1. Balancing Development
and Conservation
in Transit-Oriented
Development
Tim Evans • New Jersey Future
2013 NJ Land Conservation Rally • March 9, 2013

2. New Jersey Future is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization that brings together concerned citizens
and leaders to promote responsible land-use policies.
The organization employs original research, analysis and
advocacy to build coalitions and drive land-use policies
that help revitalize cities and towns, protect natural
lands and farms, provide more transportation choices
beyond cars, expand access to safe and affordable
neighborhoods and fuel a prosperous economy.

3. Assessing Development
[and Preservation]
Opportunities Around New
Jersey’s Transit Stations

5. More Transit Hubs…But
Where?
[suggestions from Getting to Work]
Can we be systematic about
prioritizing candidates?

6. Prioritizing TOD Investments
Database of all 243 distinct transit stations in
New Jersey:
• 12 ferry terminals
• 16 major bus terminals not served by
any other modes
• 205 served only by rail
• 10 multi-modal stations [e.g. Hoboken
Terminal, Newark Penn Station, Walter Rand Transp.
Center in Camden]

7. Prioritizing TOD Investments
• Operating characteristics of each station: current
ridership, frequency of service, number of lines/modes
serving, parking spaces available
• Characteristics of station neighborhood [as defined by NJT]:
median HH income, vehicle ownership, population
density, vacant housing units – basically ANY data
published at Census tract level
• Characteristics of station’s host municipality: per-capita
property tax base, property tax rate – basically ANY data
published at muni level – parkland per capita, %
undeveloped land, % of land still developable

9. Population density (2009) > 20,000 per
square mile in station area
• 9th St. (HBLR) [Hoboken]
• 2nd St. (HBLR) [Hoboken]
• Hoboken Terminal
• Harborside (HBLR) [Jersey City]
• Grove St. PATH [Jersey City]
• Lincoln Harbor (HBLR) [Weehawken]
• Bloomfield Ave (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Journal Square [Jersey City]
• Harsimus (HBLR) [Jersey City]
• Park Ave (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Orange St. (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Elizabeth

10. Walkability is a key characteristic of TOD:
station neighborhoods with > 45% of households having zero
vehicles available
• Warren St. (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Washington St. (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Newark Airport [Newark]
• Norfolk St. (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Military Park (Newark Subway) [Newark]
• Journal Square [Jersey City]
• Paterson
• Newport / Pavonia [Jersey City]
• Newark – Penn Station

11. Preservation!

12. Stations with host municipality > 50% land
undevelopable (preserved or constrained)
• Atco [Waterford Twp., Camden County]
• Atlantic City
• Egg Harbor City
• Gillette
• Stirling Long Hill Twp., Morris County
• Millington
• Mahwah
• Hammonton
• Lincoln Park
Most new development will probably be on already-developed land

13. Stations with host municipality having > 20% of
land undeveloped but still developable
• Far Hills
• Vineland Transp. Center [bus terminal]
• Peapack
• Gladstone
Can new
• White House [Readington Twp.]
• Florence development be
• Roebling [Florence Twp.] steered to
• Annandale [Clinton Twp.] already-
• Hammonton developed land?
• Lakewood Bus Terminal
• Bernardsville
• North Branch [Branchburg Twp.]
• Mountain Lakes

14. Transit-hosting municipalities that are at least
80 percent developed but with less than 1 acre
of parkland per 1,000 residents
• Hoboken • Paterson • Point Pleasant
• Roselle Park • Plainfield • Perth Amboy
• Garfield • Dunellen • Elizabeth
• •
•
Irvington
Glen Ridge •
Belmar
Clifton
•
•
Park Ridge
Manasquan
More urban
• Union City • Waldwick • Little Falls green space
• Collingswood • Rahway • Madison
• Orange • Spring Lake • Little Silver needed!
• Passaic • Weehawken • Somerville
• Asbury Park • Bayonne • Hillsdale
• Garwood • River Edge • Linden
• Fanwood • Teterboro • Raritan borough
• East Orange • Edgewater • Bound Brook
• Wood-Ridge • Hawthorne • Pennsauken [River Line stations]
• Freehold • Oradell • Wildwood [bus terminal]
• Bradley Beach • Harrison • Woodbridge Twp.
• Hackensack • Haddon Twp. [Westmont PATCO] • North Bergen
• South Orange • Westwood • Cherry Hill
• Allenhurst • Metuchen • New Brunswick
• Bloomfield • Haddonfield • Woodcliff Lake
• Red Bank

15. Can new development be steered to
already-developed land?
Tool: “Non-contiguous clustering”

16. Why Cluster?
Put development where it makes the most sense
Preserve open space or farmland without using tax payer funds

17. Conventional Development
• “Large lot zoning”
• Uniform lot sizes
• Development covers
most or all of the site

18. Contiguous Cluster Development
• Development is
concentrated on a
portion of the site
• Remaining land is
preserved as open
space or farmland
without relying on
public purchase

19. Noncontiguous Cluster
Development
Two or more non-adjacent parcels are treated as
a single site for the purpose of clustering.

20. Simple Example: All allowed units on both parcels are
built on one [yellow], and the other is preserved [green]

21. More Complex Example: Multiple non-contiguous
parcels are treated as one, with one parcel serving as
the receiving area

22. Implementation in New Jersey
Ten towns with ordinances:
• Delaware
• Hillsborough*
• Hopewell
• Middle
• Monroe*
• Mt. Olive*
• North Hanover
• Ocean
• Plainsboro*
• Robbinsville*
* Five towns with
noncontiguous cluster
developments

23. “Reduced demand for auto travel, improved
travel options, less air and water pollution”
Using TOD to Shrink Your Carbon Footprint:
Why are greenhouse gases a transportation
issue?
Transportation sector is dominant source of carbon
emissions, contributing 35 percent of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas total
How are greenhouse-gas emissions from
transportation a land-use issue?

24. Total emissions = low-emissions
vehicles, alternat
[emissions per gallon] e fuels
x [gallons per mile (i.e. the inverse of average
MPG)] fuel efficiency
x [total miles (VMT)]
amount of travel
Or: total emissions = [emissions per mile] x [miles]

25. Vehicle-Miles Traveled (VMT)
• Land use patterns – particularly decisions we make
about how far apart to build things – determine how
much people have to drive
• These decisions have long-lasting implications:
buildings last a lot longer than cars
• Putting things closer together makes some trips
walkable, makes transit more viable, and makes
many car trips shorter

26. LAND USE IN TOD
• Higher-density development -- supports
transit.
• Mixed use development -- provides
origins and destinations for transit users.
• Compact development form -- encourages
walking and bicycling.

27. Thank you!
Tim Evans
Director of Research
timevans@njfuture.org
New Jersey Future
137 W. Hanover St.
Trenton, N.J. 08618
609-393-0008 ext. 103
http://www.njfuture.org