Some definitions to terms you'll see on the Smart Growth Gateway. A Adequate Public Facilities: Adequate public facilities ordinances prevent new construction until municipal services, including water, sewer, roads, and schools, are available to serve that development. Agricultural Districts/Preservation Areas: Areas designed to keep land in agriculture that are legally recognized. Landowners may voluntarily enroll in programs and may receive special benefits and protection from regulation. Agricultural Zoning: Agricultural zoning, including forestry zoning, restricts land uses to farming and livestock, other kinds of open-space activities and limited home building. It is sometimes used in tandem with urban growth restrictions. Annexation: A change in existing community boundaries resulting from the incorporation of additional land. Aquifer: A water-bearing geologic formation, sometimes confined between clay layers and sometimes on the surface. The source of ground water for drinking and irrigation. B Biodiversity: The variety and essential interdependence of all living things; it includes the variety of living organisms, the genetic differences among them, the communities and ecosystems in which they occur, and the ecological and evolutionary processes that keep them functioning. Blight: Physical and economic conditions within an area that cause a reduction of or lack of proper utilization of that area. A blighted area is one that has deteriorated or has been arrested in its development by physical, economic, or social forces. BMP: Best Management Practice; refers to the practice considered most effective to achieve a specific desired result for protection of water, air and land and to control the release of toxins. Brownfields: Sites that are underutilized or not in active use, on land that is either contaminated or perceived as contaminated. Buffer Zone: A strip of land created to separate and protect one type of land use from another; for example, as a screen of planting or fencing to insulate the surroundings from the noise, smoke, or visual aspects of an industrial zone or junkyard. Built Environment: The urban environment consisting of buildings, roads, fixtures, parks, and all other improvements that form the physical character of a city. C CAFRA (Coastal Area Facilities Review Act): Passed by the NJ Legislature to regulate development within a specific geographic coastal zone. CAFRA II amended the original act in 1993 to address single units of development near coastal waters and coordinate CAFRA Regulations with the State Plan. Carrying capacity: The level of land use or human activity that can be permanently accommodated without an irreversible change in the quality of air, water, land, or plant and animal habitats. In human settlements, this term also refers to the upper limits beyond which the quality of life, community character, or human health, welfare, and safety, will be impaired, such as the estimated maximum number of persons that can be served by existing and planned infrastructure systems, or the maximum number of vehicles that can be accommodated on a roadway. Central Business District (CBD): The downtown retail trade and commercial area of a city or town, or an area of very high land valuation, traffic flow, and concentration of retail business offices, theaters, hotels and services. Charrette: A Charrette is a planning session in which participants brainstorm and visualize solutions to a design issue. Charrettes provide a forum for ideas and offer the unique advantage of giving immediate feedback to designers while giving mutual authorship to the plan by all those who participate. The term "charrette" comes from the French term for "little cart" and refers to the final intense work effort expended by architects to meet a project deadline. At the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris during the 19th century, proctors circulated with little carts to collect final drawings, and students would jump on the charrette to put finishing touches on their presentations minutes before their deadlines. Cluster Development: A pattern of development in which industrial and commercial facilities, and homes are grouped together on parcels of land in order to leave parts of the land undeveloped. Cluster development is often used in areas that require large lot sizes, and typically involves density transfer. Zoning ordinances permit cluster development by allowing smaller lot sizes when part of the land is left as open space. Compact Building Design: Refers to the act of constructing buildings vertically rather than horizontally, and configuring them on a block or neighborhood scale that makes efficient use of land and resources, and is consistent with neighborhood character and scale. Compact building design reduces the footprint of new construction, thus preserving greenspace to absorb and filter rain water, reduce flooding and stormwater drainage needs, and lower the amount of pollution washing into our streams, rivers and lakes. Compact building design is necessary to sustain transit ridership at levels necessary to make public transit a viable transportation option. Comprehensive Plan: Regional, state, or local documents that describe community visions for future growth. Comprehensive plans describe general plans and policies for how communities will grow and the tools that are used to guide land use decisions, and give general, long-range recommendations for community growth. Typical elements include, land use, housing, transportation, environment, economic development, and community facilities. Conservation Easements: Conservation easements are voluntary, legally binding agreements for landowners that limit parcels of land or pieces of property to certain uses. Land under conservation easements remains privately owned, and most easements are permanent. Context Sensitive Design (CSD): A collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that involves all stakeholders to develop a facility that fits its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources. CSD is an approach that considers the total context within which a project will exist. Cross Acceptance: The process through which local and county government have input into the state planning process, negotiating differences with the Office of State Planning. CZMA (Coastal Zone Management Act): National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides funding for implementation and sets standards (including prevention of non-point source pollution) for states to comply with when they develop a plan to protect their coastal areas. NJDEP uses CAFRA Regulations to implement this program. NOAA reviews state implementation every 3 years. D DCA (Department of Community Affairs): The NJ state agency that oversees local government activity, housing, finances, smart growth, etc. DEP (Department of Environmental Protection): The NJ state agency charged with protection and preservation of natural resources and control of toxins in the natural environment. DOT (Department of Transportation): The NJ state agency charged with development and maintenance of transportation infrastructure in New Jersey. Density: The average number of people, families, or housing units on one unit of land. Density is also expressed as dwelling units per acre. Density bonus: Allows developers to build in specified areas densities that are higher than normally allowed. Design Standards: Design standards or guidelines can serve as a community's desire to control its appearance, from within and without, through a series of standards that govern site planning policies, densities, building heights, traffic and lighting. Development Rights: Development rights give property owners the right to develop land in ways that comply with local land use regulation. Downzoning: A change in zoning classification to less intensive use and/or development. E Ecosystem: The species and natural communities of a specific location interacting with one another and with the physical environment. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency): The federal body charged with responsibility for natural resource protection and oversight of the release of toxins and other threats to the environment. ERI (Environmental Resource Inventory): A listing and description of natural resources and general environmental characteristics of a given geographic area. Eminent Domain: The legal right of government to take private property for public use, provided the owner is offered just compensation for the taking of property. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): A comprehensive study of likely environmental impacts resulting from major federally-assisted projects; statements are required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Endangered: Species that are in danger of extinction. It also is a category that denotes protection under federal law (Endangered Species Act). Estuary: A water body where salt and fresh water meet resulting in brackish water. These areas usually have associated marshlands and are critical nursery and feeding habitat for a variety of marine species. Eutrophication: The natural aging process of water bodies, by siltation and organic decomposition, which reduces both water volume and oxygen levels. Surface run-off or airborne deposition of nitrogen and phosphorus accelerate this. F Fiscal Impact Analysis: The analysis of the estimated taxes that a development project would generate in comparison to the cost of providing municipal services demanded by that project. Flood Hazard Area: Total stream and adjacent area periodically covered by overflow from the stream channel containing 1) the floodway which is the channel itself and portions of the immediately adjacent overbank that carry the major portion of flood flow, and 2) the flood fringe beyond it which is inundated to a lesser degree. Flood Plain: Nearly level area adjacent to a water body, subject to inundation under heavy rain or blockage conditions (overflow area). Floor Area Ratio (FAR): A measure of development intensity. FAR is the ratio of the amount of floor area of a building to the amount of area of its site. For instance, a one-story building that covers an entire lot has an FAR of 1. Similarly, a one-story building that covers 1/2 of a lot has an FAR of 0.5. G GIS (Graphic Information Systems): GIS technology is used to develop maps that depict resources or features such as soil types, population densities, land uses, transportation corridors, waterways, etc. GIS computer programs link features commonly seen on maps (such as roads, town boundaries, water bodies) with related information not usually presented on maps, such as type of road surface, population, type of agriculture, type of vegetation, or water quality information. A GIS is a unique information system in which individual observations can be spatially referenced to each other. Green Building or Green Design: Building design that yields environmental benefits, such as savings in energy, building materials, and water consumption, or reduced waste generation. Greenfields: Newly developed commercial real estate on what was previously undeveloped open space. Greenway: A linear open space; a corridor composed of natural vegetation. Greenways can be used to create connected networks of open space that include traditional parks and natural areas. Groundwater: All water below the surface of the land. It is water found in the pore spaces of bedrock or soil, and it reaches the land surface through springs or it can be pumped using wells. Growth Management: A term that encompasses a whole range of policies designed to control, guide, or mitigate the effects of growth. H Habitat: Living environment of a species, that provides whatever that species needs for its survival, such as nutrients, water and living space. Habitat Fragmentation: Division of large tracts of natural habitat into smaller, disjunct parcels. Housing Element: A comprehensive assessment of current and projected housing needs for all economic segments of the community. It sets forth local housing policies and programs to implement those policies. Historic Area: An area or building in which historic events occurred, or one which has special value due to architectural or cultural features relating to the heritage of the community. Elements in historic areas have significance that necessitates preservation or conservation. I Impact Fees: Costs imposed on new development to fund public facility improvements required by new development and ease fiscal burdens on localities. Imperviousness Overlay Zoning: One form of the overlay zoning process. Environmental aspects of future imperviousness are estimated based on the future zoning build-out conditions. Estimated impacts are compared with environmental protection goals to determine the limit for total impervious surfaces in the watershed. Imperviousness overlay zoning areas are then used to define subdivision layout options that conform to the total imperviousness limit. Impervious Surface: Any surface through which rainfall cannot pass or be effectively absorbed. (Roads, buildings, paved parking lots, sidewalks etc.) Incentive Zoning: Provides for give and take compromise on zoning restrictions, allowing for more flexibility to provide environmental protection. Incentive zoning allows a developer to exceed a zoning ordinance's limitations if the developer agrees to fulfill conditions specified in the ordinance. The developer may be allowed to exceed height limits by a specified amount in exchange for providing open spaces or plazas adjacent to the building. Inclusionary zoning: A system that requires a minimum percentage of lower and moderate income housing to be provided in new developments. Inclusionary programs are based on mandatory requirements or development incentives, such as density bonuses. Infill Development: Infill projects use vacant or underutilized land in previously developed areas for buildings, parking, and other uses. Infrastructure: Water and sewer lines, roads, urban transit lines, schools and other public facilities needed to support developed areas. Intermodal: Those issues or activities which involve or affect more than one mode of transportation, including transportation connections, choices, cooperation and coordination of various modes. Also known as "multimodal." IPLAN: A term developed by the New Jersey Office of State Planning to describe their strategy to support compact development and redevelopment, and locate the most efficient use of infrastructure and other systems. IPLAN encourages development in population centers, such as urban centers, towns, regional centers, villages, and hamlets. ISTEA/TEA-21 (Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century): Federal legislation that encompasses all transportation regulation and funding (Inter-modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was the original title). J Jitney: Privately-owned, small or medium-sized vehicle usually operated on a fixed route but not on a fixed schedule. K L Land Trusts: Nonprofit organizations interested in the protection of natural resources and historic areas. Activities include public education, purchase and coordination of conservation easements, and planning services. Land Use: The manner in which a parcel of land is used or occupied. Leapfrog Development: Development that occurs beyond the limits of existing development and creates areas of vacant land between areas of developed land. Level of Service (LOS): A qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream in terms of speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenience, and safety. Level A denotes the best traffic conditions while Level F indicates gridlock. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a development proposal evaluates the impact the development will have on the LOS standards for police, fire, utilities, parks, schools and traffic in the effected area. Location Efficient Mortgage: A lending program that allows homebuyers to borrow more money based on the transportation cost savings of living near mass transit. Lot Area: Lot area is the total square footage of horizontal area included within the property lines. Zoning ordinances typically set a minimum required lot area for building in a particular zoning district. M Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO): The organization designated by local elected officials as being responsible for carrying out the urban transportation and other planning processes for an area. Mitigation: Process or projects replacing lost or degraded resources, such as wetlands or habitat, at another location. Mixed Use Development: Development that is created in response to patterns of separate uses that are typical in suburban areas necessitating reliance on cars. Mixed use developments include residential, commercial, and business accommodations in one area. MLUL (Municipal Land Use Law): The legislation under which land use planning and decisions are carried out at the local level, specifies the process for such determination and usage. Modal Split: A term that describes how many people use alternative forms of transportation. Frequently used to describe the percentage of people using private automobiles as opposed to the percentage using public transportation. N National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): A comprehensive federal law requiring analysis of the environmental impacts of federal actions such as the approval of grants; also requiring preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for every major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Neo-Traditional Development: A traditional neighborhood, where a mix of different types of residential and commercial developments form a tightly knit unit. Residents can walk or bike to more of the places they need to go and municipal services costs are lower due to the close proximity of residences. A more compact development also reduces the amount of rural land that must be converted to serve urban needs. New Urbanism: Neighborhood design trend used to promote community and livability. Characteristics include narrow streets, wide sidewalks, porches, and homes located closer together than typical suburban designs. NIMBY ("Not In My Backyard"): NIMBY is an acronym for the "Not in my backyard" sentiment that exists among some people who do not want any type of change in their neighborhood. Non-Point Source Pollution (NPS): Pollution that cannot be identified as coming from a specific source and thus cannot be controlled through the issuing of permits. Storm water runoff and some deposits from the air fall into this category. O Open Space: Used to describe undeveloped land or land that is used for recreation. Farmland as well as all natural habitats (forests, fields, wetlands etc.) is lumped in this category. Overlay Districts: Zoning districts in which additional regulatory standards are superimposed on existing zoning. Overlay districts provide a method of placing special restrictions in addition to those required by basic zoning ordinances. P Performance Zoning: Establishes minimum criteria to be used when assessing whether a particular project is appropriate for a certain area; ensures that the end result adheres to an acceptable level of performance or compatibility. This type of zoning provides flexibility with the well-defined goals and rules found in conventional zoning. Plan: A statement of policies, including text and diagrams, setting forth objectives, principles, standards, and plan proposals for the future physical development of the city or county. Planning: The process of setting development goals and policy, gathering and evaluating information, and developing alternatives for future actions based on the evaluation of the information. Planned Unit Development (PUD): PUDs are areas that are planned and developed as one entity, by a single group. Planned unit developments usually include a variety of uses, including different housing types of varying densities, open space, and commercial uses. Project planning and density is calculated for the entire development rather than individual lots. Purchase of Development Rights: Programs through which local governments may purchase development rights and dedicate the land for conservation easements, protecting it as open space or agricultural areas. Q Quality of Life: Those aspects of the economic, social and physical environment that make a community a desirable place in which to live or do business. Quality of life factors include those such as climate and natural features, access to schools, housing, employment opportunities, medical facilities, cultural and recreational amenities, and public services. R Rehabilitation: In communities with a large stock of older housing or other structures that could lend themselves more easily to conversion into residential units, rehabilitation can be a very affordable and environmentally-friendly way to provide more housing, commercial areas, and offices. Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS): Development rules (disseminated by DCA) that delineate infrastructure requirements for new residential areas. (Road widths, sidewalks, type of materials used, etc.) Riparian Area: Vegetated ecosystems along a waterbody through which energy, materials, and water pass. Riparian areas characteristically have a high water table and are subject to periodic flooding. Runoff: The water that flows off the surface of the land, ultimately into our streams and water bodies, without being absorbed into the soil. S Siltation: Process by which loose soil is transferred and builds up in streams, rivers, and lakes, causing changes in stream channels and in depth. It may result in filling in an area and/or causing flooding. Site Plan: A scaled plan showing proposed uses and structures for a parcel of land. A site plan could also show the location of lot lines, the layout of buildings, open space, parking areas, landscape features, and utility lines. Smart Growth: Well-planned development that protects open space and farmland, revitalizes communities, keeps housing affordable and provides more transportation choices. Special Districts: Geographic areas in which fees or taxes are collected to fund investments or services benefiting properties within the district. Sprawl: Development patterns where rural land is converted to urban/suburban uses more quickly than needed to house new residents and support new businesses, and people become more dependent on automobiles. Sprawl defines patterns of urban growth that includes large acreage of low-density residential development, rigid separation between residential and commercial uses, residential and commercial development in rural areas away from urban centers, minimal support for non-motorized transportation methods, and a lack of integrated transportation and land use planning. State Plan (State Development and Redevelopment Plan/SDRP): A body of goals and objectives delineating the future physical appearance of New Jersey after consultation at all levels of government. Stream Corridor: The area (containing wetlands, flood plains, woodlands, unique habitats, and steep slopes) which lies between relatively level uplands and stream banks and through which water, draining from the uplands, flows and is naturally cleansed and stored. Base flow for streams comes from ground water as springs and seeps. Streetscape: The space between the buildings on either side of a street that defines its character. The elements of a streetscape include: building frontage/façade; landscaping (trees, yards, bushes, plantings, etc.); sidewalks; street paving; street furniture (benches, kiosks, trash receptacles, fountains, etc.); signs; awnings; and street lighting. Sustainable Development: Development with the goal of preserving environmental quality, natural resources and livability for present and future generations. Sustainable initiatives work to ensure efficient use of resources. Subdivision: A subdivision occurs as the result of dividing land into lots for sale or development. SWAP (Source Water Assessment Plan): A requirement of the 1996 amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that an assessment and protection plan be developed for each surface water source used for drinking water. New Jersey is in the process of developing such a plan. T Taking: A taking occurs when a government action violates the 5th Amendment property rights of a landowner by taking a piece of property without offering fair compensation. "Takings" include physical acquisitions of land, and may include regulations that unduly deprive landowners of certain uses of their property or have the effect of diminishing the value of property. Tax Increment Financing: A program designed to leverage private investment for economic development projects in a manner that enhances the benefits accrued to the public interest. TEA-21 (Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century): Federal legislation that encompasses all transportation regulation and funding (Inter-modal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was the original title). Traditional Neighborhoods: Traditional neighborhood development emphasizes two broad goals: to reduce the destruction of habitat and natural resources, and to reduce dependency on automobiles and their associated impacts; and to reduce polluting emissions, excessive use of energy and fragmentation of the landscape. Traditional neighborhood design is a development approach that reflects historic settlement patterns and town planning concepts such as gridded, narrow streets, reduced front and side setbacks, and an orientation of streets and neighborhoods around a pedestrian oriented "town center." Such an approach usually requires modifications to zoning and subdivision regulations. Transfer of Development Rights: A system that assigns development rights to parcels of land and gives landowners the option of using those rights to develop or to sell their land. TDRs are used to promote conservation and protection of land by giving landowners the right to transfer the development rights of one parcel to another parcel. By selling development rights, a landowner gives up the right to develop his/her property, but the buyer could use the rights to develop another piece of land at a greater intensity than would otherwise be permitted. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD): The development of housing, commercial space, services, and job opportunities in close proximity to public transportation. Reduces dependency on cars and time spent in traffic, which protects the environment and can ease traffic congestion, as well as increasing opportunity by linking residents to jobs and services. Transit Nodes: Stops along a public transportation route where people board and disembark, often where one or more routes intersect with each other. These sites can provide ideal locations for mixed-use development as well as transit-oriented development. U Upzone: To change the zoning of a tract or parcel of land from a lesser to greater intensity of usage. An example would be a change in zoning from single family to multi-family or mixed use. USGS (United States Geological Survey): A federal agency which provides mapping of topography, aquifer levels, and areas where aquifers are recharged. Urban Growth Boundary: A line drawn around a city that prohibits development outside that boundary. Designed to slow or prevent sprawl, UGBs are designed to accommodate growth for a designated period of time and are used to guide infrastructure development. Portland, Oregon is the most commonly cited example of an urban growth boundary. Use Value Taxation: Land assessments according to the value of the present use rather than the speculative value. V Variance: The relaxation of requirements of a zoning district for a specific parcel or tract of land. Variances are often issued to avoid unnecessary hardships to a landowner. W Watershed: The geographic area which drains into a specific body of water. A watershed may contain several sub-watersheds. Wetlands: Area having specific hydric soil and water table characteristics supporting or capable of supporting wetlands vegetation. X Y Z Zero-lot-line Development: A development option where side yard restrictions are reduced and the building abuts a side lot line. Overall unit-lot densities are therefore increased. Zero-lot-line development can result in increased protection of natural resources. Zoning: Classification of land in a community into different areas and districts. Zoning is a legislative process that regulates building dimensions, density, design, placement and use within each district.