The Office of Smart Growth has posted its Draft Final New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan on its website.  Supporting documents include the Impact Assessment, Infrastructure Needs Assessment, and Population, Employment & Household Projections prepared by the Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research under the direction of Dr. Robert Burchell.  The center is projecting that New Jersey’s population will grow by 745,777 and employment will increase by 262,000 over the next 20 years (the projections take into account the recession).

• Draft Final Plan and Maps.

Note:  The State Plan that is currently in effect (especially for application of Permit Extension Act of 2008) was adopted by the State Planning Commission on March 1, 2001.

The 2001 State Plan and the State Plan Polcy map, can be found on the Office of Smart Growth website. A link to the Office of Smart Growth website is listed under "Additional Resources" on this page.  Additional links to State Plan information are below.

• State Plan Summary
• New Jersey County Planners Association

The Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS) establish municipal standards for streets, sidewalks, stormwater, and water and sewer systems. These standards are the minimum that can be proposed by the developer and the maximum that can be required by the municipality. They are reviewed by the Site Improvement Advisory Board and updated annually. The RSIS can be found on the DCA Division of Codes and Standards website. A link is listed under “Additional Resources” on this page.

Redevelopment in New Jersey is governed by the “Local Redevelopment and Housing Law” (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A). This law gives municipalities the authority to designate redevelopment areas and name a redeveloper for the area. There is no state agency with oversight responsibility for the local redevelopment process although the DCA commissioner does have to sign off on the designation if the redevelopment area is not in a smart growth area.

The New Jersey Brownfields Task Force has created a site mart of some sites available for redevelopment. The New Jersey Department of Transportation encourages the development of Transit Villages. Links to these websites are listed under “Additional Resources” on this page.

For brownfields regulatory information, please see NJBA's Environmental page

The “State Transfer of Development Rights Act” was enacted on March 29, 2004. It authorizes municipalities in New Jersey to create a transfer of development rights program by ordinance. Under TDR, development rights are transferred from a sending area to a receiving area. These sending and receiving areas need not be in the same municipality or even same county, if the municipalities develop a joint program.

The Department of Community Affairs has awarded TDR demonstration grants to municipalities throughout the state. All of the details and specifics of the municipal TDR programs (e.g., sending and receiving areas, densities, costs) have to be worked out in the individual programs. More information about TDR and the demonstration grants are listed on the OSG website. The link is listed under “Additional Resources” on this page.