PlanSmart NJ's Regional Target Calculators
Too many statewide targets have been missed because the goal is too broad or too large to be easily connected to the millions of individual decisions made by the local officials and private citizens. PlanSmart NJ has been working on new ways to break down these goals into manageable, measurable regional targets that address issues affected by local land use planning and infrastructure decision-making.
Greenhouse Gas Calculator©: When it comes to reducing greenhouse gases, the task can seem too big and the demands too many. But PlanSmart NJ has developed Greenhouse Gas Calculator© to help communities find real and manageable ways to reduce auto-dependency on a regional basis.
Currently, most of the regulatory attention is focused on smokestacks and other "point" sources because government officials often feel helpless to address the portion of emissions that comes from cars and trucks - even though transportation actually represents NJ's largest source of carbon dioxide emissions.
PlanSmart NJ's Greenhouse Gas Calculator© helps municipalities to determine just what their clear air responsibility is, by breaking down statewide goals into targets for each county, and then offering a menu of land use planning suggestions on how to achieve these goals.
Such information is critical, because it quite clear that NJ needs to do more in the transportation sector than just reduce tailpipe emissions. The number and length of trips people take must also be reduced as well.
Mercer County, for example, based on the most recent data available, would need to eliminate approximately 25 million car and truck trips - only about seven percent of the current trips - by 2020 if the county is to meet its share of the state clean air goals.
Transit villages and other center-based developments are some ideal planning choices that can get cars off the road. Changing land use patterns results in multiple benefits. Clustered development increases access to jobs for more residents and improves water quality because more open land is preserved. A more efficient transportation system leads to fewer vehicles and shorter trip lengths. Clearly, NJ, and the nation at large, needs to spend more time creating transit options for zero-car households - in addition to developing zero-emission vehicles. For more information about PlanSmart NJ's Greenhouse Gas Calculator©, click here
.
Workforce Housing Calculator©:
The tool takes job targets by economic sector and calculates the number, type, and price of workforce housing units needed to accommodate the expected workforce. This calculation uses an industry sector analysis of the workforce, an inventory of the current housing stock, and estimates of real estate and rental costs.
Jobs-Commutershed Calculator©:
This calculator helps to identify where new transit should go, based on the state’s workforce needs. It identifies where NJ's job centers are and determines the areas included in a reasonable commute: 15 or 30 minutes. Then it calculates worker income levels, compares various commute times, and determines whether adequate transit is in place to get workers from their homes to their jobs.
Impervious Cover Calculator©:
This tool helps communities identify areas that have less that 10 percent impervious cover (buildings, roads, etc.), to ensure that growth is directed away from these areas and instead towards places that are already developed. This calculator will help communities grow in ways that can prevent flooding and preserve water quality and natural habitat.
Open Space Opportunities Calculator©:
This tool can provide important information about who has access to what open space. It shows exactly how much open space needs to be preserved in urban areas to enhance redevelopment efforts and ensure equal access for low-income workers as well as city-dwellers.
Having the right data is critical for good planning, but a strategy for implementation is essential to ensure that the information is used to bring about real change. PlanSmart NJ has developed the Regional Action Plan©, or RAP, to fulfill this need. It is the first public involvement process that is not based on asking open-ended questions such as, "What do you want?" since this usually results in vague goal statements and fragmented decision-making. Instead, the RAP promotes the development of comprehensive plans that coordinate state, regional, and local actions toward the implementation of already adopted policy targets - for housing, jobs, transportation and greenhouse gas reduction, for example. The RAP encourages communities to find the answer to the question, "What can we do together to reach our joint goals?"
The RAP contains a list of measurable objectives and actions to be taken by the parties to the agreement, e.g., amending plans, passing ordinances, adopting best management practices and developing a capital program to meet the objectives of the Regional Action Plan. The goals include the following:
- reduce land and resource consumption,
- reduce auto-dependency,
- improve environmental quality,
- expand choices in transportation and housing,
- balance jobs and housing,
- promote a sustainable economy,
- make the use of public resources more efficient, and
- make the distribution of the costs and benefits of growth more equitable.
The
GOZ® Model is a GIS-based program that calculates zoning yield (build-out)
and associated development impacts for existing zoning and alternative
zoning scenarios. GOZ® uses land use / land cover mapping and environmental
features to determine the amount of land available for development, and
based upon the zoning classifications for that land, it calculates build-out
in terms of residential units and non-residential space. Then, based upon
the projected type and amount of development, it calculates impacts upon
traffic and air pollution, water and sewer demand, water pollution, and
public costs.
The model has several distinctive features, including the following:
- Calculates the impacts of different types and forms of development
- Calculates relative development impacts in different categories, e.g., water quality and transportation
- Allows revising assumptions to zoning classifications, densities, and impact multipliers, and enables one to compare the results of new scenarios with other zoning scenarios
- Enables users to draw new zoning scenarios for testing
PlanSmart NJ has designed the GOZ® model to encourage sound and integrated planning at the local and regional level. GOZ® is an excellent tool enabling planning stakeholders to easily and quickly compare the impacts of alternative development scenarios. The model provides the ability to prepare a future development scenario that accommodates new development while minimizing environmental impacts and maximizing the effectiveness of infrastructure investments.
PlanSmart NJ’s 4-E Planning stresses the interconnectedness between the economy, the environment, regional equity, or social justice issues, and resource efficiency to reduce the cost of government - what we have dubbed the 4-Es. 4-E Planning© can help decision-makers better evaluate where to grow and where to preserve land.
Using GIS and other technology, PlanSmart NJ has developed new planning tools to show how to make the most efficient use possible of all available resources, including existing infrastructure. Equity issues, often overlooked, are also addressed under the 4-E Planning© framework, since problems such as concentrated poverty are costly financial burdens for all taxpayers that can be avoided with better planning.
PlanSmart NJ’s tools are unique because they are designed to work with New Jersey’s often challenging Home Rule system, not against it. The tools can help communities determine for the first time where and how to grow jobs, where and how to build workforce housing, and where and how to create or improve public transportation options - all with the goal of fostering continued prosperity in our state.
Developed for the Urban Growth Targets Project, Plan Mapping© is at the same time a template, a map, and a strategy for resolving differences among various stakeholders who make planning decisions for a particular area. We will use the template to review and compare various plans for their goals, objectives, strategies, and targets. From this review, one can prepare maps to illustrate the outcomes envisioned by the plan. Once the different stakeholders can see how their plans relate to the others, a consolidated map can be used as a tool to resolve any differences.
PlanSmart NJ developed a three-step protocol for allocating statewide total projected growth to Planning Areas based on State Plan policies. We call this protocol the Trend Shift© Tool because it shifts the allocation of growth in the state from the current trend of sprawl development to centered development. Trend Shift© allows us to plan for a future different from the past, using a policy framework based on the State Plan to distribute expected statewide growth to counties and local jurisdictions.
PlanSmart NJ has used the Trend Shift© Tool to calculate two potential growth targets for Trenton. The first was based on State Plan goals. The second was based on DEP's refinement of State Plan goals as expressed in its B.I.G. Map. (See Urban Growth Targets project.)
There are three steps in the Trend Shift© allocation process. Steps 1 and 3 are policy choices based on State Plan goals while Step 2 is a simple numerical ratio of acreages. Although the SDRP was used as a guide, it does not provide enough specificity to complete the protocol. PlanSmart NJ held a charrette with planners and development professionals to explore appropriate allocations for Central Jersey. The allocations described below could be altered to reflect other decisions, but the weights are appropriate to achieve SDRP goals.
Step 1 - Allocate Statewide Growth Increment Based on State Plan Goals
The SDRP calls for most of the growth increment to be "provided for" in PA 1 and 2 (pgs 190, 196) with growth to be "accommodated" in PA 3, 4, and 5 (pgs 201, 208, 217). In order to make specific on the ground allocations, PlanSmart NJ made policy choices to allocate the growth increment as follows:
| Planning Area 1 | 60% |
| Planning Area 2 | 30% |
| Planning Area 3 | 1% |
| Planning Area 4 & 4b | 3% |
| Planning Area 5 | 1% |
PA5b, Pinelands, HMDC were not included as Mercer County does not have any of these lands. Parks were excluded as the growth increment would not be assigned to preserved land.
Step 2 - Disaggregate Statewide Growth Increment by County
Planning Area allocations are disaggregated proportionally to counties using the ratio of county Planning Area acreage to state-wide Planning Area acreage.
Step 3 - Distribute County-wide Allocation Among Planning Areas
Total county-wide growth allocations are distributed within the county based on PlanSmart NJ's interpretation of State Plan policies.
| PA 1 & 2 | Pop | Emp | PA 3, 4, 5 | Pop | Emp |
| Cities | 25% | 45% | Centers | 90% | 95% |
| Centers | 40% | 30% | Environs | 10% | 5% |
| Transit Cores | 25% | 20% | |||
| Environs | 10% | 5% |
PlanSmart NJ's Regional Data Book is a compilation of data on population, employment, income, labor force, housing, transportation, land use / environment, municipal fiscal conditions, and current development activities for PlanSmart NJ's original study region - 32 towns in Mercer, Somerset, and Middlesex Counties. The 2001 Data Book also includes the results of PlanSmart NJ's first build-out analysis using the GOZ® Model.
For information on obtaining the 2001 Data Book or using its resources online, please contact PlanSmart NJ.
PlanSmart NJ has available extensive information and data that we can use to produce maps and conduct analysis with geographic information system (GIS) software. GIS combines mapped features with data attributes, enabling the user to conduct various types of mapping and spatial analysis. As described under the section on 3-Systems Planning©, GIS is the analytical core of our Smart Growth planning approach.
PlanSmart NJ is currently using both ArcGIS® 8.3 and ArcView® 3.2 to prepare maps and other GIS products, and we have two computers available to use for this work.
PlanSmart NJ
has substantial experience in facilitating public outreach and consensus-building
activities. Our value on such activities is that we provide a balanced
perspective to land use and development issues. We promote plans that recognize
and accommodate the need for economic development while identifying and
targeting important natural and cultural resources to preserve. This balanced
perspective has enabled us to work with different groups with different
interests and lead them to achieving consensus on plans or projects that
meet objectives for both development and conservation.
Links
PlanSmart NJ draws upon numerous resources for obtaining information and data for
its planning activities. Click on the following link to view a list of
some of the most important resources we have identified and used.
Links