How municipal zoning and planning work in New Jersey

Zoning and planning boards determine how New Jersey cities and towns build – from building height, where houses, schools, or other things can be built, and even how stormwater is handled.

But cities and towns may have hundreds of zoning regulations and each municipality has its own set of rules.

The Jersey Bee produced this guide to help you understand the basics of zoning and planning, how land use rules are developed and enforced, and where residents can share input to shape building and development in their community.

What is zoning? 

Damon Rich, urban designer and partner at HECTOR urban design, said he often describes zoning as “the rules for how you can use land and buildings, what you can build, and where you can build it in your town.”

How zoning works can look different for every municipality. In Newark, those rules are called the Newark Zoning & Land Use Regulations and they offer a blueprint for how “Newark’s physical environment such as landscaping, parking lots, fences, signs, historic landmarks, and stormwater management” can be built and used, according to the City of Newark.

Each New Jersey municipality is divided into smaller zones with various zoning codes that prescribe:

• What kinds of development are permitted, including:
  • Residential zoning, or where single or multi-family housing can be built.
  • Commercial zoning, or where businesses and shopping centers can be built.
  • Industrial zoning, or what sort of factories or warehouses can be built. 
  • Mixed-use, or where resident, commercial, or industrial building can be combined.
  • Other categories including transit areas or areas designated for redevelopment.
• How buildings are designed, including how many stories or units a building can have or ways they should be designed to fit into the surrounding area.
• Zoning density, or how many buildings or units can be built in the area.

For instance, the zoning code “R-2” in East Orange means one- or two-family dwellings are permitted in R-2 zones, and the structure cannot be taller than three stories. Areas marked as redevelopment areas with codes including “CCHC” and “FE” are areas a municipality has designated in need of redevelopment, reconstruction, or infrastructure improvements under New Jersey’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.

Here are examples of zoning maps of from East Orange and Bloomfield that show different zoning codes.

Often, developers will ask the planning or zoning boards for a variance or “authorized exception to zoning rules which may be granted by a land use board if there’s a good reason for it,” said Rich. “In other words, permission to break or ‘vary’ the rules.”

These could be small variances, he explains, like shortening the distance between houses from three feet to two feet and 10 inches. Or it can be big variances like constructing twice the number of stories in a building.

Who enforces the rules?

While each municipality’s zoning ordinances vary, they all have the authority to regulate land use, according to the state’s Municipal Land Use Law. According to the New Jersey Municipal Clerk Desk Reference, the state law “governs the planning, zoning, subdivision, and site plan powers of the municipality.”

Each city or township is typically governed by two to four governing bodies:

• Planning boards prepare and amend the municipal master plan and review development plans to ensure they follow land-use laws.
• Zoning boards of adjustment are responsible for hearing variance requests and approving or rejecting the applications.
• Landmarks and preservation commissions approve development proposals and zoning variances in historic districts or areas that impact historical landmarks.
• Municipal counsels oversee each of these boards, create or change zoning ordinances, and adopt master plans.

A municipality may just have one combined planning and zoning adjustment board instead of two separate boards or may not have a preservation commission, according to Rich. The size and scope of boards vary, but they prepare, adopt, and enforce zoning rules together.

Here are English and Spanish infographics describing the planning and zoning process produced by Newarkers Organized for Accountable Development (NOFAD).

How can I engage in zoning decision-making? 

New Jersey state law says that municipalities must hold a public hearing for any property developments and publish a notice of the hearing before the event. 

“[Hearings are] an absolutely critical and high-stakes event for a developer,” said Rich. “[It] is also the main part of the official process that invites in members of the public to either support or oppose or to ask for changes to the development.”

He recommends that getting familiar with who’s on the zoning and planning boards, who appointed them, and how the boards work is critical for residents to advocate effectively.

For example, planning boards are typically appointed by the mayor and are volunteer-run. Training to join the board consists of one 5-hour course.

Community organizations like Clinton Hill Community Action and South Ward Environmental Alliance in Newark have found other ways to engage residents in zoning decisions beyond public hearings.

The Newarkers Organized for Accountable Development is a resource by the South Ward Environmental Alliance, Clinton Hill Community Action, and HECTOR that trains Newark residents and organizations on how real estate development and land use work in their neighborhoods. 

Part of the resource is a “development watch,” which compiles and distributes upcoming development proposals to residents who want to stay up to date.

“We try to get the residents to understand that you have a voice and you have influence… because you live here,” Nii Abladey Otu, housing and real estate development manager at Clinton Hill Community Action told The Jersey Bee. “[These decisions are] going to affect you more than any of the zoning board officials.”

READ: Newark residents build power to shape city’s redevelopment

Where to find zoning information in Essex County

Essex County residents can find information about their town or city’s zoning board, maps, and ordinances below.

New Jersey residents can find information about their municipality through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’s zoning map and ordinance directory. If the NJ DCA map is outdated, visit your municipality’s website for the latest zoning information.

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Learn more

Read "An Outline of the Fundamentals of Zoning and Planning for Planning and Zoning Boards" from the New Jersey League of Municipalities.