FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, April 9, 2015

Christie Administration Announces Post-Sandy Planning Grant to Jersey City

Grant Will Help Sandy-Impacted City with

Long-Term Recovery and Resiliency Planning

 

 

Trenton, NJ - New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Acting Commissioner Charles Richman today announced the award of $260,000 in Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants to Jersey City, Hudson County, to put into effect comprehensive long-range plans designed to help the City become more resilient in the event of future significant weather events.

 

The $13.7 million Post Sandy Planning Assistance Grant Program supports long-range planning for community redevelopment in the municipalities and counties that sustained damage from Superstorm Sandy. Due to the damage caused by the storm, many New Jersey municipalities and counties face myriad recovery challenges. Among them is the need for planning support to develop community recovery plans that strategically address the issues that now confront them.

The grant program is available for local governments to hire licensed planners to prepare those plans that support the communities’ long-term rebuilding efforts.

 

The Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants are funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery monies provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grants are currently available to each of the nine counties most impacted by Sandy as determined by HUD (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union) and all of the municipalities within those counties that have experienced a ratable loss of at least 1% or $1 million due to the storm.

 

Applications for grants are still being accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis by the DCA’s Office of Local Planning Services, which is administering the program, until all funds are exhausted.

 

For more information on Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants, go to

http://www.renewjerseystronger.org/communities/post-sandy-planning-assistance-grant-program/

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"As New Jersey continues to recover from Sandy, the planning that Jersey City is undertaking will identify opportunities to build local resilience and promote growth that is sustainable even in hazardous conditions such as those experienced during and after the storm," said Acting Commissioner Richman, whose Department is administering many of the Sandy recovery programs for the State. "We recognize Jersey City and thank city leaders for pursuing these worthwhile planning projects."

 

Jersey City’s planning staff completed the initial Strategic Recovery Planning Report, which served as the City’s comprehensive guide for the six recovery and resiliency projects funded by this grant. The goal of the Strategic Recovery Planning Report, according to Jersey City officials, was to evaluate Sandy’s impact on Jersey City’s infrastructure, public safety, residential homes and business sectors and to utilize this information to stimulate economic recovery while planning for public safety and response to natural disasters.

　

The Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grant will fund six planning projects identified in the City’s Strategic Recovery Planning Report. The planning projects include:

 

     

  • A Resilience Master Plan that provides a framework to address and expand on the institutional, adaptation, preparedness, and recovery strategies outlined in the City’s Sandy Recovery Strategic Planning Report.　

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  • An Adaptation Master Plan that describes specific projects and initiatives for the City to undertake that increase the City’s resilience with particular attention paid to actions that advance the implementation of shoreline protective measures, make changes to the regulatory requirements for new buildings, and implement programs to facilitate flood proofing of existing public and private structures and facilities.

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  • Design Standards that ensure building designs allow for floodplain management compliance and also maintain the desired streetscape environment.

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  • A Capital Improvement Plan that describes projects, budget, and funding sources for capital investments that improve resiliency.

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  • An Urban Environmental Design Plan that describes strategies that mitigate storm impacts, including stormwater management techniques, with a focus on green infrastructure.　

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  • Amendments to the Zoning and Building Code that require approaches to rehabilitation and new construction that are more resilient to damage from future storm events and that maintain the character of Jersey City's existing neighborhoods.

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