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Building Livable Communities

On Monday, June 26, the Municipal Land Use Center (MLUC) at The College of New Jersey will formally announce and honor eight New Jersey communities that are each recipients of a Building Livable Communities grant. Congressman Rush Holt will announce the winners at 9 a.m. in Loser Hall 123.

The grants will be used to assist municipalities throughout central New Jersey to adopt innovative planning approaches. The MLUC was established in 2004 at the College with a grant secured by Congressman Rush Holt. A portion of the Center’s funding was set aside to be used as grants to municipalities during its third year of operation. Rush Holt’s intention for the Center is to have it provide valuable information, best practices, effective planning tools, technical and financial assistance to municipalities throughout the region. According to Congressman Holt, “In these ways, the Municipal Land Use Center provides a practical way to assist municipalities so that they will positively affect the quality of life in Central Jersey.”

A request for proposals was issued in December 2005. In response, 29 municipal proposals were received. Eight of the proposals were selected which best met the formerly established planning criteria. “We tried to identify projects that were not only innovative on their own terms but those that might also serve as beacons for the other 100 or so municipalities throughout the five-county region that we currently serve,” said Marty Bierbaum, director of the MLUC.

Municipal government entities from Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset counties were eligible to apply for the grant, although nonprofit organizations could partner with municipal governments to collaboratively submit an application. A 25 percent match by the municipalities was required. The maximum grant award amount for single jurisdictions was up to $40,000. Multiple jurisdictions could qualify for as much as $80,000. Two categories of applications were considered:

Integrated Land Use and Transportation Projects:

The East State Street Corridor Main Street Revitalization Plan proposed by Hamilton Township (Mercer County) and non-profit Isles will create an integrated revitalization plan for the East State Street Corridor. Its focus will be on reducing the auto-dependency of neighborhood residents, promoting retail opportunities and business development within walking distance of the neighborhood, improving the residents’ quality of life, and making the corridor more pedestrian friendly, and by increasing the connectivity between Hamilton Township’s proposed transit village and the Bromley neighborhood.

The Lincoln Boulevard Revitalization Project by the Borough of Middlesex and partners Piscataway Township (Middlesex County) and Office of Smart Growth seeks to address the underutilization of one of the Borough’s main corridors by adopting a Redevelopment Plan in two phases. The Borough will also adopt a Town Center Concept Plan and conduct a Transit Feasibility Study to investigate the re-activation of a train station along the Raritan Valley Line.

The Orlando Drive Vision Plan and Corridor Design Study proposed by Raritan Borough in cooperation with the Regional Center Partnership and Somerset County seeks to include a visioning process and corridor design study for the Orlando Drive area of Raritan. The project will include a GIS-based Resource characterization, an identification and assessment of issues, and preparation of an Orlando Drive Conceptual Vision Plan.

The River Road Corridor Integrated Land Use and Transportation Main Street Revitalization Plan by the Borough of Fair Haven, (Monmouth County) seeks to prepare and implement the above plan to develop vision and consensus for revitalization and redevelopment in the downtown. Through a strategic, targeted redevelopment approach and integrated bus-based and bicycle network, the Borough hopes to redefine “Main Street” as a principal business street and heart of civic life for its residents.

Sustainability Projects:

Creating a Sustainable Future for the Borough of Milltown proposed by Milltown Borough (Middlesex County) in partnership with the Environmental Commission, Shade Tree Commission, Revitalization Committee, Borough Council, Planning Board, Board of Education, Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership and five other partners will employ professional consultants to study and report on energy efficiency of existing municipal, public schools and rescue squad buildings in the Borough. Options for providing renewable energy resources and educating the public about the benefits of a sustainable community are included as part of the project.

The Natural Steps for Lawrence proposed by Lawrence Township (Mercer County) in partnership with “Sustainable Lawrence” seeks funds to develop and implement a community-wide sustainability program. The Natural Step, a scientific approach to environmental policy and community development, will be used to measure results of the program. Results will be shared with others throughout central New Jersey, and the project will seek to continually expand and strengthen public participation in implementing sustainable practices at individual, family, neighborhood and organizational levels.

The Next Steps to Sustainability proposed by Hillsborough Township (Somerset County) and partners Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association and the NJ Sustainable State Institute will create a Sustainable Community Report (SCR). The SCR will be created through a broad public dialogue that identifies key issues, establishes goals and objectives for sustainability, and develops indicators to track progress. This public process will also create and implement an Action Plan with recommendations for each goal which will be tailored for all of the major community stakeholders in Hillsborough, including municipal government, citizens, businesses and development associations.

Sustainable Princetons is a project proposed by both Princeton Borough and Princeton Township (Mercer County) which seeks to address three needs within both municipalities: to increase energy efficiency and thereby reduce costs; to develop sustainable criteria to be added to local purchasing guidelines, and to educate the public, local officials, and staff on sustainability issues.

For more information on the grants or the Municipal Land Use Center, please contact 609.771.2832 or visit MLUC on the Web at http://www.tcnj.edu/~mluc