New Jersey Future Blog
Public-Private Partnerships Are a Valuable Tool for Expanding Housing
June 10th, 2020 by New Jersey Future staff
Author: Tom Kozma
New Jersey’s towns, like much of the nation’s, are experiencing a second once-in-a-lifetime economic downturn. In order to come back stronger, bold action is needed. However, for a town with ambitious visions of creating a vibrant downtown, high-quality housing, or an easy-to-navigate street network, the price can be daunting. There are many ways for municipalities to finance development, but a public-private partnership (P3) is a particularly versatile tool that offers a lot of potential. A P3 enlists private capital in pursuit of a public good, which could be roads, water systems, or housing. In exchange for shouldering the risk of financing the project and meeting agreed-upon standards, the private developer reaps much of the financial reward of the finished project. Such partnerships are not necessarily limited to municipal governments and for-profit corporations; they can also include nonprofits, individuals, or other levels of government.
On the federal level, the Department of Housing and Urban Development makes widespread use of P3s in its housing programs. The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8, is a partnership among HUD, local public housing authorities (PHAs), low-income renters, and private landlords. The PHA pays rental assistance to the landlord on behalf of the renting family, as long as the landlord maintains previously agreed upon quality standards. About 315,000 renters benefit from this arrangement in New Jersey. While most vouchers are used in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty and long waitlists are common, Section 8 still allows for greater social mobility by not concentrating low-income housing in public housing projects. The more recent Choice Neighborhoods Initiative is a P3 among HUD, nonprofits, developers, and local governments focused on rehabilitating and redeveloping entire communities.
P3s are growing on the state level, too. New Jersey authorized state and county colleges to enter into P3s in 2009, leading to a wave of development. Rutgers University, for instance, partnered with the New Brunswick Development Corporation to create mixed-use, transit-oriented development around the College Avenue area with high-rise apartments for over 600 students. Along with similar agreements with NJIT, Rowan University, Rider University, and The College of New Jersey, these types of projects typically involved construction of student housing, dining and retail near mass transit stops.
In 2018, Governor Murphy signed legislation expanding who can enter into P3s and for what reasons. The law now empowers towns, school districts, county and state agencies to create P3s. While the focus of the law is on infrastructure improvements, it can be applied to redevelopment of downtowns, revitalization of vacant properties, upzoning and infill development, and other municipal goals that could address local housing deficits.
At least one town has already taken advantage of P3s. In Somerdale, the property of the previous Our Lady of Grace Church and School lay vacant for about a decade; various actors in town considered and eventually dismissed purchasing and redeveloping it. The town ultimately executed a contract with private developers, Reserve at Grace Urban Renewal, LLC, to build a mixed-use downtown center including 83 mixed-income and mixed-age apartments. The local diocese was supportive of the effort and offered the borough a discount on the land, wanting to preserve the church’s importance to the community instead of having it decay or demolished. As part of the agreement, the town took ownership of the church building itself to guarantee its preservation, only leasing it to the developers. By purchasing the land, Somerdale was able to require certain conditions of the developers, such as discounted rent on 37 age-restricted units for Somerdale residents. The net cost to the borough? Zero.
The borough hopes that the new site, located in the center of town along the White Horse Pike, will serve as a new downtown. While the White Horse Pike is the town’s main commercial corridor, its status as a state highway could complicate the borough’s desire for a more walkable and pedestrian-oriented downtown.
Like any strategy, P3s involve trade-offs. In exchange for providing the capital necessary for the project, private partners will usually require incentives such as management control or favorable costs. In other words, as private capital bears significant risk, it wants sufficient reward. A carrot-and-stick approach is often employed to hold developers accountable to the contract and make sure the project fits the town’s vision. Performance-based pay, for example, is designed to avoid scenarios in which the developer receives public subsidies, but the public gets little tangible benefit in return.
P3s are often more controversial, and have greater risks, when they involve vital infrastructure like water systems, schools, prisons, or other public services. When used for redevelopment, they can transform inefficient land uses like sprawling parking lots and abandoned buildings into attractive community assets with less risk to the public sector.
Successful P3s need transparency, public input, and oversight to work. When done right, a P3 can be a win-win-win scenario for the government, the public, and the developer. In Somerdale’s case, the local government recouped the cost of buying the land from the diocese when they sold it to Reserve at Grace Urban Renewal, LLC. The developer benefited from a lower cost of land than if it were acting alone. The public benefits from the construction of housing just a short stroll away from shops and a restaurant. And the community as a whole benefits because preservation of the decades-old church, which was a treasured local feature, was a key condition of the Reserve at Grace project.
While P3s may not be the perfect solution everywhere, they are a vital strategy in a local government’s toolbox for increasing housing options.
New Jersey Future, New Jersey Builders Association release updated Developers Green Infrastructure Guide
June 5th, 2020 by Kandyce Perry
New Jersey Future, in partnership with the New Jersey Builders Association, released the Developers Green Infrastructure Guide 2.0. The guide, specifically designed for the real estate sector including developers, builders, and their professional teams of engineers, landscape architects, planners, and architects, features detailed information and guidance on New Jersey’s amended stormwater rules.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection updated its stormwater rules, which take effect in March 2021, to mandate the use of green infrastructure practices to meet standards for water quality, groundwater recharge, and stormwater volume control. This new approach is a paradigm shift in New Jersey stormwater management. Developers, long frustrated by a subjective “maximum extent practicable” design standard, now have an objective standard that replaces pipes and storage basins with landscaping techniques that create multiple infiltration points, mimicking how nature deals with stormwater.
The changes to the stormwater rule represent a new phase in development and stormwater management, and the Developers Green Infrastructure Guide 2.0 was designed for just this reason. Specifically, developers can take advantage of the following features in the guide:
- An overview of the NJDEP’s amended Stormwater Rules
- Side-by-side comparisons that show how project design is affected pre-rule change and post-rule change.
- An interactive decision-making tool to help developers choose the most appropriate GI best management practices for their sites.
- Tips for overcoming challenging design conditions
- Case studies to gain insights into decision-making, project value, competitive advantage, challenges, and keys to success.
- A discussion of financial, community, and environmental benefits for developers
- Frequently asked questions about green infrastructure maintenance and cost
The Developers Green Infrastructure Guide 2.0 was launched with a webinar in May, a recording of which can be viewed here; the slides are available here. The webinar walks viewers through the new stormwater rules, solutions to incorporating green infrastructure under challenging site conditions, and answers viewers’ questions. The guide is available online at developersguide.njfuture.org where a printable version is also available. A limited number of printed copies will be available at the Atlantic Builders Convention in Atlantic City, September 29 to October 1, 2020. Visit the Developers Green Infrastructure Task Force exhibit. The task force is a partnership between New Jersey Builders Association and New Jersey Future. To stay informed of future green infrastructure updates, connect with us here.
United in the Fight for Equity and Justice
June 3rd, 2020 by Peter Kasabach
Dear friends,
As we collectively mourn the tragic loss of George Floyd and all that his needless death represents, there is much justifiable sadness, pain, frustration, and anger. The gross racial inequities and injustices highlighted by Mr. Floyd’s death as well as by COVID-19 are not new. And they are pervasive everywhere.
The majority of us will never be able to understand what it means to be Black in New Jersey. We will never know the hurdles faced and the opportunities prevented based solely on the color of our skin. But during these times we can confront the destructive issue of racism and the segregation that it causes. We can and must educate ourselves about white privilege, structural and systemic racism, overcoming our biases, and environmental justice. And we must speak up and begin to address these issues head-on.
Like Minnesota, New Jersey remains a heavily segregated state. We know that one of the leading drivers of this segregation is long-standing institutional racism. We know that if you live in a community that is predominantly low-income or composed of people of color that you are more likely to have poorer educational, health, employment, and longevity outcomes. We also know that our racially and economically segregated communities are especially vulnerable to any economic, health, or natural crisis, creating a perpetually downward spiral of opportunity and quality of life.
New Jersey Future is focused on helping us all make smarter decisions about the places where we live and work. Perhaps never before in the history of our state has there been a more critical time to make smart decisions about place. Smart decisions are equitable decisions. We must confront segregation directly and create a geography of equity and inclusion. We must protect and create opportunities for every person and every community in New Jersey. And we must do so with an honest understanding of the inequities and their devastating impacts so many people and so many places have experienced for far too long.
Our nation stands at a precipice. The time is now. Please join us in standing with those who look to honor George Floyd’s life and so many other Black lives lost by demanding justice and change. We will create a stronger future for New Jersey together.
In unity,
Peter Kasabach
Executive Director
How to Strengthen a COVID-19 Small Business Program
May 26th, 2020 by Peter Kasabach
On Friday, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) announced expansion of its small business COVID-19 grant program. As a member of the Main Street Subcommittee of Governor Murphy’s Restart and Recovery Advisory Council, New Jersey Future released the following statement supporting this expansion, and further encouraging direct support to those businesses that are vital to our downtowns’ survival:
“Our downtown and main street businesses are trying their best to weather this storm and get ready to re-open. During this time of uncertainty, cashflow subsidies are critical to ensure that they can rebound and stay a vital part of our downtown and main street fabric. The EDA’s announcement will provide much needed support, and we hope these funds will find their way to the small businesses owners that have not been able to access these resources previously, either because they lack the experience, ability, or knowledge to do so.”
This expanded program will need to address the unique barriers that are faced by small businesses in lower-income places, and those run by people of color. The set-aside within the program for businesses in Opportunity Zones is a welcome start. New Jersey had done a good job geographically selecting the Opportunity Zones based on a combination of distress and market viability factors. Ensuring that viable small businesses located in Opportunity Zones can remain viable into the future will be the next test.
New Jersey Future, along with our partners, has spent many years working with downtown leaders to understand how to create vibrant, walkable, equitable downtowns and have provided resources, guidance, and direct services to many of these places. With this experience, we have made several recommendations to improve the impact of the small business program:
Immediately address viable small business cash flow needs. The federal and state governments have provided direct cash support, but it is not enough, and it isn’t reaching the places where it will have the greatest impact. Many of these business owners do not know about the programs or do not have the confidence, expertise or time to apply to a state program. The State can set aside some of its small business funds to support local matching funds that would be administered by local Business Improvement Districts (BID) and economic development entities. For example, a BID would establish a fund at $50,000 and the State would provide a three-to-one match bringing the total local fund up to $200,000. This process would ensure that the local entities can target key populations and get the money where it will generate the greatest benefit in the shortest period of time with additional local leverage.
Provide assistance with online sales. The majority of small businesses are not equipped to promote or manage online sales. This is both a short-term and longer-term issue. The State can take a proactive approach to developing guidance and direct support to help small businesses transition to manage online sales.
Help small businesses let consumers know they are open. Provide direct support to local agencies that are already trying to do this work, but lack the resources or access to capacity to do it consistently and well. Develop a statewide platform that can be locally implemented. The platform would compile listings of businesses that are still in operation and provide a platform to allow them to promote and advertise their businesses. It could include the utilization of social media to grow awareness among local consumers of the services that are available within their area.
Conduct statewide surveys to gain valuable and timely information. The first survey would be of small businesses to measure the extent of the economic damage and uncover potential for economic growth and viability. Different from other recent surveys, this one would help understand the specific type of business (size, age, etc.), extent of financial impact (triage), how the businesses market to customers, online marketing presence, advertising vehicles used, use of social media, customer demographics, and presence of local support (chambers, SIDs, etc.). The second survey would be a consumer survey to uncover the shifts in consumer desires and find opportunity to grow small businesses.
Repurpose existing funds to support the above. Shift the short-term focus of ancillary funding programs to support targeted economic development and the preservation of existing, viable businesses. For example, the following could be repurposed: UEZ, CDBG, Main Street program.
These suggestions focus on the restart of our downtown economies. Over the coming weeks and months, we look forward to working with the State, partners and other stakeholders on longer-term thinking and ideas that will position New Jersey downtowns and main streets for a brighter future through the recovery. We’d like to hear from you. Do you have a story to share, a barrier that needs tearing down or an idea to move forward? Please contact us. (pkasabach
njfuture
org)
Let’s Not Go Backward. Let’s Rebuild Better As We Recover
May 26th, 2020 by Peter Kasabach
This op-ed appeared on NJ.com on May 19.
Within a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has brought to the forefront a multitude of social, environmental, and economic challenges that have persisted in New Jersey long before this pandemic struck. When the virus is gone, these very same challenges will make us even more vulnerable to the next inevitable disaster unless we take radical actions to address them now.
Rather than viewing recovery as an effort to return to the pre-pandemic economic status quo, we need to view this phase as a much-needed turning point. We knew we shouldn’t rebuild things back the same way after Superstorm Sandy. And we shouldn’t do that now. An important emphasis during the recovery will be narrowly focused on restoring the economy. But a true recovery for New Jersey will go much further in making our communities stronger, healthier, and more resilient for everyone.
In announcing his Restart and Recovery Commission last month, Gov. Phil Murphy noted it will be charged with balancing “multiple competing needs to ensure we arrive at equitable decisions that work for every community in our state.” In order to do that, New Jersey’s recovery efforts must prioritize a focus on place. We know that the place where we live profoundly affects our physical and mental health, our ability to respond to disasters, and our economic opportunities. We also know that New Jersey remains a highly segregated state and place has long-been a predictor of inequity and vulnerability in the areas of health, resiliency, and income.
Disasters devastate vulnerable communities. Too many New Jersey communities have more than their share of households with low incomes who struggle to pay rent, mortgage and utility bills. Many households in these communities are unable to access food, safe drinking water, and other necessities on a regular basis. They lack the technology and broadband to access work and school remotely. People living in these communities are exposed to more home-based hazards and pollution. Too many New Jersey communities are disconnected from nature and open space. Too many rely on old and vulnerable infrastructure. Many of our communities offer few ways for people to get around easily and safely. And many need more diversified and resilient employment and economic base.
On the upside, COVID-19 has shown us how quickly systems, when demanded by necessity and circumstances, can pivot and change. There are things we are doing now and lessons we are learning that can and should be used to make us stronger. We are learning that we can drive less and that using less fossil fuel reduces air pollution. We are finding that working from home, when possible, has some advantages. We know that natural spaces are beneficial, that food access shouldn’t be taken for granted, and that we rely on frontline workers more than we realized. We know that isolation can be harmful and that we depend on physical proximity to each other more than we may have thought. And we see how a crisis drains resources. New Jersey was devastated by Superstorm Sandy and it has been devastated by COVID-19.
We need to use what we know about New Jersey’s communities and what we are learning from disruptions caused by COVID-19 as we move forward in recovery. We should reduce our dependence on cars while ensuring people in all communities can get around safely and easily. We should increase access to nature and open space in our cities and towns. We should increase our connectedness.
More than anything, we should do what it takes to make our communities less segregated and households less vulnerable. It is imperative that New Jersey’s COVID-19 recovery focuses on creating strong, healthy, resilient communities for everyone. With an equitable place-centered approach New Jersey will move forward and recover stronger.
New Jersey Future Welcomes Four New Trustees
May 6th, 2020 by Missy Rebovich
New Jersey Future’s Board of Trustees welcomed four new members:
Laureen Boles, founder and president of E4Progress, joins the board after serving as the executive director of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance. Boles has focused her career on public-private partnerships on green infrastructure, renewable energy, climate change, environmental justice, green jobs, and transit-oriented development. “New Jersey Future’s commitment to creating great places for everyone to live, work, and play, make me excited to join the Board. It is more important than ever to support efforts to integrate communities, which will make them healthier and stronger.”
Christopher Brown, director of community development for the City of Hoboken, oversees the city’s redevelopment and master planning, zoning office, land use boards, affordable housing, Community Development Block Grant Program, and various other community development initiatives such as the 2020 Census and the City’s Homelessness Task Force. Chris has volunteered in previous years with the American Planning Association-New Jersey Chapter, as well as the Planning Accreditation Board. “New Jersey Future is a leading advocate for holistic and equitable, urban revitalization within the State of New Jersey, whether through advocating for sustainable infrastructure investments, promoting targeted tax credits, or helping towns plan for resilience. I am honored to be joining the Board.”
Kenneth Esser, senior vice president and chief of staff of corporate services, governance and government relations at Hackensack Meridian Health, leads the external relations strategy for the hospital. He previously developed strategies and programs that helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions for PSE&G. He also served as chief energy advisor to Governor Jon Corzine. “New Jersey Future approaches growth holistically and encourages a culture of health, whether by advocating for complete and green streets, lead-free water systems or reduced transportation emissions. It’s an honor to work with an organization that promotes healthy communities for residents and businesses alike.”
Todd Gomez, North Region market executive for Community Development Banking at Bank of America, leads a team that provides financing solutions to developers of affordable multifamily housing in the Northeast and Midwest. In addition to a 25 year career in affordable housing finance, Todd previously served as the chief financial officer for the Chicago Housing Authority. “New Jersey Future has been an advocate for inclusive communities that make space for every person and where they all can thrive. Making sure that my New Jersey neighbors have adequate infrastructure and safe, affordable housing is critical to this mission and I look forward to supporting this work.”
Urban Comeback in New Jersey
May 5th, 2020 by Tim Evans
New Jersey Future has always paid attention to population changes in the state. Where are people living? Where are they moving to and from? And what is driving these changes? Today, we add another variable for why people may choose to move—the consequences of a global pandemic on where people live and work. We will need to wait for more data to see if the pandemic has affected these decisions.There are other important population trends that form a backdrop for what the future will bring. Today we highlight one of those very recent trends.
Slow Growth Transitions to Loss
In 2019, something happened in New Jersey that hadn’t happened since the 1970s: the state experienced a year-to-year population loss, with total population declining by 0.04 percent, or 3,835 residents, between 2018 and 2019. With the Census Bureau’s recent release of 2019 county population estimates, it is now possible to get a look at which parts of the state are contributing to New Jersey’s overall population loss.
The losses are happening all over the state. Only six of New Jersey’s 21 counties gained population last year—Ocean, Burlington, Hudson, Essex, Gloucester, and Camden (in descending order of percent increase)—although even most of these were very small gains. Ocean County was effectively an outlier, gaining 5,708 residents compared to 2018, for a 0.95 percent increase. Burlington was a distant second with an increase of 604 (+ 0.14 percent); the other four counties’ growth rates were all less than 0.1 percent.
Is the Urban Comeback Losing Steam? (Answer: Not in New Jersey)
From too great a distance, it might be tempting to attribute New Jersey’s population loss to a (supposed) national trend away from cities, a trend that is both overstated and based on imprecise use of geography. New Jersey is indeed the most urbanized state in the country, and its population is dominated by “suburbs” of two of the country’s largest cities, New York and Philadelphia. Sixteen of New Jersey’s 21 counties—comprising 89 percent of its population—fall within either the New York or Philadelphia metropolitan areas, and the other five comprise or are components of smaller metros. If there were a movement away from urban areas, New Jersey certainly seems like the sort of place where such a movement would manifest itself.
But looking at a finer level of geography, New Jersey illustrates that the fate of a metropolitan area’s largest city and the fate of other parts of that metro area are not necessarily the same. Yes, New York City has now lost population for three years in a row, and this year, all five boroughs (each of which is its own county) lost population. (Staten Island, aka Richmond County, had been the lone borough that was still gaining population up through 2018.) This is indeed a dramatic turnaround from earlier in the decade, when New York was a poster child for the nation’s urban revival that started around the end of last decade. Between 2010 and 2015, New York’s annual population gains averaged 57,604, for a total gain of 288,000 people for the first half of the decade. Between 2015 and 2019, in contrast, the average annual change has been a loss of 31,558, for a total loss of 126,000 people since 2015. New York appears to be becoming a victim of its own success, with high housing costs driving longtime residents away and with fewer and fewer households who can afford to move in from elsewhere to replace them.
However, the problems affecting New York City are not necessarily also affecting the rest of the New York metropolitan area, or even its other big cities. Among New Jersey’s handful of counties that bucked the trend and gained population between 2018 and 2019 were Hudson and Essex, the state’s two most densely populated counties and home to Jersey City and Newark, respectively. The North Jersey urban core counties (Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, and Union) have been the state’s growth engine for the past decade, as members of the Millennial generation have expressed their preference for compact, walkable cities, towns, and older suburban downtowns, so it is not surprising to see two of those counties among the few in the state that are still gaining people. It is probably also not an accident that Hudson and Essex are two of the top three immigrant-destination counties in the state (Middlesex is the third). Whatever the causes of New Jersey’s overall population loss — and the national drop in immigration is certainly one of them — those losses are mitigated by still-robust levels of immigration in Hudson and Essex.
More evidence against the “big cities are declining” theory can be found to the south, in Philadelphia and its South Jersey suburbs. The three suburban Philadelphia counties—Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester—that make up half of New Jersey’s six still-growing counties are following a pattern that holds throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The city of Philadelphia (which constitutes its own county) and all four of its suburban counties in Pennsylvania (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery) also gained population from 2018 to 2019. Philadelphia has gained population every year this decade, although the increases in the last two years have been considerably smaller than they were earlier in the decade. (Salem County is also part of the Philadelphia metro but is considerably more rural and has been losing population steadily all decade, similar to the rest of far southern New Jersey—Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May counties.) The Philadelphia area stands in distinct contrast to New York in this regard, although perhaps not for long, if the last two years of much slower growth are a harbinger of a coming reversal in Philadelphia, as has happened in New York.
No “Return to the Suburbs”
Meanwhile, among the types of places that the national storyline posits as the beneficiaries of urban stagnation — suburban and exurban counties — most are also losing population in North Jersey. And it’s not just the more urbanized inner-suburban counties like Bergen, Passaic, and Union. In fact, the losses are larger, in percentage terms, in the more stereotypical car-oriented suburban counties of Morris, Somerset, and Monmouth, and in the exurban fringe of Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon. So much for the “return to the suburbs” narrative.
The one notable exception is Ocean County, which is unusual in being the only county in New Jersey that is actually experiencing a net gain from domestic migration during this decade. That is, Ocean is the only county for which it is true that more people have moved into the county from elsewhere in the United States (including elsewhere in New Jersey) since 2010 than have moved out of the county to other parts of the state or country. Of Ocean County’s total increase of just more than 30,000 people since 2010, more than half—a little more than 18,000— has been from net domestic in-migration. Ocean County attracts very few international immigrants compared to other New Jersey counties, so it really is domestic in-migrants who are driving the county’s growth, which is not true anywhere else in the state. The county’s status as a retirement destination, and the role of rapidly-growing Lakewood (the county’s largest population center, and the seventh most populous municipality in the state) as a magnet for the Orthodox Jewish community, are likely responsible.
Multiple Factors Converging
As New Jersey Future’s analysis of state population changes earlier this year observed, the state’s population loss is a product of several factors layered on top of one another. Net domestic out-migration continues to be a problem, but it has not gotten appreciably worse in the last few years. Rather, declines in international immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths) are throwing the underlying domestic outflow into sharper relief. New Jersey could formerly rely on those other two components of population change to mask losses of migrants to other states, but the national dropoffs in those other two components are now exposing the state’s ongoing difficulties in attracting and retaining young adults. If Millennials keep leaving the state because they can’t afford to stay here, this year’s small but geographically widespread population losses may portend a longer-term decline.
Aging-friendly housing options: A case study
May 5th, 2020 by New Jersey Future staff
Author: Tom Kozma
As baby boomers retire and young people look to start their careers, it is becoming apparent that many New Jersey towns don’t have the variety of housing options necessary to meet the needs of all their residents. While single family homes can be a great fit for many families, older generations might find them unnecessarily expensive or difficult to maintain. As part of its Creating Great Places to Age program, New Jersey Future has been researching strategies that dozens of municipalities in New Jersey have implemented to provide a more diverse housing stock. Having examples of successful local strategies will demonstrate possible paths other towns can take to meet the needs of their residents and develop great communities.
In line with national trends, in one decade the 65+ age cohort will grow to one in five New Jerseyans. Survey results from the AARP show most older adults want to stay in their current homes and communities as long as possible (76% and 77%, respectively), but many see obstacles ahead. At least half of respondents see walkable and affordable neighborhoods that make it easy to connect with their community through volunteering, social events, and flexible jobs as vital. Unfortunately, the built environment often makes this difficult. The Creating Great Places to Age program seeks to encourage strategies that make these desirable neighborhoods possible.
Form-based codes are one of the most promising strategies. Such codes are a revolution in the traditional theory of zoning, which focuses on dividing areas in towns into separate uses. A form-based code instead regulates the density and design of buildings. This allows developers to mix homes and civic buildings with retail businesses and offices in an aesthetically pleasing way. In a way, it ensures the purpose of zoning is to promote public health and development without micromanaging every lot. Compared to making minor tweaks in a zoning code, that’s revolutionary.
Beginning in 2005, the town of Newton, a small town of under ten thousand people, held focus groups with active citizens to come up with a vision plan for their town’s future. The residents came up with a strategic vision that aligns with many of the principles of smart growth and pedestrian-oriented development. They envisioned a tight-knit town both socially and physically, centered on a unique mixed-use downtown. In 2008, the town adopted its first major update to its master plan in over a decade. This plan called for a dual approach of redevelopment and historic preservation.
A few years later in 2012, Newton completely overhauled its zoning code into a form-based code. Instead of traditional zoning districts, it uses Transect Zones ranging from preserved natural space to the town core. These zones guide developers in what level of density the town is looking for in a specific area. This development pattern more closely resembles the way in which some small towns evolved before comprehensive zoning laws swept the country, before the proliferation of cars.
Form-based codes are a great strategy for towns with vibrant downtowns, as the mix of uses encourages activity and economic growth. Municipalities throughout New Jersey have adopted form-based codes, such as Hammonton in 2011 and Dover in 2006, for the whole town and the downtown area respectively.
There are other tools available for towns that still keep the basic principles of traditional use-based zoning. Many towns are allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as granny flats or in-law apartments. These small self-contained living spaces share a parcel with a main house. ADUs can be attached to the main building, detached, part of a garage, or set up in other ways. They can be permitted with certain conditions, such as requiring that either the main or accessory unit be occupied by the property owner. When done in a way that’s consistent with existing neighborhood design, ADUs can be a great strategy to increase density while still allowing towns to maintain their desired character or keep their small-town feel.
More towns are allowing ADUs in some form, but policies differ among towns. Some towns in New York, for example, allow them only in limited circumstances, or restrict them to low-income older residents. In many cases, these units are a way for towns to meet their state obligations to build affordable housing. By integrating these affordable units with market-rate units, older residents are themselves integrated with the rest of the local residents. Sometimes, the town heavily subsidizes the construction of ADUs to make them a more attractive option for people with lower incomes.
For example, several municipalities in Hunterdon County amended their code to allow temporary ADUs designated for older residents—also known as Elder Cottage Housing Opportunities (ECHO)—in all single-family zones. A similar ordinance adopted in Washington Township in Morris County subsidizes the construction of several tiny homes on rural lots. These mobile houses, no more than 300 square feet, are reserved for veterans as transitional housing.
Whether taking a giant leap or a small step, there are New Jersey towns that have taken action. New Jersey faces the dual challenge of meeting the needs of an aging population and the needs of young people leaving the state; the high cost of housing is a key cause of the latter and will make the former a much more difficult transition. Making New Jersey work for everyone depends on having a myriad of housing strategies.
NJ Stay-at-Home Order is Reducing GHG Emissions
April 15th, 2020 by Tim Evans
New Jerseyans are staying at home — and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
On March 21st, the order went out to the whole state of New Jersey: Stay at home to the greatest extent possible. The order meant to help suppress the spread of the COVID-19 virus by minimizing person-to-person contact. New Jersey was one of the earliest states in the nation to issue statewide school-closing and stay-at-home orders, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which has been tracking state government efforts to slow the spread of the virus.
New Jersey’s citizens have risen to the challenge. According to the traffic data analysis consultant INRIX, which has been monitoring the decline in travel volumes across the country in response to states’ physical-distancing orders, New Jersey is #1 in staying at home, notching a 63 percent drop in statewide personal vehicle travel as of last week, when compared to the baseline week of February 22nd.
Obviously, a major component in achieving such a dramatic reduction in vehicular travel is having as many people as possible work from home. New Jersey was not previously a national leader in telecommuting; as of the 2017 one-year American Community Survey, only 4.6 percent of employed New Jersey residents worked at home, compared to 5.2 percent nationally, and far behind Colorado, Oregon, and Vermont, all of which have rates exceeding 7 percent. In a sense, New Jersey had more room for improvement on this score than a lot of other states.
One side benefit of all of this non-driving is cleaner air, thanks to fewer cars on the road. Whether it’s drone footage of virtually empty streets in Philadelphia, or a dashboard-cam cruise around some of New York’s iconic (and now-deserted) streets and intersections, or stories about blue skies over famously-smoggy Los Angeles or Delhi, India or major Chinese cities, popular media outlets are enjoying pointing out what major cities look like when stripped of their traffic and the pollution it creates.
Besides producing fewer particulate pollutants of the kind that result in smog, the big drop in car travel also means less CO2 is being pumped into the atmosphere. This point is less obvious from photographic and video evidence, since CO2 doesn’t visibly make the air dirtier, isn’t directly harmful to breathe, and is not what many people traditionally think of as a “pollutant.”
But CO2 is the most plentiful of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that trap heat in the atmosphere and lead to climate change and sea-level rise, which pose particular risks to coastal states like New Jersey. And the transportation sector accounts for the biggest share of total GHG emissions, both nationally, where it contributes 29 percent of all GHG emissions, and in New Jersey, where it is responsible for an even higher 42 percent of the total. Most transportation emissions are a byproduct of moving people and things from one place to another, mainly by car and truck.
Reducing vehicle-miles traveled (VMT)—the amount of driving being done by all those cars and trucks—is thus an important strategy for reducing GHG emissions. A land-use approach to reducing VMT entails building things closer together, reducing the distances required to travel among destinations. It means creating more compact, walkable, mixed-use and transit-connected places, where some trips can be taken on foot or by public transit, and where trip distances are shorter for trips that are still taken by car.
Working from home is also, as the INRIX data illustrate, an effective strategy for reducing VMT. When home and work—the two most frequently visited destinations for the average employed person—are merged into the same physical location, the distance required to travel between them is reduced to zero. Consider that if every regular car commuter in New Jersey were able to work from home just one day a week, this would cut work-related VMT—and its associated GHG emissions—by 20 percent. This would amount to a reduction in GHG emissions equivalent to having 20 percent of the workforce commuting in electric vehicles, which right now remains a highly aspirational and ambitious goal.
Electrifying 20 percent of the vehicle fleet is not going to happen overnight. But New Jersey has achieved, practically overnight, an even more dramatic reduction in vehicular emissions. It can be done, and we did it without changing anything about the vehicle fleet or the road network. Of course, this dramatic reduction has happened as a consequence of a broader containment effort that has imposed significant economic costs and significant disruptions to people’s daily lives. But when the immediate COVID-19 danger has receded and things begin to return to normal, it is worth discussing how much of our normal work-related VMT is really necessary, after all.
It is worth discussing how much of each person’s work actually needs to be done on site, and how much can be done remotely. It is worth discussing how many staff meetings require everyone to be in the office and how many could be conducted via video conferencing apps, the use of which has experienced meteoric growth compared to pre-pandemic levels. It is worth discussing how much of our economic output could potentially continue to chug along without nearly so much driving. Besides fostering more compact, walkable land development patterns and electrifying vehicle fleets, telecommuting deserves a serious look as a longer-term GHG reduction strategy.
With the Parks Closed, Now is the Time to Open the Streets
April 15th, 2020 by Missy Rebovich
Nearly every medical expert offers, among others, the same two pieces of advice for coping with stress, anxiety, and depression: exercise and go outside. These two activities have significant benefits to both physical and mental health–something we could all use during this time of pandemic.
New Jersey has ordered all non-essential businesses, including gyms, to close, making the outdoors a natural solution for exercise and casual recreation. Students can replace gym class and recess with a lap around the block or a nature walk. Running and biking require little equipment, but they do require space. With more people choosing to be outside–whether for exercise, alone time, walking the dog, or picking up dinner–social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19 grows increasingly difficult to practice.
Our state and county parks have been ordered to close in an effort to reduce crowding on trails and in outdoor spaces where social distancing has not been practiced. People who have relied on these spaces to maintain physical and emotional health are now forced back to local sidewalks. Sidewalks are rarely more than 4’ wide, making social distancing impossible if passing someone walking in the opposite direction.
Cities like Philadelphia, Oakland, Denver, and Minneapolis have embraced a solution that allows residents to go outside while practicing social distancing: opening streets to pedestrians and cyclists.
New Jersey saw a 63% drop in personal travel use from March 28 to April 3 when compared to a typical week, but this doesn’t mean our streets are safer. In fact, early data suggests that the rate of car accidents has actually increased despite there being fewer cars on the road.
Now is the perfect time for cities to experiment with complete streets practices such as protected bike lanes, trails, and greenways that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists to keep our streets safe for everyone.
