The Daily Newarker — Press Wire

For Immediate Release

CITY OF NEWARK PLANNING DIVISION RECEIVES AWARD FOR THINKING “OUTSIDE THE BOX” FOR NEW ZONING STANDARDS FOR FAMILY HOUSING

Efforts to rid Newark of the bland “Box Home Design” earn City “Outstanding Community Engagement Award” from the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association

Newark, NJ - November 10, 2009 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, Deputy Mayor of Economic and Housing Development Stefan Pryor and the Division of Planning and Community Development announced today that the City of Newark has received the “Outstanding Community Engagement or Education Award” for 2009 from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association for its “The Box and Beyond: A New House for Newark” program, which explains the City’s new zoning standards for one-, two-, and three-family dwellings in Newark.

The award-winning initiative includes new regulations and two documents designed as easy-to-use, illustrative tools for interpreting and applying the new zoning code. One is a 40-page comprehensive booklet, entitled “The Box and Beyond: Urban Design Issues for Infill Houses in Newark,” while the other is a four-page illustrated brochure entitled “Newark’s New Zoning Standards for 1-, 2-, and 3-Family Dwellings.” It uses a “dos” and “don’ts” format to quickly and clearly convey the new regulations and educate the public on the issues.

“Our efforts to enhance the appearance and quality of Newark’s housing, to support ‘smart growth’ and environmentally-friendly construction, and to cut down on illegal conversions, are changing the face of our City for the better and gaining positive recognition from statewide and national experts in these fields. Awards like this manifest the fact that Newark is becoming the model for national urban transformation,” Mayor Booker said. “I congratulate the entire Planning team on this program and the award. Everyday we are building a stronger, safer, prouder City.”

The Division of Planning and Community Development received the Outstanding Community Engagement or Education Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association. The actual award was presented at the chapter’s Annual Planning Conference and Awards Dinner on Thursday, November 5, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Principal Planners Michele Alonso, AICP, PP, and Alex Dambach, AICP, PP, received the award on behalf of the Division of Planning and Community Development. Information about the Awards Dinner and the two-day conference can be found at www.njapa.org.

The Division’s brochure and booklet came from the Booker administration’s efforts to cut down on construction of the so-called “Box House,” a housing type ubiquitous to the Tri-State area, the “Box” is a prominent design type in Newark and throughout North Jersey, dating back to the 1940’s and the era of simplified construction. However, since the rise of the automobile and urban sprawl, the house design has lost the traditional Victorian detailing found in early urban construction and is now dominated by the presence of front yard parking and facades stripped down to only basic design elements, often in aluminum siding. The Box, typically all with three bedroom units, accounted for nearly 40 percent of all housing starts over the last five years. While popular and easy to build, their weaknesses include deep paved front setbacks, too few windows, sliver side yards, and often inappropriate use of siting for use and density. They also often have their ground floors converted illegally into additional apartments.

In October 2006, shortly after taking office, Mayor Booker and the Regional Planning Association issued the Newark Draft Vision Plan, designed to “Raise the Bar for an Equitable Newark,” which was designed to promote alternatives to Boxes, and propose changes to municipal zoning ordinances that would support these alternatives. The proposed design regulations were approved by the Newark Central Planning Board on March 18, 2008, and became law when passed by the Newark Municipal Council on June 5, 2008. Since the adoption of these ordinances, all new two- and three-family projects have abided by these regulations, and 178 new houses have started construction despite recent economic conditions.

In this time, the Division of Planning and Community Development has worked to explain the new ordinances to developers, contractors, and the community in general, and the award-winning outreach and brochures have been major components of that effort. Both describe the key changes: prohibitions on ground-floor “recreation rooms” that can be converted into illegal apartments; minimum widths of three feet for side yards and 20 feet for rear yards; front setbacks required to line up with adjacent buildings; and large amounts of windows on each wall.

The larger of the two books provides graphic illustrations of how the new ordinances apply, maps that depict areas where new buildings can have ground-floor commercial use; and suggested innovative housing designs that resulted from a Housing Design Symposium hosted in November 2007 by Mayor Booker and sponsored by the City, the Regional Plan Association, and the Urban Land Institute. At this summit, 14 teams of architects, commissioned by the City and working pro bono, presented prototype housing designs based on the new ordinances. The award-winning booklet offers these designs, with their architects’ comments, to help guide developers in designing buildings that will be esthetically pleasing, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly, and in compliance with zoning ordinances.

The brochures and booklets are available from the Division of Planning and Community Development and are free of charge.

“Because the city is continuing to see new housing starts and investor interest, it is critically important that we have clear and predictable zoning standards that help to expedite the development process and bring more new homes on line for Newark residents,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Stefan Pryor.

The City applied for and received the Outstanding Community Engagement or Education Award, which goes to a planning project or initiative that has involved, or resulted in significant advancement of community comprehension of planning issues or outcomes. Examples include, but are not limited to: publications, interactive project websites, public planning and design charrettes, and seminars. Applicants were required to demonstrate how and to what extent the community knowledge base was advanced, and how the enhanced knowledge affected the planning process and outcomes, as well as public perception of issues.

“Two and a half years ago, Newark did not have a fully functioning planning division,” said Toni Griffin, who leads the City’s planning team.  “This award symbolizes the commitment to planning by this administration and the ability to integrate effective regulation and design innovation. We aspire to move more of our zoning codes towards progressive and user friendly formats.”

The awardees are chosen by a panel of professional planners from throughout the state, based on five criteria:

·       Originality: The extent to which the submission presents a visionary approach or innovative concept that results in a meaningful advance to planning.

·       Transferability: The extent to which there are potential applications in other areas or to other projects.


·       Quality: To what extent is there excellence of thought, analysis, writing, graphics and sound planning principles?

·       Implementation: To what extent is the project effective as evidenced by its degree of post-completion or post-adoption activity?

·       Comprehensiveness: To what extent have sound planning principles been observed, especially in consideration of the project/person’s effect on other public objectives?

“Newark has been quite progressive in planning and public outreach in recent years. The ‘Box’ project exemplifies the City’s efforts to create positive change and should serve as a model to other urban communities grappling with design issues. Moreover, the City made a concerted effort to include the public and other stakeholders in the planning process, and to educate them about the newly adopted standards,” said New Jersey Chapter President Courtenay D. Mercer in explaining why Newark was chosen for the award.

The mission of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association is to promote sound planning as a process and a body of knowledge essential to improving the quality of life of the citizens of New Jersey and all stakeholders with an interest in the state. The Chapter does this by:

·       Helping professional planners, the general public, lay planners, interested stakeholders, non-profits, the media, legislators, regulators, homeowners, businesses, students, educators and local and state officials become more aware of planning values, methods, knowledge, processes, practice, issues, and techniques;

·             Providing opportunities for increasing the awareness, resources, knowledge, skills, and commitment of those in the planning practice, as well as anyone who may influence planning practice.

Since the Booker Administration took office in July 2006, the Division of Planning and Community Development has worked tirelessly to update the City of Newark’s Master Plan, which had not been updated in more than 25 years. The new 106-page re-examination document, with 76 pages of additional illustrations and bibliography, took the division a year to research and complete. The recommendations are organized three major themes: Jobs for Residents, Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods, and Newark as a City of Choice. The report also emphasizes the need to create a new culture of planning with a commitment to government transparency and improving citizen interaction with municipal government.

The Division created the Newark Draft Vision Plan, designed to “Raise the Bar for an Equitable Newark,” which was designed to promote alternatives to “Box Development,” and propose changes to municipal zoning ordinances – doing so for the first time since 1956 – that would support these alternatives. The division has also revised zoning and construction ordinances and policies to reflect modern technology and support environmentally-friendly practices, while ensuring that the City’s development also respects Newark’s architectural heritage and its residents’ current needs. In addition, the Division has partnered with the Trust for Public Land to design and build Newark’s first riverfront park along the Passaic River. The Division and TPL will work together to manage the project, which includes a broad public engagement process to inform residents about the design of the park.

For more information about Newark Zoning Ordinances, construction policies, or any other municipal program or initiative, contact the Non-Emergency Call Center, at (973) 733-4311.

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Contact: Press Information Office - (973) 733-8004 or pressoffice@ci.newark.nj.us

About the City of Newark, New Jersey

Newark, commonly referred to as Brick City, is the third oldest city in the United States and the largest in New Jersey, with a population of more than 280,000 people. Newark sits on one of the nation’s largest transportation super-structures including an international airport, major rail connections, major highway intersections and the busiest seaport on the east coast.

With a new Administration as of July 2006, Newark continues to see signs of a strong revival.  In population, it is one of the fastest growing cities in the northeast. Its six major colleges and universities are further expanding their presence. The production of affordable housing has doubled, businesses are returning and crime is going down. There is still much work to be done but Newark is on its way to achieving its mission:  to set a national standard for urban transformation.

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.ci.newark.nj.us

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