SOMERSET COUNTY PRESERVATION PLAN

About the Program

Category: Planning (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

Somerset County, New Jersey adopted the Somerset County Preservation Plan on May 17, 2022, which is believed to be the first of its kind in New Jersey and possibly the United States. The Plan combines into one, an updated Parks, Recreation, & Open Space Master Plan (2000), an updated Comprehensive Farmland Preservation Plan (2008), and a new Historic Preservation Plan, all of which provide land use, funding, and partnership strategies for preservation in Somerset County. The Plan links the three programs, and incorporates climate change mitigation, economic development, and tourism strategies. This Plan supports the Somerset County Investment Framework and the County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy that were adopted as part of the County Master Plan. Since the Plan’s adoption, several recommendations have been initiated including focusing on the restoration and adaptive reuse of County-owned historic resources, developing a new nonprofit preservation funding partnership and increasing the focus on agriculture as a viable business and tourism resource in the County.