Township government is guided in its land use policies and decisions through a series of "living documents" collectively known as the Master Plan.  For Highland Township, the heart of this guidance is found within the "Highland Township Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2000-2020"  This document was adopted in 2000, after a lengthy period of study and analysis which included visioning sessions with the public, a resident land use opinion survey, and considerable debate about the future of Highland Township.

Since then, a number of "microarea analyses" have been completed to evaluate either specific small areas (e.g. one square mile centered on a specific intersection) or to discuss specific land uses (e.g. where it is appropriate to focus multiple family development).  Such studies are generally initiated by the Planning Commission in response to recognized trends in land use in our Township or region, or as a vehicle to evaluate the appropriateness of development proposals that might vary from those envisioned when the zoning ordinance was crafted.

Currently, the Township is reevaluating its Comprehensive Land Use Plan, as is periodically required by State Law.  To begin the process, the Township conducted an updated land use opinion survey in 2005.  Given those results, the Planning Commission has begun discussions about what reformulating the goals and objectives for greater clarity, revising the zoning ordinance to reduce complexity (especially in the zoning map), and to incorporate new tools such as woodlands preservation and other environmental protection.

The Planning Commission is also attempting to recognize the work of the Highland Downtown Development Authority (HDDA) and our land conservancies through their public planning processes for downtown design and greenways visioning.

Feel free to download any of the following .pdf documents.  You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.adobe.com).  Sorry, but the Comprehensive Land Use Plan is not available in electronic format.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel to contact the Planning Department Staff at questions@highlandtwp.com

 Master Plan Map (1999)

Resident Opinion Survey Form (October 2005)
Survey Results (October 2005)

North Hickory Ridge Road MicroArea Analysis (December 2006)
Appendix Figure 1 Existing Zoning
Appendix Figure 2 Future Land Use Map (1999)
Appendix Figure 3 Proposed Future Land Use Map Changes

South Milford MicroArea Analysis (Part 1) (April 2005)
South Milford MicroArea Analysis (Part 2) (April 2005)

 Highland Station Master Plan  (2008)