Technical Assistance Directory
Community & Land Use Planning
AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION - NJ CHAPTER
- Nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes planning and redevelopment, and provides policy advocacy.
- Advocacy for resilience planning to address climate risks and hazards.
- Provides technical planning assistance to underserved communities/municipalities for planning projects.
Contact
Sheena Collum
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
American Planning Association Website
BRS, INC. (BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS, INC.)
- Planning assistance including local land use planning; economic development assistance; brownfields management from assessment to redevelopment; and the preservation or development of community resources, including historic properties, cultural resources, parks, and open spaces.
- Sustainability and resiliency planning including risk assessment and mitigation through green infrastructure solutions to floodplain and stormwater management and resilient energy strategies.
- Funding identification, grant writing, and grant management.
- Outsourced staffing/owner’s representation, project management, community outreach.
Contact
Carolyn Reinhardt
856-964-6456
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- Marsh Restoration and Resiliency Project - Client: Township of Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton
- Sustainability Planning in the Bayfront Redevelopment Area - Client: Jersey City Redevelopment Agency
- Virtual Public Engagement Using EPA and FEMA Regional Resilience Toolkit - Client: EPA
DAVEY RESOURCE GROUP
- Environmental services with an emphasis on: Natural resources analyses; Coastal resilience planning; Forest, wetland, and stream habitat restoration; Wetland and riparian zone mitigation; Living shoreline designs; Wetlands, flood hazard area, and coastal permitting; Endangered and threatened species studies and habitat management plans; Aquatic and marine surveys; Tree surveys; Invasive species management; Stormwater management and BMP inspections; Construction monitoring and permit compliance
Contact
Damian Holynskyj
201-259-7349
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
DELAWARE VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION
- Assistance analyzing and planning for climate risks and hazards.
- Technical guidance, data, and resources to support climate change resiliency planning and implementation, including a full suite of planning services to assist local governments efforts to be more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Contact
Chris Linn
215-238-2873
Region(s) Served
Mercer, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties
Resources
- Coastal Effects of Climate Change in Southeastern PA
- A Resilient Greater Philadelphia
- Burlington City Coastal Vulnerability Assessment
- Municipal Management in a Changing Climate - Municipal Implementation Tool
- Municipal Management of Extreme Heat
- Climate Change Resiliency Webpage
FEMA REGION II
- Assistance to communities to become more resilient, be better prepared, advance preventative mitigation, recover from disasters, and adapt to changing hazards.
- Publications to assist with planning, understanding risks, and understanding techniques to lessen losses.
- Programs that help make communities safer and rebound quicker and more completely after an event.
Contact
Deborah Costa (Preparedness)
202-257-6645
John A. Miller, P.E., CFM (Mitigation)
202-957-4171
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- Plan Ahead for Disasters | Ready.gov
- Guides to Expanding Mitigation | FEMA.gov
- Hazard Mitigation Planning | FEMA.gov
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center | Welcome!
- Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants | FEMA.gov
- Mitigation Funding Resource Guides | FEMA.gov
- Building Science | FEMA.gov
JACQUES COUSTEAU NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE - COASTAL TRAINING PROGRAM
- Communications and outreach support including: Meeting facilitation; Steering committee participation; Stakeholder engagement; Workshop design; Survey design.
- Resilience planning including assistance with tools such as NJFloodMapper.org and Getting to Resilience.
Contact
Vanessa Tropiano
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- NJFloodMapper.org
- Getting to Resilience - Community Planning Evaluation Tool
- Whole-Community Climate Resilience Planning
MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY URBAN COAST INSTITUTE
- Guidance, advice, and technical support to communities on science-based resilience decision making, policy, vulnerability assessments, and resilience project planning and design.
Contact
Tom Herrington
732-263-5588
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- UCI Community Resilience and Climate Adaptation Resources
- NJ Sea Grant Consortium Resilient Communities and Economies Specialist
- NJ Sea Grant Consortium Resilient Communities Resources
- UCI Mission and Staff
NEW JERSEY FUTURE
- Nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes sensible and equitable growth, redevelopment, and infrastructure investments to foster healthy, strong, and resilient communities.
- Services include: Conduct a climate vulnerability assessment; Develop a local resilience plan or strategy; Update flood and land use ordinances; Apply for or enhance status in the CRS program; Assess a stormwater utility; Plan for green infrastructure.
Contact
Tanya Rohrbach
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- Local Options/Local Actions: Resilience Strategies Case Studies Report
- Green Infrastructure Municipal Toolkit
- Developer’s Green Infrastructure Guide
- New Jersey Stormwater Utility Resource Center
NJ CLIMATE CHANGE RESOURCE CENTER
- Assistance with planning tools including NJ ADAPT.
- Climate Resilience Corps of graduate students trained in climate resilience planning. provides support to municipalities in assessing hazards from changing climate conditions
- Support with: Hazard mitigation planning; Climate resilience planning; Plan Endorsement as per the New Jersey Office of Planning Advocacy resilience guidelines; 2021 statutory requirement that the land use plan element of a municipal master plan include a climate-change-related hazard vulnerability assessment.
Contact
Jeanne Herb
848-932-2725
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
NJ COUNTY PLANNERS ASSOCIATION
- Assistance related to land use and development through County planning offices.
- Contact your County office (see resources) for additional information regarding programs and resources that may be available.
Contact
Ranae Fehr
Region(s) served
Statewide
Resources
NJ DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - CLIMATE RESILIENCE PLANNING
- Municipal planning for climate resilience, including the requirements of the Municipal Land Use Law to incorporate a climate change-related hazard vulnerability assessment into municipal master plans.
Contact
Rebecca Hill
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
NJ OFFICE OF PLANNING ADVOCACY
- Assistance related to NJ Municipal Land Use Law, NJ Development and Redevelopment Plan, and Plan Endorsement
- Assistance with: Strategies for coordinating land use practices; Master planning and zoning
Contact
Lisa Avichal
Region(s) Served
Statewide
NJ SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM
- Affiliation of colleges, universities, and other groups dedicated to advancing knowledge and stewardship of NJ’s marine and coastal environment.
- Mission is to promote the wise use of NJ’s marine and coastal resources through innovative research, education, and outreach programs.
- Broad spectrum of specialists and extension agents to assist communities in meeting their coastal resilience goals.
- Assistance with economic coastal resilience issues including the development of shellfish aquaculture and marine industries (marinas, bait and tackles).
Contact
Pete Rowe
Region(s) Served
Statewide
NJ SPORTS AND EXPOSITION AUTHORITY
- The Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute, the science division of the NJ Sports & Exposition Authority, undertakes environmental research and ecological restoration throughout the Meadowlands District.
- Resources include: Long-term databases for air, water and soil; Research to better manage our natural resources and preserve and restore our coastal, riparian, and upland natural areas.
Contact
Terry Doss
201-460-4919
Region(s) Served
The Meadowlands District
NORTH JERSEY TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AUTHORITY
- Forward information to locals, state agencies and operating agencies.
- Information on climate science.
- Resources and information on electric vehicles.
- Assistance connecting to Together North Jersey initiative.
Contact
Jennifer Fogliano
Region(s) Served
Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties
Resources
- Together North Jersey Local Technical Assistance Program
- Key Electric Vehicle Resources
- Passaic River Basin Climate Resilience Planning Study
- Alternative Fuel Vehicles
NY-NJ HARBOR & ESTUARY PROGRAM, HUDSON RIVER FOUNDATION
- Consultation on resiliency projects that also provide habitat or have water quality benefits.
- Assistance connecting to local stewardship groups.
- Help developing projects to monitor local streams to combat flooding issues.
Contact
Isabelle Stinnette
Region(s) Served
Hudson, Raritan, and Raritan Bay watersheds
STOCKTON UNIVERSITY COASTAL RESEARCH CENTER
- Physical data collection and analysis on coastal processes to define changes over time and drivers of current issues including shoreline and inlet data (topographic & hydrographic); water quality, nuisance flood, and wave forcing instrument deployment; GIS mapping and visualization.
- Evaluation and interpretation of data from others and over long time periods to predict outcomes of changes being observed now.
- Identification of root causes of coastal management issues and assembling solutions.
- Working with state and federal agencies to finalize project plans or designs for permits.
Contact
Kim McKenna
609-652-4245
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources
- Final Report for 2020 on the Condition of the Municipal Oceanfront Beaches Bathymetry of Townsends Inlet, The Borough of Avalon, Cape May County, New Jersey
- Final Report for 2020 on Changes to the Municipal Beaches, The Borough Of Mantoloking, Ocean County, New Jersey
USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE
- Technical soil services including soil surveys and sampling.
- Interpreting and describing soils to support land use and management decisions.
Contact
David Steinmann
Region(s) Served
Southern NJ - Mercer County and south
Resources
WATERFRONT ALLIANCE
- The WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) rating system recognizes developers and landowners for resilient, sustainable, and accessible infrastructure and design at the water’s edge.
- WEDG projects face fewer coastal climate risks and maximize social and ecological benefits through technical review to determine whether the project meets the highest possible standard for resilience, ecology, and access.
- The WEDG Professionals program offers continuing education, credentialing, and networking for design, real estate, planning, community development, and risk professionals.
Contact
Karen Imas
Region(s) Served
Statewide
Resources