Local Planning
Downtown Millville during their monthly Third Friday event. Source: NJSLOM
In New Jersey, the power to plan and zone for development is largely in the hands of the state’s 566 municipalities.
The Municipal Land Use Law (NJSA 40:55D-1) grants towns the power to enact a master plan to set land-use priorities and direction, as well as adopt a zoning ordinance to dictate where and in what form development should take, all with the purpose of protecting the public health, safety and welfare of citizens. The local zoning administrator, as well as the volunteer planning and zoning board members, have the responsibility to interpret and enforce the community’s master plan and zoning ordinance. Because development impacts do not stop at municipal borders, it is important to provide communities with the necessary guidance, tools, laws and regulations to make sound land-use decisions that reflect the broader planning context.
Hunterdon County is considering moving to a single, county-wide school district. This would not only save overhead and administrative costs, it would have significant land-use benefits, including the possibility of cheaper and more diverse housing.
What’s the difference between a street and a road? Focusing on the different primary purposes of each could help bring clarity to the discussion over how to address the traffic congestion on major arteries like Route 1 in Mercer County, and how best to implement a bus rapid transit system there.
A new survey shows that office workers in the Garden State want many of the amenities that smart-growth locations offer, including food, access to transit, and access to downtowns.
In addition to winning a New Jersey Future Smart Growth Award, Byram Township has also won a national technical-assistance grant for its planned Village Center.
An analysis of properties in New Brunswick and the Morristown area finds that compact downtown developments pay significantly higher property taxes per acre than lower-density development located outside downtown areas.
Trransfer of development rights (TDR) and clustering are tools that municipalities in New Jersey can use to direct growth and preserve open space.
Hunterdon County leaders are looking into the idea of consolidating the county’s more than two dozen school districts into a single, countywide district.
Projects are part of a plan to enhance Morristown’s Central Business District.
This redevelopment project turned a decaying art deco office tower into luxury rental apartments, constituting the first new luxury housing built in downtown Newark in more than 45 years and promising to help mark a new era of vitality and economic activity for the state’s largest city.
A former chocolate factory has been given new life as a school for more than 300 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
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Reports, Presentations and Testimony
- Route 1 Planning Through Partnerships
- Financial Benefits of Density in Two New Jersey Downtowns 7-11 (Intern report)
- Assessment of Solar Siting in New Jersey 5-11 (Intern report)
- Case Studies in Transfer of Development Rights 8-10 (Intern report)
- Cluster Presentation - NJ Farm Bureau 1-4-2012
- ShapingNJ Community Pilot Meeting Overview 06-09-11
- Transit-Oriented Development Workshop for HCDNNJ memb mtg 06-15-2011
- Notes on Affordable Land Preservation Tools 6-1-11
- A Citizen's Guide to Transit-Oriented Development
- 12-10-2010: Testimony: Amendments to Assembly Affordable Housing Bill A3447
- 05-18-2009 Testimony on Smart Housing Incentives Act
- Historic Preservation 03-05
- Affordable Housing Policy 10-04
- Impact Fees 01-04
- Tax Reform 09-03
- Case Study Hopewell Township 08-00
