Planning and Preservation

In honor of Día de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, falling on November 1 in 2023, the Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation has released an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap© of Morris County cemeteries.

“This latest story map compliments earlier story maps produced by our Office of Planning and Preservation that highlight our history and legacy of preserving that history. Today it is fitting that we build on that legacy with a story map that recognizes the county’s early residents who paved the way for the county we reside in today. We invite you to explore our newest release complete with photos, background and geographic data to learn how residents of the past helped inform our present,” said Commissioner Stephen Shaw, liaison to the Office of Planning and Preservation.

Read the full press release. 

The Census Bureau has released its 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates for geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more.* The 2022 ACS includes estimates for various topics including income, educational attainment, housing and transportation. Highlights include:

• At $164,984, Morris County had the highest median family income and at $131,795 the third highest median household income among all 21 counties in New Jersey.
• At $546,600, Morris County had the third highest median housing value among all counties in the state.
• At 58.9%, Morris County had the second highest percentage of the population age 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher among all counties in the state.

Updates pertaining to these and other topics have been posted to the Data and Statistics page of this website.

*There are no municipalities in Morris County with a population of 65,000 or more, so for Morris County, this data applies at the county level only.

For Independence Day 2023, Morris County is proud to announce its latest installment to the Veterans Compendium project, “Morris County in the American Revolution,” an interactive ArcGIS StoryMap© complete with an introductory video, photos, background and geographic data on the local soldiers, civilians and places involved in winning our nation’s independence!

In conjunction with the story map launch, the Morris County Board of County Commissioners announced it is forming a committee to celebrate the 250th anniversary (semiquincentennial) of American Independence.

Check out the American Revolution Story Map!

Read the full press release. 

The Morris County Office of Planning and Preservation has launched an online application allowing Morris County Planning Board applicants to digitally submit their documents and make required fee payments.

Hard copies of applications will still be required; however, digital submissions will provide the public a more convenient option to pay by credit card or electronic check via ACH (Automatic Clearing House) in addition to traditional paper checks.

“The pandemic prompted us to consider options to paper checks, and this electronic means also enables us to ensure the billing is done correctly in advance. Honest mistakes are made, and this can provide guidance at the start,” said Joseph Barilla, Director of the Morris County Office of Planning & Preservation.

Once an application has been submitted, planning staff will confirm the correct fee by doing a preliminary evaluation to determine the specifics of the project.  Staff will send the applicant a digital invoice and they can pay by whichever method is appropriate for them.

The new online form can be found on the Land Development Review Sections homepage:

https://www.morriscountynj.gov/Departments/Planning-and-Preservation/Divisions/Planning-Division/Land-Development-Review

A direct link to the form may be found here:

https://morriscountynj.seamlessdocs.com/f/landDevReview

Director Barilla also said that digital document submissions will enable the office to build a database on project documents that are more conveniently accessed and maintained over time.

Anyone with questions about this process or any Land Development Review submittals, you may reach out to staff at [email protected] or call (973) 829-8120.

This fall, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts will be kicking off “Rising Together, NJ,” a social media campaign that encourages people to come together to share their experiences with flooding in New Jersey. Ultimately, the goal is to compile these experiences into an archive everyone can use to support flood risk outreach and education efforts.

Learn more and share your story!