Tuesday, September 24, 2002

County Analysis to Aid Municipalities in Managing Growth

Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson announced today that the county has distributed to each of Atlantic County's 23 municipalities a preliminary capacity analysis for residential and commercial development using Geographic Information Systems Technology.

According to Levinson, over the past two years the county has compiled detailed data on local growth and development patterns. In cooperation with Atlantic Cape Community College's Center for Regional & Business Research, growth models for Atlantic County were developed as part of this project.

"I am very pleased to be able to provide our municipalities with this information. It should provide them with a valuable tool to manage growth and development within their jurisdiction," Levinson said. "While we have always known that there are benefits and consequences associated with the rapid growth that Atlantic County has experienced, this analysis now provides us with critical information to deal intelligently with their impact," stated Levinson. "The documented data allows us to estimate housing demands, growth patterns and employment growth. This analysis will be invaluable in addressing our schools, transportation infrastructure and open space issues."

Each Atlantic County municipality has been provided with the following data:

Zoning Map - showing zoning districts, their acreage, and residential densities associated with each district.

Constrained and Available Lands Map - providing detailed information on developable and undevelopable land based on existing Pinelands, CAFRA and general New Jersey Wetlands regulations.

Available Land Use Map - showing land unconstrained by environmental regulations that is available for residential development along with the number of units possible by zone type.

Commercially Available Land - showing available commercial land based on municipal zoning and potential gross leasable areas per zone type.

According to Levinson, one of the most significant findings is the projection of approximately 22,000 new jobs in Atlantic County over the next decade.

This project will be among the topics of discussion at the county's upcoming Regional Planning Summit on October 9 at the Atlantic County Vocational Technical School in Mays Landing. For more information, please contact Joe Maher, Department Head, Regional Planning and Development, at (609) 645-5898.

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