The mission of Department is to plan comprehensively all aspects of land, environment, economy, and transportation affecting the future character, composition, and viability of Bergen County. Many of the elements of this comprehensive planning approach are expanded upon below:
The State Plan
The State Planning Act of 1985 empowered the State Planning Commission with the responsibility to prepare, revise, and readopt the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan and its accompanying Policy Map every three years. The previous State Plan was adopted in March 2001. On April 28, 2004, the State Planning Commission released the preliminary State Plan for reexamination through a process known as Cross-Acceptance. Bergen County completed the Cross-Acceptance process with the submission of the Bergen County Cross-Acceptance Report and subsequent Public Hearing, held on May 8th, 2007. Further inquiries into State Plan issues should be directed to the New Jersey Business Action Center, Office for Planning Advocacy. Planner contact:
Barry Ableman
New Jersey Business Action Center
Office for Planning Advocacy
Department of State
PO Box 820
Trenton, NJ 08625-0820
barry.ableman@sos.state.nj.us
Phone: 1-609-292-3228
http://nj.gov/state/planning/contact.html
http://nj.gov/state/planning/plan-cross-acceptance.html
Cross-Acceptance
Cross-Acceptance is an ambitious process, in which all levels of government seek to review, examine, and “Cross -Accept” the goals, policies, and objectives of the State Plan. The Planning Act also provides for the counties to serve as the negotiating entity between the State and its constituent municipalities throughout Cross-Acceptance. The Bergen County Department of Planning and Economic Development served as the official negotiating entity for the County and, as such, coordinated all Cross-Acceptance activities.
County Master Plan
Inherent in the development and creation of a new Master Plan for the County of Bergen, the Department has pursued intergovernmental coordination with all 70 constituent municipalities to ensure consistency and encourage sound regional planning principles. Upon its completion and adoption, the County Master Plan will provide a guidance tool for future development, redevelopment, and preservation throughout Bergen County, as well as provide municipalities with a regional framework for their local planning processes. This plan will be fully in accordance with the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law as well as consistent with the goals and objectives of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan.
Smart Growth
In addition to Cross-Acceptance and State Plan activities, the Department works with the Office of Smart Growth on various other planning and policy activities, including the Smart Futures Grant program, whose current initiative involves the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway as it passes through Bergen County between the George Washington Bridge and its linkage into Hudson County to the south.
Stormwater Management
Based upon NJDEP’s new Stormwater Regulations, the County has been designated as the “Review Agency” to formally review Municipal Stormwater Plans and Ordinances.
Coordination with Other Regional Agencies
Bergen County also finds itself straddling the borders of other State-recognized regional agencies, including the New Jersey Meadowlands in the southernmost reaches of the County, and the Highlands Commission in the northwest, along the Ramapo ridge. As such, the Department plays a key liaison role to these and other agencies, relative to the planning, development, and preservation activities they pursue.