density housing, like Eagle Ridge and Valley Ridge, with potential infrastructure upgrades, i.e., sewers (which are now estimated to cost each homeowner $25,000 - $40,000). These purple blotches occurred at 10 major lakes in West Milford: Pinecliff, Upper Greenwood, Lindy, Upper and Lower Mount Glen, Indian Trail, Algonquin, High Crest, West Milford Lakes and parts of Greenwood Lake. Every Council member said that they knew nothing about how that happened, and they would take action to prevent it. But, as of this writing, nothing has been done, and the deadline for public input is quickly approaching, i.e., April 2. I strongly encourage the West Milford Council to pass a resolution asking the Highlands Council to remove ALL purple blotches in our town for the following reasons. (1) The goal of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act is to protect the water quality and quantity of the state’s water resources. Markedly increasing development in West Milford, which supplies drinking water for over 4 million people, is not the way to further that goal. (2) West Milford is in a Highlands Preservation area where future development is to be limited, and no development should occur in environmentally sensitive areas. Placing purple blotches in West Milford at wetlands, flood plains, streams, forests, steep slopes, and threatened/endangered species habitats violates the Act. (3) According to the DEP’s water studies, and West Milford’s studies by Malcolm Pernie (1987) and M-Square (2003), all of West Milford is in a water deficit area. We are about 30 percent over capacity for a long-term sustainable yield of well water for our current residents. During the recent drought, numerous wells in town had full or partial outages. Some residents came daily to Pinecliff lake to fill 5-gallon jugs to flush their toilets. Planned communities, which can add thousands more residents to drink from the same aquifer, is irresponsible and unethical. (4) The Act permits “redevelopment” in Preservation areas only with much impervious surface (precipitation can’t get through) or in “brownfields,” (e.g., polluted commercial sites). So all, or almost all, of the purple blotches don’t qualify. (5) As the Act already exempts building single-family homes on an estimated 731 West Milford lots (about 2,200 people), plus much West Milford Brownfield redevelopment, to develop the purple-blotch areas, possibly bringing thousands of additional people, would leave West Milford “high and dry.” I encourage West Milford residents to come to the “Save the Highlands Rally” to encourage municipal and county officials to pass resolutions to remove the purple blotches from the Highlands Regional Planing Map, from all preservation areas and from all environmentally sensitive sites in the “Planning Areas.” The rally will be held on March 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at West Milford Town Hall, 1480 Union Valley Rd. To let the Highlands Council know that the Highlands should stay as green as an Irish Shamrock, for this St. Patrick’s Day rally there are green t-shirts printed with “Purple Blotches Bring Pollution; Highlands Green is Our Solution.” Folks who want to buy these t-shirts ($5) can phone Doris Aaronson at 973-728-1525 from 11 a.m.-11p.m. to arrange a time to get them at Pinecliff Lake. I also encourage everyone to send letters before April 2 by email from http://www.highlands.state.nj.us/njhighlands/ or to NJ Highlands Council, 100 North Rd., Chester, NJ 07930. Ask the Highlands Council to carry out the goals of the Water Protection and Planning Act by removing the purple blotches. Doris Aaronson West Milford