Planning and Preservation

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have released revised preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (pFIRMs) and an updated Flood Insurance Study (FIS) for Morris County, formally beginning the federal map adoption process.

Once adopted, the revised flood maps will be used to determine flood insurance requirements and eligibility for disaster relief and mitigation funding. The maps also serve as the most reliable source of flood risk information for communities, particularly when evaluating future development and planning decisions.

NJDEP and FEMA will hold a Consultation Coordination Officer meeting with municipal officials and consultants on Jan. 8, 2026. That meeting will be followed by two public open houses where residents can speak directly with state and federal officials about updated flood hazard information. The first open house will be held Jan. 8, 2026 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 W. Hanover Ave., Morristown. A second open house will be held Jan. 13, 2026 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Chester Library, 250 West Main Street, Chester.

For more information and to identify affected areas see the press release. 

The start of the 2026 calendar year marks the launch of the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund grant application cycle. Please note the following key events and deadlines:

• Wednesday, January 28, 2026 — Application Workshop
• Friday, February 27, 2026 — Declaration of Intent Due
• Friday, March 27, 2026 — Application Deadline
  
  

For the 2026 round, we are introducing a new application process. All submissions (including the Declaration of Intent and application materials) will now be made through an online program portal. A virtual training session for prospective applicants on how to use the portal will be held on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Additional details are forthcoming, and we will keep all potential applicants informed as we begin using the new platform.

If you have questions about the Historic Preservation Program or the application process, please contact Ray Chang, HP Program Coordinator, at 973-829-8138 or rchang@co.morris.nj.us.

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program announced its 2026 funding round is now available. New applications for land acquisition and park development, in addition to stewardship projects and supplemental funding requests, will be accepted. The deadline for all applications is February 27, 2026. The Green Acres website provides links to application workshop videos and slides, plus forms for the various programs.

The Morris County Open Space Trust Fund Committee has recommended the Board of County Commissioners approve $6.95 million in grants to preserve more than 192 acres across Denville, Mendham Township and Rockaway Township.

The recommendations were presented during the Commissioners’ public meeting on November 5th in Morristown. The proposed grants range from 11.7 acres to more than 123 acres, and the Commissioners are expected to make a formal decision on whether to approve the recommendations before the end of the year.

To learn more about each 2025 proposed grant, please visit the Open Space Trust Fund website or read the full press release. 

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners received a recommendation during the October 22 public work session to award more than $1.2 million in grants for the design of six municipal trails and the completion of two trail construction projects as part of the county’s ten-year-old Trail Construction Grant Program.

The County Commissioners anticipate voting on whether to accept grant recommendations at their November 5, 2025 meeting.

To learn more about the design project recommendations in detail, please read the press release. 

The Census Bureau has released its 2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates for geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more.* The 2024 ACS includes estimates for various topics including income, educational attainment, housing and transportation. Highlights include:

• At $137,623, Morris County had the highest median household income among all 21 counties in New Jersey.
• At 33.2%, Morris County had the highest percentage of households with incomes of $200,000 or more among all the counties in the state.
• At $639,200, Morris County had the third highest median housing value among all the counties in the state.
• At 58.2%, Morris County had the second highest percentage of the population age 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher among all the 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.

On June 25, 2025, the Historic Preservation Trust Fund Review Board recommended to the Commissioners the funding of $2.6 million for the 2025 Historic Preservation Trust Fund to help preserve 24 historic sites in 15 towns across Morris County.

Please see the 2025 Historic Preservation Grant Recommendations.

The following Morris County municipalities received their Letter of Final Determinations (LFD) on February 19th. These municipalities will have 180 days to update their ordinances with the effective Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Study (FIS). Ordinance updates and adoptions should occur prior to August 19th.  The municipalities given these updates are:

• Borough of Butler
• Township of East Hanover
• Borough of Kinnelon
• Township of Montville
• Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills
• Borough of Riverdale
• Borough of Lincoln Park
• Township of Pequannock
  
  

The remaining Morris County municipalities do not need to act. Preliminary issuance of the digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for the remaining municipalities is expected in Spring 2025. For more information, contact NJDEP at 877-927-6337 or FEMA Region 2 Office at 212-680-3600.