Murphy appoints former Chester Township mayor to lead NJ Highlands Council

Ben Spinelli says getting elected mayor of Chester Township 24 years ago "was the best and worst thing that ever happened to me."

"All of a sudden all the things I had been doing to make a living became so trivial," said Spinellli, a former trial attorney recently appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy as the new executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Council. "It gave me an opportunity to really start to make a difference in the world, and it just became obvious to me that's where I needed to go with my life."

That taste of public service altered his career path, as he began to specialize in land-use issues, leading to an appointment by then-Gov. James McGreevey to the initial Highlands Council, a 15-member volunteer board tasked with oversight of implementing the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004.

McGreevey and the state Legislature created the organization to protect the environmental integrity of the New Jersey Highlands Region, which provides drinking water for more than 5 million people, mostly in North Jersey. The 800,000-acre region covers more than 1,250 square miles and 88 municipalities in seven counties: Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.

The agency has the power to prohibit or limit construction and development in the region considered incompatible with preservation and encourages "appropriate development, redevelopment and economic growth." Spinelli stressed that the board makes the decisions based on a master plan intended to "protect, preserve and enhance precious water resources, open space and the wealth of unique natural resources within the Highlands Region."

The council has its critics as well, among them former Gov. Chris Christie, who say it unfairly inhibits development and decreases property values.

Spinelli, who served on the board from 2004 to 2006, says the work became a passion. When the executive director position opened this year, he saw an opportunity to take his service to the next level.

“Everything that I have worked on for the past two decades has prepared me for this,” Spinelli said. “I’ve dedicated a significant portion of my professional career to sustainable planning issues, and in particular protection of the resources of the Highlands region. From being the mayor of a Highlands community to advocating for the protection of the Highlands and sitting as a Highlands Council member, I have been deeply involved in the important issues facing this region.

"This is an incredible opportunity for me to continue to ensure that the Highlands will meet the needs of New Jersey’s residents for generations to come,” he said.

Murphy, a Democrat, crossed party lines to make the appointment. "If we go by registration, I'm a Republican, but I'm a pretty nonpartisan guy," Spinelli said.

Spinelli began his career as a county prosecutor and trial attorney, later serving as mayor in Chester Township from 1998 until 2007. His accomplishments over three terms included the preservation of more than 3,000 acres of environmentally important open space and farmland.

More:New data service allows Highlands Council communities to track environmental changes

During his tenure as mayor, Spinelli joined the New Jersey Office of Smart Growth as chief counsel and director of policy, later taking on the role of executive director for the agency before moving into the nonprofit sector and ultimately private consulting.

In the private sector, Spinelli is now a principal of Greener by Design, a New Brunswick consultant specializing in land-use issues.

He also served as a senior adviser to the president’s FEMA Hurricane Sandy Recovery Task Force on matters of local government, land use and planning, and as executive director of the state Office of Smart Growth.

“When we began this search, we were committed to finding someone with meaningful experience in the Highlands region,” said Highlands Council Chairman Carl Richko, a former West Milford mayor. “Ben’s tenure on the Highlands Council certainly set him apart, but he also brings deep expertise in environmental policy, municipal land-use law, sustainable local, regional and statewide land-use practices, land preservation, agricultural retention and strategic planning. His experience and ties to the region are just excellent.”

Spinelli will replace Lisa Plevin, a former EPA regional director, who came on board in 2018.

"Lisa's done a terrific job," Spinelli said.

Spinelli will lead a 23-person staff starting next month and report directly to Richko. the position comes with an annual salary of $135,000.

"It's important work," he said. "We pay the price for every bad decision people made before us, and we reap the benefits of every good decision they made, and we have a moral obligation to make as many of those good decisions as we can."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com

Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Highlands Council to be led by former Chester Township mayor