Lower Delaware Municipalities Get Planning Assistance

The Delaware River Greenway Partnership and the Heritage Conservancy are organizing a one-year collaborative effort to assess how the 35 local governments between Trenton, NJ and Delaware Water Gap, PA approach natural resource protection.

Along the Lower Delaware River, both New Jersey and Pennsylvania have similar  "home rule" systems of government that place land-use decision making into the hands of local government. Many existing ordinances can be optimized and coordinated with those of neighboring municipalities to better protect the river’s resources. The Municipal Ordinance Review Project (MORP) is being conducted to identify and promote the most effective natural resource protection tools used by municipalities that border the Lower Delaware River. This information will be presented in a report that will be distributed to each municipality as well as to the general public. A public forum will be held in December to provide the opportunity for community leaders from both sides of the river to meet and share ideas and success stories.