FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, September 25, 2014

Christie Administration Announces Post-Sandy Planning Grant to Hamilton Township, Atlantic County

Grant Will Help Sandy-Impacted Local Government with
Long-Term Recovery and Resiliency Planning



Trenton, NJ – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today announced the award of $96,200 in Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants to Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, to put into effect comprehensive long-range plans designed to enable the Township to become more resilient in the event of future significant weather events.

These grants are the second Post-Sandy Planning Assistance funds that Hamilton Township has received. It was awarded its first planning grant in October 2013, and used the $29,000 grant to complete a Strategic Recovery Planning Report, which serves as the Township’s comprehensive guide for planning initiatives it takes moving forward to recover from Sandy and to reduce its vulnerability to future disasters. The second round of planning grants now enables Hamilton Township to proceed with planning initiatives based on the strategies detailed in its Strategic Recovery Planning Report.

"As New Jersey continues to recover from Sandy, the planning that Hamilton Township 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 Commissioner Constable, whose Department is administering many of the Sandy Recovery programs for the State. "We applaud Hamilton Township for pursuing these worthwhile projects."

The Township’s Strategic Recovery Planning Report evaluated the impact of Superstorm Sandy on Hamilton Township’s residents, businesses, infrastructure, public safety and open space/recreation sectors. That information is useful in informing economic recovery initiatives, enhancing public safety and identifying other steps to make the city better able to withstand potential significant storms in the future.

The two planning projects that are being funded in Hamilton Township will:

  • Create a Historic Mays Landing Neighborhood Plan. Mays Landing is Hamilton Township’s primary "downtown," as well as the Atlantic County seat. The district has several competing interests such as historic character preservation, re-investment need, flood mitigation and resilience, and Pinelands Commission jurisdiction. This Plan will provide recommendations for enhancing economic development, resiliency, aesthetics and the quality of life in the Mays Landing Historic District.

  • Prepare a Redevelopment Plan for Historic Mays Landing after conducting a preliminary investigation, which will determine if the Mays Landing Historic District qualifies as an Area in Need of Redevelopment or Rehabilitation utilizing the tools made available by the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. The plan will address the damage from Superstorm Sandy in Mays Landing and safeguard against damage from future storms and will build upon the recommendations in the Township’s Historic Mays Landing Neighborhood Plan.

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.

The program provides funding in two phases. The first phase is producing a Strategic Recovery Planning Report as described above. To date, the DCA has approved 46 Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants to assist local governments in completing this planning report. When their planning reports are done, local governments are then eligible to apply for Phase 2 Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants, which assist them with implementing the planning priorities identified in their Strategic Recovery Planning Report. For example, Phase 2 planning grants can help local governments fund initiatives to determine infrastructure needs to protect business districts on the waterfront from future storms; design standards to protect and increase resiliency in storm-affected neighborhoods; conduct topographic surveys and preliminary engineering studies to gauge future infrastructure needs; and develop capital improvement plans that prioritize need based on the safety of residents.

The DCA has so far approved $6.2 million in Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants, including the award of Phase 2 grants to 20 local governments. 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.nj.gov/dca/services/lps/pspag.html.