December 6, 2023

New Jersey Future hit the road this past month, connecting with peers from across the country and the state, sharing resources that we developed for New Jersey but that are being used nationally, bringing lessons learned back to New Jersey, and showcasing the areas where we continue to lead the nation. 

Our team participated in a workshop hosted by Smart Growth America in Atlanta, GA that brought together representatives from the 15 cities nationwide involved in the Community Connectors program. We delved into discussions on reconnecting neighborhoods severed by urban freeways, contributing to a national dialogue on fostering cohesive and inclusive communities. The New Jersey Future team included local, county, and state representatives focused on addressing Route 29 in Trenton and reconnecting the city to the Delaware River waterfront.

Simultaneously, a group of staff attended the US Water Alliance's One Water Summit in Tucson, AZ, providing us the opportunity to foster cooperation among water leaders and share our in-state collaborations and leadership with a nationwide audience. Through a peer learning exchange facilitated by New Jersey Future, our delegation engaged with counterparts, sharing insights and strategies to address water challenges. Our recently published State Revolving Fund Equity Report, Improving a Program that Works: Prioritizing New Jersey Water Bank Projects in Disadvantaged Communities, was a highlighted resource shared among summit attendees. You can read more on that report further below. 

Finally, we attended the 108th Annual League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, where two staff members delivered insightful presentations on our Climate Change Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (CCRHVA) Guide, and New Jersey Stormwater Retrofit Best Management Practices Guide. Both resources provide valuable insights for government leaders, municipal planners, nonprofits, and developers in navigating the complexities of climate resilience.

As we enter the season of giving, I want to express our gratitude for your continued support. In the spirit of the season, we invite you to consider a donation to New Jersey Future. We rely on the generosity of individuals like you to sustain our work—like providing resources and recommendations for improving our existing infrastructure ranging from water pipes to roads, assisting municipalities in planning for climate change, and informing practitioners of the best practices in stormwater retrofitting. Your support enables us to amplify our impact and drive positive change in the communities we serve.

Thank you for being an essential part of our journey. Wishing you a joyous holiday season filled with warmth and connection.

Peter Kasabach

Executive Director

The Future of Housing in New Jersey

Housing shapes communities while communities shape the quality of life and access to opportunities for each of us. Local officials are on the front lines of housing development, shaping what kind of housing gets built, where it can be constructed, and the local roads and sidewalks residents use to get from their homes to everywhere else. Read more.

Nation Follows New Jersey's Example on

Lead Remediation

Lead service lines that provide drinking water to homes account for 75% of lead drinking water exposure and are a significant cause of lead poisoning for children across the country, including in New Jersey. Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements proposal that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years. The federal rule mirrors the New Jersey law passed in 2021 that grew out of a series of convenings by Jersey Water Works of a broad cross-section of private and public-sector stakeholders. 

While the New Jersey law is more comprehensive than the new federal rule, we are glad to see the federal government taking this big step forward and using New Jersey as a model, including citing the state law, the work of Jersey Water Works, and successful implementation by the City of Newark, and the State in general. Other states can use New Jersey and Newark as models for how to implement the new requirements, with examples and resources readily available from Jersey Water Works.

Check Out These New Resources

NJ Stormwater Retrofit BMP Guide

Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs), including detention basins, infiltration basins, bioswales, and rain gardens, are implemented to manage stormwater and improve water quality. Often seen in New Jersey, these BMPs were designed and implemented before the MS4 permitting program was created in 2004 and before the NJ Stormwater Management Rules required green infrastructure.

To fill these gaps and to assist MS4 permittees in complying with the updated permit, New Jersey Future and Princeton Hydro created the New Jersey Stormwater Retrofit Best Management Practices Guide. This guide provides municipalities, counties, nonprofit organizations, developers, and property owners the tools to identify opportunities to retrofit existing stormwater BMPs and install new stormwater BMPs in New Jersey’s highly built-out environment. 

Climate Change-Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (CCRHVA) Guide

New Jersey Future, in partnership with Sustainable Jersey, has released a brand new, first of its kind climate vulnerability assessment practitioner’s guide. The guide helps elected and appointed officials and community leaders address impacts of climate change.

This guide launches at a critical moment—while the NJ Municipal Land Use Law mandates that all municipalities include a CCRHVA in the Land Use Plan Element of their municipal master plans, they have hitherto lacked a comprehensive guide through which to conduct an evaluation of their community’s climate change risks and needs.

CCRHVA provides a step-by-step process for municipalities to address all provisions of the law, using an approach that centers community engagement and the reduction of risks for vulnerable populations, provides a means of conducting a comprehensive assessment, assists communities in identifying climate-ready strategies, and builds local adaptive capacity. CCRHVA guidelines now seek real-world application; we want to engage with pilot municipalities who utilize the guide, and receive feedback for its refinement and deployment.

Next year’s Smart Growth Awards are just around the corner! If you or someone you know has contributed to an exceptional project or plan in New Jersey we want to know about it! As with this year, we plan honor a number of projects, and the organizations involved, for their contributions to a bright future for New Jerseyans. Learn more online and contact NJF staff with any questions.

New Jersey Future and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association are partnering once again to host the 2024 New Jersey Planning and Redevelopment Conference.

This three-day conference will be held June 5-6 virtually and June 7 in person at the Hyatt Regency New Brunswick. Hold the date and be and be part of making this event a success! Join us by submitting a session proposal on the portal after reading the guidelines.

Legislative Updates

The Legislature’s “lame-duck” session began in November and will end in early January. This is a time before newly elected legislators take office in January, and is a time of great unpredictability. New Jersey Future is watching and supporting several bills that align with our priorities—strengthening lead disclosure laws, allocating dedicated funding to NJ Transit, providing municipalities with tools to plan for warehouse development, and more. We also support policies that will improve how we redevelop and alleviate affordability issues we face as a state, such as the legalization of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and a reduction of parking requirements for projects close to public transportation. 

Read about our Lame Duck 2023 priorities online in our blog, New Jersey Future's Lame Duck Legislative Priorities for 2023-2024. 

• December 13: The annual Jersey Water Works Conference will be held on December 13 at The College of New Jersey and serves as an opportunity to learn from leaders, experts, and advocates on how to increase visibility and bring awareness to our water challenges and solutions. Register today!
• December 14: The New Jersey Section of American Water Resources Association is hosting their annual meeting where Paula Figueroa-Vega, Jersey Water Works Collaborative and Organizational Development Director, will be speaking on New Jersey Future's Collective Impact program area, including new programs and projects. Learn more and register!

Smart Growth is equitable growth. It is also restorative, as smart growth and redevelopment can help correct systemic racial and economic disparities. As New Jersey Future drives land use decision-making toward more equitable outcomes, we will be sharing useful resources and lessons in this monthly spotlight. Please give us your feedback and share with us any particularly insightful articles, talks, events, or videos that you come across.

Is our Water Infrastructure Funding Going to Where it is Most Needed?

New Jersey's water infrastructure financing program, the New Jersey Water Bank (NJWB), has been highly successful, providing $9 billion in low-cost financing for water and wastewater projects. Administered by the partnership between the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank (I-Bank), NJWB comprises two programs: the Drinking Water SRF (DWSRF) and the Clean Water SRF (CWSRF). These programs have increased water utilities' access to capital funding, saving participating communities an estimated $3 billion compared to municipal bond financing. However, a critical concern arises: to what extent has NJWB addressed the water infrastructure needs of our disadvantaged communities (DACs), many of which face environmental threats but lack the financial capacity to respond? 

New Jersey Future’s and the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) published a new report, Improving a Program that Works: Prioritizing New Jersey Water Bank Projects in Disadvantaged Communities, that investigates this issue. The study reveals a strong correlation between the size of a community and the number and amount of CWSRF and DWSRF awards. Larger water utilities receive a disproportionate share, disadvantaging small communities. State assistance, as reflected in NJWB awards, correlates with drinking water violations but overlooks the fiscal condition of the utility involved.

Most policy recommendations in the report can be administratively implemented (see the recommendations in the linked infographic).The recommendations, which are tempered to account for key tradeoffs and to preserve the program’s essential strengths, provide a baseline for ongoing considerations in improving water infrastructure financing for New Jersey's DACs, thereby steering crucial funding to the communities with the most critical needs.

• Development Director: New Jersey Future is seeking an experienced professional and strategic thinker who will help advance the organization’s mission, guide the organization’s corporate and individual giving fundraising strategy, oversee and execute its related events and relationship-building activities, and manage relationships across fundraising platforms.

• 11/27/2023: Lawmakers weigh slew of warehouse bills in response to growing calls for state action (NJ Spotlight News)
• 11/22/2023: New Jersey Assemblyman Danielsen Introduces Legislation to Address Warehouse Sprawl (Insider NJ)
• 11/13/2023: NJ agreement to buy land at warehouse site may signal other purchases (NJ Spotlight News)
• 11/04/2023: Empowering Communities: A Vision for Environmental Justice in Paterson, New Jersey (Clean Water Action)
• 11/01/2023: The future of housing in New Jersey (NJ Municipalities Magazine)
• 10/26/2023: Could a Newark early learning center funded by philanthropists be a model for child care? (NJ Spotlight News)

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