Wayne Quality Roofing has spent more than 20 years on roofing in Oakland and across northern New Jersey, and the first thing we settle on any call here is what the job actually is. A worn roof covering, a leak at a chimney and a new roofed porch are three different projects, and each one is handled differently before anyone picks up a tool.
On a leak we go into the attic as well as onto the roof, because water often runs along a rafter before it shows on a ceiling. We trace it to the point where it gets in, then tell you plainly whether a repair will hold. Replacement only comes up when the honest answer is that the roof has run out of life.
When replacement is the answer, our written scope prices tear-off, decking, underlayment, flashing, ventilation and gutters on separate lines. That lets you set our number beside another contractor’s and compare them item by item, instead of weighing two totals that may not describe the same roof.
Oakland on Both Sides of the Highlands Line
Oakland sits across the boundary of the New Jersey Highlands, the region the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act divided into two parts. The Highlands Council counts 2,605 acres of Preservation Area and 3,006 acres of Planning Area inside the borough. A house on one street and a house a short drive away can therefore fall under different Highlands rules.
Preservation Area and Planning Area
The Preservation Area is the part of the Highlands where the Act applies most directly to new development, while conformance with the regional plan in the Planning Area was left for each town to choose. Which side a given lot falls on is a mapping question. We have not checked lot-level status for any Oakland address, and nobody should assume a whole neighborhood sits on one side.
For most roofing work the split never comes up. It starts to matter when a project adds roofed space, because that is where the Act’s ideas of development and impervious surface apply. Knowing early which part of the borough a house sits in keeps a porch or garage plan from stalling after the materials are ordered.
The 2017 Rescission
Oakland conforms to the Highlands Regional Master Plan for its Preservation Area only. The borough adopted a Planning Area petition ordinance back in 2014, then passed an ordinance rescinding that Planning Area petition three years later. The Council’s page for the borough records its status today as conforming, preservation area only.
Put simply, the borough’s conformance with the regional plan covers its Preservation Area acreage and not its Planning Area acreage. For a homeowner the useful takeaway is shorter still: before planning anything bigger than a roof replacement, find out which area the lot is in, and ask the borough how its Highlands review applies there.
A Long Working Record With the Council
The Council’s page lists more Oakland documents than those two ordinances, including a Highlands Referral Ordinance and Master Plan Highlands Elements from 2016 and a Water Use and Conservation Management Plan from 2020. Those are the borough’s records to interpret, not ours, but they show that Highlands review has been part of local land use here for years.
Looking for roofing closer to Cedar Grove? See Cedar Grove Roofing.
Why a New Roof Covering Is Not New Development
The Highlands Act measures development partly by impervious surface, meaning ground covered so rain cannot soak in. A house that already stands has already counted its roof. When we tear off old shingles and install new ones over the same deck, the footprint does not grow by a single square foot, so a new roof covering adds no impervious surface.
That is a reading of the definition, not a ruling. We have not seen a statement from NJDEP or the Council about re-roofing either way, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Same Footprint, New Layers
A full replacement still changes a great deal above the deck. We strip to the boards, photograph any rotten decking and show it to you before it is replaced at the per-sheet price written into the contract. Then come ASTM D1970 ice and water barrier at the eaves, synthetic underlayment, new drip edge and architectural shingles such as GAF Timberline HDZ, Owens Corning Duration or CertainTeed Landmark.
None of that changes how much of the lot is covered. The same holds when we replace step, counter and chimney flashing, which we renew with every roof rather than reusing under new material, and when we frame a chimney cricket behind a wide chimney. These are improvements to the roof itself, on a building that was already there.
Solar Panels and Impervious Surface
Solar is spelled out. The definition of major Highlands development, as the Council’s model exemption ordinance quotes it, says that solar panels shall not be included in any calculation of impervious surface. Panels mounted on an Oakland roof do not add to that count, whichever side of the line the house is on.
What solar does change is the roofing schedule. If panels are already up and the roof under them is wearing out, we build their removal and reinstallation into the job from the first estimate. The array is then no surprise on tear-off day, and the roof under it gets the same flashing and underlayment as the rest.
Ventilation and Ice at the Eaves
Oakland is overwhelmingly a town of detached, owner-occupied houses, many of them the ranch, split-level and Cape Cod types common to postwar Bergen County. On every replacement we check attic ventilation, balancing soffit intake against ridge vent, and on ice-dam-prone eaves we add an eave membrane rather than relying on new shingles alone.
A roof that cannot breathe ages from underneath, baking the shingles from the attic side and pushing warm air toward the eaves, where snowmelt refreezes. Ventilation work happens inside the existing structure, so it adds nothing to the lot’s covered area either.
Wooded Lots and Storm Repairs
Ramapo Mountain State Forest lies inside the borough, and wooded lots are part of how Oakland looks. On the evening of August 25, 2020, a storm brought a large tree limb down across the road at Winters Street. Our estimates call out overhanging limbs, leaf-packed valleys and shaded, mossy slopes so they are planned for rather than found.
After a wind storm we photograph the damage before anything is moved, then tarp or make a temporary repair the same day. The photos and a written description are yours for your own insurance claim, and we will meet the adjuster on site when you ask.
Roofed Additions, Porches and Garages: The August 10, 2004 Test
New roofed space is a different question. A garage, a covered porch or an addition puts roof over ground that was open, and that is development the Highlands Act can reach. The Act does provide exemptions, and the one that matters most to an Oakland owner with an established house is Exemption 5.
What Exemption 5 Covers
In the Council’s model exemption ordinance, Exemption 5 covers any improvement to a single family dwelling in existence on the date the Highlands Act was enacted, August 10, 2004, including but not limited to an addition, garage, shed, driveway, porch, deck, patio, swimming pool or septic system. The house must have been standing on that date, and it must be a single-family dwelling.
Census estimates count 111 Oakland housing units built from 2010 through 2019, well after the enactment date. A house of that vintage cannot rely on Exemption 5, because it did not exist on August 10, 2004. For those homes, a roofed addition is a conversation to have with the borough before design work goes far.
What the Application Asks For
Under the model ordinance, an Exemption 5 request needs three things: official proof that the house existed on August 10, 2004, a description of the proposed improvement, and a certification that the property continues in single-family use. Which documents count as proof is the reviewer’s decision, so ask before you gather them.
We can help with the second item. Our scopes describe roofed work in plain terms, with the footprint, the pitch, the materials and how the new roof ties into the old one, which gives you a clear description to put in front of the reviewer. The application itself is yours to file.
Additions Built the Roofer’s Way
Once an addition or porch is cleared to go ahead, the tie-in is where leaks tend to start. We step-flash the new wall, set kick-out flashing where a roof edge meets siding, and carry ice and water barrier through the valley where new roof meets old. A new garage roof gets the same drip edge, underlayment and ventilation as the house.
We also price that tie-in as its own line, separate from the new roof area, so you can see what joining the two structures costs. If old decking along the joint turns out to be soft, it is photographed and shown to you before anything is replaced.
Local Exemption Decisions in a Certified Town
The Highlands Council lists Oakland as certified to issue certain Highlands exemptions, under a borough exemption ordinance adopted in 2018. That certification lets the municipality decide some exemptions itself, so an owner with a qualifying project can look for an answer at borough hall rather than starting with the state.
How the Model Ordinance Works
The Council’s model ordinance, the template certified towns adopt, lets a municipal designee decide Exemptions 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. It suggests a planner, engineer or zoning officer for that role, trained and certified through the Council. Copies of each determination go to the Council and, for a Preservation Area exemption, to NJDEP as well.
We have not read Oakland’s own adopted ordinance, so we cannot tell you who the borough’s designee is, what its deadlines are, or whether it charges anything. The model leaves fees optional. Borough hall at 1 Municipal Plaza is the place to ask those questions.
Appeals and the 20-Day Window
Under the model ordinance, a determination can be appealed within 20 calendar days. A Preservation Area exemption is appealed to NJDEP, and a Planning Area exemption goes to the Highlands Council. The borough’s version may differ in its details, which is one more reason to read its ordinance before relying on the template.
Where the Roof Fits in the Sequence
For a straight replacement, none of this has to slow a project down. For a roofed addition, we finalize the roof price once the exemption question is settled, and every contract is written to New Jersey’s home improvement rules, including the three-day cancellation notice.
On the job itself, the driveway, yard and gutters are cleaned at the end of every work day, and a magnet goes over the ground for stray nails. If you are selling, we can also write a roof condition report you can hand to the buyer’s inspector.
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