NJ Smart Choices

Building the movement for smart land use
and transportation planning in New Jersey.

NJ Funding Programs

Please send feedback, suggestions for improvements and corrections of information to Juliette Michaelson (jmichaelson@pps.org).

Search results for Land use

Brownfield Development Area Initiative
V planning
X implementation
NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Under the innovative Brownfield Development Area (BDA) initiative, NJDEP works with selected communities affected by multiple Brownfields to design and implement remediation and reuse plans for these properties simultaneously, so that remediation and reuse can occur in a coordinated fashion. All stakeholders, including owners of contaminated properties, potentially responsible parties, developers, community groups, technical experts for the local government and residents, and residents themselves, will be invited to the table to participate in this cleanup and revitalization approach.

The BDA process provides a framework and resources to empower affected neighborhoods to address these difficult brownfields where additional assistance may be needed from all stakeholders, including developers, property owners and parties potentially responsible for the cleanup. It is important to note that the purpose of the BDA initiative is to help reuse of these properties. In the selected BDAs, NJDEP will work closely with other involved agencies and offices, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Office of Smart Growth (OSG), to remediate and revitalize communities and neighborhoods, not just individual properties.

For more information:

Downtown New Jersey
V planning
X implementation
Downtown New Jersey, Inc.

Downtown New Jersey is a nonprofit organization that helps to support, guide and lead efforts at downtown revitalization throughout New Jersey. DNJ provides informational and educational opportunities; tracks judicial and legislative issues which would affect the success of New Jersey's downtown commercial districts; and fosters communication among business, political and professional leadership.

For more information:

EPA Programs
V planning
V implementation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

From time to time, the EPA offers funding opportunities for communities trying to implement smart growth principles.

For more information:

Historic Preservation Office
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Environmental Protection

The Historic Preservation Office provides information on potential historic sites; identifies qualified consultants to conduct cultural resource surveys; provides technical assistance for treatment of historic resources; identifies funding sources such as tax credits and NJ Historic Trust Grants; and reviews potential effects on historic properties under Land Use Review, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the New Jersey Register Review. HPO also administers several grant programs, including the following:

  • Historic Preservation Fund CLG (Certified Local Government) grants may be used to promote historic preservation projects such as municipal Master Plan development, historic resource surveys, planning and education projects, historic structures reports, New Jersey and National Register nominations and archaeological resources plans. The goals for historic preservation grant projects are: to identify all buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts which are significant in American history, architecture, archaeology or engineering, and which meet the criteria for inclusion in The New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places; and to design and implement planning tools for the protection of these resources. To participate, local governments must be certified (CLG) by the State Historic Preservation Office.
  • The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) Program: Administered by the National Park Service through the HPO, ITC has promoted reinvestment in historic buildings since 1976. The program provides federal income tax credits for rehabilitation of income producing historic properties.

For more information:

HOPE VI Revitalization Grants
X planning
V implementation
Note: This program is only available to select municipalities. Read below for more details.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HOPE VI Revitalization Grants may be used for activities including relocation, demolition, development and rehabilitation of public housing rental units and homeownership units, and community and supportive services to residents to revitalize severely distressed public housing developments. HOPE VI Revitalization grants can also be used to provide housing that will avoid or decrease the concentration of very low-income families; and build sustainable communities. Public housing agencies (PHAs) that have severely distressed public housing in their inventory and meet the threshold requirements of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) are eligible to apply for HOPE VI funds.

For more information:

Local Finance Tools
V planning
V implementation
Municipal Governments
  • Special (Business) Improvement Districts: SIDs assess residents within set boundaries for additional services, such as park maintenance and public safety. They establish a partnership between property owners and businesses in downtown or commercial areas for the purpose of improving the business climate in a defined area. Impetus for the SID generally comes from business and property owners hoping to attract new customers by cleaning up sidewalks, improving parks, increasing lighting, etc. These business owners want better city services and are willing to pay for it -- within their neighborhood. In some places, they are willing to take on nongovernmental tasks, such as marketing, to supplement city services. There are currently an estimated 70 SIDs in the state of New Jersey. Refer to DCA's "SIDs: Loans & Grants" program for technical and financial assistance.
  • Tax Increment Financing: Tax increment financing can be used for a variety of purposes, including acquiring property to be resold at reduced prices and on-site improvements such as utilities, lights, repaving streets, and restoring neighborhood parks. TIF works like this: When a TIF plan is adopted, the assessed valuation of real property within a designated redevelopment area is frozen. Taxes are paid on the property at this base level while improvements to the area are made, new businesses are attracted, and property values rise. Typically, any increase in the assessed value of the property or additional sales tax revenues makes up the tax increment, which is then used to pay project costs or repay the bonds or other obligations that helped finance the project. By investing in a designated area, the TIF technique has aptly been described as a means of borrowing against the speculative gain that a project should bring.
  • Impact Fees: An impact fee is a one-time charge that private entrepreneurs, often developers, must pay to the local government in order to undertake their projects. In turn, the revenue from the impact fee finances public goods and services associated with the project, but which the developer would not provide voluntarily. Water and sewer lines, streets and bridges, and parks and recreational facilities are typical impact fee-funded projects.
  • User Fee Financing: Parking fees, dog tags, community college tuition, water bills, and park and recreation fees are just a few of the many different kinds of user fees collected by local governments. These funds can then be used to pay for transportation improvements, park maintenance and other municipal services.
  • Property Tax Financing: Perhaps because it is paid in a large lump sum check as opposed to small additions to each purchase, the property tax is the least popular of all state and local taxes. Yet they are an important source of revenue for local governments because they provide a steady source of revenue, less affected by downturns in the economy than either the sales or the income tax. In addition, property taxes are relatively easily administered at the local level, revenues can be accurately predicted, and the tax burden is fairly equitably distributed.

For more information:

Local Transportation Planning Assistance Program (LTPA)
V planning
X implementation
NJ Department of Transportation

This program is for NJDOT consultant support designed to address local transportation and quality of life issues by promoting local implementation of the state's Smart Growth land use and transportation policies. The LTPA program provides municipalities with consultant expertise in the professional disciplines of transportation and land use planning to develop local circulation elements, access management plans, local traffic calming studies, and other transportation related planning initiatives. Potential and designated State Development and Redevelopment Plan Centers, Transit Oriented Developments, and participation in the Department's Transit Village and smart growth corridor planning initiatives receive highest priority. Municipal requests for LTPA services will be evaluated based on the nature of the problem(s) to be addressed and the expected benefit to the community. Applicants must commit staff and or/financial resources to these efforts. All studies undertaken must have a public outreach aspect, including continuing involvement by both the official representatives of the municipality as well as participation by local citizens. This Program is administered by the Division of Transportation Systems Planning & Research, Bureau of Systems Development and Analysis (BSDA).

For more information:

Main Street New Jersey
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Community Affairs

Main Street is a comprehensive revitalization program that promotes the historic and economic redevelopment of traditional business districts in New Jersey. Every two years the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs accepts applications and designates selected communities to join the program. These communities receive valuable technical support and training to assist in restoring their Main Streets as centers of community and economic activity, and provide communities with the skills and knowledge to manage their own business districts. Assistance is provide to designated Main Street New Jersey municipalities, downtown revitalization organizations, Economic Development Corporations, Urban Enterprise Zones, Special Improvement Districts, and New Jersey citizens.

(NOTE: Similar assistance, including workshops and Downtown Business Assistance Teams, is provided by Downtown New Jersey, Inc., a not-for-profit partner with NJ TRANSIT in the Transit Friendly Communities for New Jersey Program; not affiliated with NJDCA.)

For more information:

Office of Smart Growth Planning Unit
V planning
X implementation
NJ Department of Community Affairs

Field representatives from DCA's Office of Smart Growth Planning Unit assist local and county government efforts to implement the State Plan, providing field support to locals and the general public on many planning issues, including master plans, design standards and resource protection.

For more information:

Smart Commute Initiative
X planning
V implementation
Fannie Mae

In 2004, NJ TRANSIT and Fannie Mae introduced the New Jersey Statewide Smart Commute Initiative. The program, designed to encourage state residents to consider homeownership options near public transportation, is supported by the New Jersey Association of Realtors and a range of local and national lending institutions.

The Smart Commute Initiative is based on the premise that living near transit and using it for work and non-work trips can reduce a household's total spending on transportation, and that those potential savings can be redirected toward housing costs. Lenders participating in the program will add a share of the borrower's potential transportation savings - $200 per month for single-wage households and $250 per month for dual-wage households - to their qualifying income, thus increasing the applicant's home-buying power.

To qualify for the program, homes must be within one-half mile of rail or light rail stations or within one-quarter mile of a bus stop. Buyers cannot own more than two cars and must agree to use transit for their trips to work. Additional features of Smart Commute include low down payments of 3 percent and up to two free one-month transit passes from NJ TRANSIT. This newest incentive for locating near transit complements transit-friendly financing products already offered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. These include the HMFA's "City Living" program for the development of market-rate rental housing in urban locations, and its "At Home Downtown" program for the rehabilitation or construction of one- to four-unit residential structures with storefront commercial components.

For more information:

Smart Future Planning Grants
V planning
X implementation
NJ Department of Community Affairs

These grants are intended to advance the legislative goals of the State Planning Act by helping local jurisdictions to plan for growth. The program is designed to promote comprehensive urban redevelopment that is sensitive to community needs, as well as efficient investment in and use of public infrastructure, affordable housing, environmental, natural, historic and cultural resource protection, and farmland preservation. Smart Future Planning Grants can be used to create centers-based plans, master plans, economic development or redevelopment plans, regional strategic plans, zoning or site plan ordinances, or other planning documents. This program is administered by the Office of Smart Growth at the Department of Community Affairs.

For more information:

Smart Growth Planning Grants for Municipalities
V planning
X implementation
Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions

Through the Smart Growth program, ANJEC (the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions) will award 1-to-1 matching reimbursement grants of up to $20,000 to municipalities for local or regional plans, ordinances, studies or document reviews that protect natural resources and establish the land use patterns envisioned in the State Plan. Suitable projects include, but are not limited to, the following: natural resource inventories (NRI); open space plans and preservation programs; master plan conservation elements; brownfields or revitalization plans that include new open space; bicycle/pedestrian network plans; capacity studies including build-out analysis, septic capacity and groundwater supply; master plan and zoning ordinance revisions that incorporate smart growth concepts including clustering, downzoning, conservation design and transfer of development rights (TDR); critical areas protection ordinances for steep slopes, stream corridors, wellhead areas; planning tasks that help obtain Plan Endorsement from the State Planning Commission; planning that will achieve affordable housing within the municipality while protecting the environment; intermunicipal/regional plans to protect common resources (greenways, open space, etc.).

For more information:

Transfer of Development Rights Bank / TDR Grants
V planning
V implementation
NJ Department of Agriculture

TDR programs are designed to encourage a shift in growth away from agricultural, environmentally sensitive or open space regions of a municipality. Landowners in areas where land use is restricted are allowed to sell their development rights - or development credits. Purchasers of these credits then may use them to build elsewhere in a designated growth area at a higher density than is normally allowed in a town's zoning ordinance.

The Bank provides planning assistance grants to municipalities for costs incurred in preparing transfer of development rights (TDR) ordinances. The Bank also has the authority to purchase, or provide matching funds for the purchase of 80 percent of the value of development potential, as well as provide grants to municipal TDR banks.

Implementing a transfer of development rights program requires a major planning initiative on the part of the participating municipality. Before any credits can transfer from landowner to developer, certain planning and implementation documents must be adopted. More information can be found at OSG's TDR webpage.

For more information:

Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) Program
V planning
V implementation
Federal Highway Administration

The Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) Program is a comprehensive initiative of research and grants to investigate the relationships between transportation, community, and system preservation plans and practices and identify provide sector-based initiatives to improve such relationships. States, metropolitan planning organizations, local governments, and tribal governments are eligible for discretionary grants to carry out eligible projects to integrate transportation, community, and system preservation plans and practices that:

  • Improve the efficiency of the transportation system of the United States;
  • Reduce environmental impacts of transportation;
  • Reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments;
  • Ensure efficient access to jobs, services, and centers of trade;
  • Examine community development patterns and identify strategies to encourage private sector development patterns and investments that support these goals.

For more information:

Transportation Community Development Initiative (TCDI)
V planning
V implementation
Note: This program is only available in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer Counties.
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission

The TCDI program is intended to assist in reversing the trends of disinvestment and decline in many of the region's core cities and first generation suburbs by:

  • Supporting local planning projects that will lead to more residential, employment or retail opportunities;
  • Improving the overall character and quality of life within these communities to retain and attract business and residents, which will help to reduce the pressure for further sprawl and expansion into the growing suburbs;
  • Enhancing and utilizing the existing transportation infrastructure capacity in these areas to reduce the demands on the region's transportation network; and
  • Reducing congestion and improving the transportation system's efficiency.

For more information:

Transportation Improvement Program
X planning
V implementation
Note: New Jersey has three Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Click here to determine the appropriate one for your location.
Metropolitan Planning Organizations

Each of New Jersey's three MPOs is responsible for preparing a Transportation Improvement Program, a list of all transportation projects and programs of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, and individual counties and municipalities, to be funded in the next three fiscal years. Together, the three TIPs form the STIP (Statewide Transportation Improvement Program).

In order for a local transportation project to receive federal or state funding, it must be included in the TIP.

For more information - NJTPA Counties:

For more information - DVRPC Counties:

  • Visit DVRPC's TIP Webpage.
  • Contact Charles D. Dougherty, Associate Director for Transportation Planning, (215) 238-2863.

For more information - SJTPO Counties: