Post-Sandy Resiliency Planning Assistance Grants Available

June 17th, 2013 by New Jersey Future staff

Mandatory pre-application informational meeting Wednesday, June 26.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs announced on Friday, June 14, that it is making $5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds available to support long-range planning initiatives in municipalities affected by Superstorm Sandy.

The grants are available to the counties of Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union, and to municipalities within those counties, who suffered tax-base losses of at least 1% or $1 million as a result of Sandy. They are intended to support the development of recovery plans that incorporate issues of long-range resilience.

Grant-approved projects must be overseen by an AICP-PP-licensed planner. Interested communities must first complete a Strategic Recovery Planning Report, for which they may apply for and use grant funds, before they are eligible for funds for additional initiatives. Combined applications that encompass multiple eligible grant activities are permitted, as are joint applications from municipalities working together on regional planning initiatives.

In addition to the Strategic Recovery Planning Report, other activities eligible for grant funds include preparation of requests for proposals for solicitation of planning services; modification or replacement of comprehensive plans or plan elements, community resiliency plans and master plans; development or modification of community development and neighborhood plans; efforts to streamline land-use permit approval procedures in anticipation of increased volume post-Sandy; preparation of flood-zone-specific design standards that enhance resiliency; preparation of capital improvement plans for public facilities and equipment; preparation of municipal hazard mitigation plans; development of resiliency-focused codes, ordinances, standards and regulations to assist in implementation of local resiliency plans.

There is no submission deadline, and grant applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Grants will be made for a term of 12 months or less, and a second round of applications may be accepted after the first 12 months.

An informational meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at 2 p.m. in the Dept. of Community Affairs building, 101 S. Broad St., Trenton. The meeting is mandatory for all government entities intending to apply for grant funding.

More information on grant requirements and limits, the application process and the pre-application meeting is available here.