Sustainable Jersey Program Update – Part 2: New Actions

November 18, 2015

• Donna Drewes

Arts and Creative Culture Action Update

Leo Vazquez, Executive Director National Consortium for Creative Placemaking

November 18, 2015

Sustainable Jersey Actions• Establish a Creative Team (Prerequisite for

other Arts and Creative Culture actions) – 10 pts

• Creative Assets Inventory – 10 pts

• Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets – 10-30 pts

• Creative Placemaking Plan – 10 pts

New Action for 2015

Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets (variable points –

10-30 points)

Envisioned as a “next step” between inventorying your creative assets and developing a Creative Placemaking

Plan

Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets

• For each application for certification, your municipality must complete at least one project.

• You can provide information about new projects or existing or ongoing projects as long as you show how you are “connecting the dots” between things that are already being done. You may receive 10 points for each project.

Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets

• Submission Requirements: Submit a report describing your project and your project’s goals. (Template provided in action)

• Articulate how the work you are submitting documents an intentional collaboration between your municipal government and any one or more of the following: Schools; Community Development Corporations; Economic Development; Chamber of Commerce; Local businesses and institutions and/or Grassroots efforts and partnerships with non-profit organizations; Artists and arts organizations; Others

Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets

• Explain what you wanted to accomplish by implementing this project. Describe the outcomes, benefits, and lessons learned.

• These may include benefits from the process of developing this project, such as building collaborative partnerships, engaging the community, or having a high performing Creative Team, with cross-pollination between your municipal green team and the Creative Team.

Utilizing Your Community’s Creative Assets

• If stimulating continuous or renewed engagement in an established project, describe the project in detail and explain how it meets all of the above criteria.

• Upload minutes of a council meeting where your project was discussed

Dan Saunders

Historic Preservation and Sustainability

• If the building is still here after 100 years, it has proved itself to be sustainable

The greenest building is the one that is already built

Frugal, Flexible, Durable and Lovable

Municipal Master Plan

NJAC 40:55D-28Historic Preservation is an optional element of

the Master Plan

Required parts of a Historic Preservation Element

a) Location, significance of historic sitesb) Standards/criteria for designationc) Analyze impacts of master plan on sites

This action is worth 10 points

The Historic Preservation Element must include:I. Executive SummaryII. IntroductionIII. Context – Historical background and how

that is expressed in the Architectural fabricIV. Inventory – list of known cultural resourcesV. Significance - what is historic/what are the

criteria

VI. Public Policy Review – review of how the other elements of the plan including zoning impact the historic sites/districtsVII. Integrity/Existing Conditions/IssuesIX. Evaluation of Public Policy Choices – an assessment of actions a community may take to foster preservationX. Action Plan/Agenda

Looking for a good example?

• http://cityofbordentown.com/Mainpage/FINAL%202011%20Bordentown%20City%20HistoricPres%20Element%20wo%20Appx_031812.pdf

Bonus to get you there

• Preparation of a Historic Preservation Element is an eligible CLG grants activity.

• Sustainable Jersey Bronze Communities have 1 point added to their grant application review score

• Sustainable Jersey Silver Communities have 2 point added to their grant application review score

What other Sustainable Jersey actions we are working on:• Sustainable Guidelines (NPS model)• “Strong” Ordinance• Guidance on adding historic and cultural

properties to Sustainable Jersey asset mapping

For More Information, Contact:

• Andrea Tingey (609) 984-0539

Bill Brash

Why Wildfire Actions? 1.1 Million acres in Pine Barrens alone 800,000+ residents. 7 Counties and 42 Municipalities within the

Pine Barrens “fire dependent ecosystem”. More Municipalities share the “fire

dependent ecosystem” outside the Pinelands boundaries.

Freehold Township Howell Township Toms River Township Lakewood Township are just a few…….

There is a need to make Municipalities aware of the risk and the programs available to them and their residents to reduce the risk.

Wildfire and Sustainable Jersey

Barnegat Township 31 major wildfires since

1924. (> 100 acres) Barnegat is about 22,000

acres in land area. Since 1924 those 31

wildfires have burned 154,000 acres or the Township has been completed burned over 7 times.

The deeper the color red on the map the more fires that area has experienced.

Sustainable Jersey Wildfire Actions

Community Wildfire Protection Plans These are Municipal based plans designed to:

Identify limitations to suppressing wildfires: Water availability, equipment access, street names, house numbers

Identify critical areas for fuel reduction treatments Prescribed burning Forest thinning Fuel break installation

Identify possible structural ignitibility issues (wood frame houses surrounded by forest vs. brick homes with large lawns)

Identify outreach capabilities and strategies Institute an action plan with funding to address what the planning

process identified.

http://www.nj.gov/dep/grantandloanprograms/nhr_wildfire.html

Sustainable Jersey Wildfire Actions

Ready-Set-Go An outreach program delivered through your local fire

company on evacuation strategies Conceived by the Australians in response to the Black Friday

wildfires that burned 5 million acres and killed 71 people in 1939.

Individual household plans for evacuation. Ready: What to prepare ahead of time to take with you (medicine,

glasses, cash, credit cards, pets). Know ahead of time where you will go. “Go kits”

Set: Be situational aware of the risk and wait for instructions. Go: When told to evacuate, no searching for items, you go.

http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/

Sustainable Jersey Wildfire Actions

Fire Wise Community Action Neighborhoods or communities can apply to NJDEP-

Forest Fire Service to become a Firewise CommunityEstablish a Firewise CommitteeHold at least 1 meeting/year Sponsor an outreach or fuel reduction project every year. Learn about defensible space and how you can protect

your home and family from wildfire.Earn extra points for multiple Firewise communities and

“mentoring”

www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/fire/firewise.htm

Linda Weber

Lauren Skowronski

PIE Actions: Citizen Engagement

Improve Public Engagement in 1) Municipal Government, and 2) Planning & Zoning• Create notification process for public to receive relevant updates

• Increase publication of public meetings and post relevant materials prior to meeting … giving public enough time to review

• Stream public meetings live and/or record and post online

• Adopt rules for citizen input

• 1) only: Move public comment portions to beginning of meetings

• 1) only: Increase access & interactions with governing body

• Extra 5 pts: Collect public input on key issues/proposals through varied means

Benefits: Citizens are more informed Decision makers have greater access to public

PIE Actions: Communications

Municipal Communications Strategy (10 pts)

• Inventory all public communication channels being used by & available to the municipality and its residents

• Best practices for municipal websites (ease of use & regular maintenance)

Benefits: Increased chance of public seeing your message; broader reach

Streamlined way to get message out

Saves money – free platforms

PIE Actions: Citizen Engagement

Improve Public Engagement in 1) Municipal Government, and 2) Planning & Zoning• Create notification process for public to receive relevant updates

• Increase publication of public meetings and post relevant materials prior to meeting … giving public enough time to review

• Stream public meetings live and/or record and post online

• Adopt rules for citizen input

• 1) only: Move public comment portions to beginning of meetings

• 1) only: Increase access & interactions with governing body

• Extra 5 pts: Collect public input on key issues/proposals through varied means

Benefits: Citizens are more informed Decision makers have greater access to public

PIE Actions: Citizen Engagement

Online Municipal Public Service Systems (10-15 pts)

• Provide basic information about public services on website (&/or mobile app)

• Develop a system for the public to report issues, place a request, pay fines, apply for permits

• Make it all trackable

Benefits:

Expands capacity & reach of staff Provides internal performance metrics Improves customer service Gives public a sense of ownership

PIE Actions: Access to Public Info

Digitizing Public Information (10 pts)

• Posting of highly requested public records & information on municipal website in digital format

Benefits: Creates efficiencies – reduces calls & OPRA requests

Saves money – decreases costs for staff time, printing, etc.

Ease of use for the public

Randy Solomon