City Planning & Redevelopment Director Honored
Alonso, readying for master plan update, wins state & national awards
Recently hired Michele Alonso was honored last month by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Alonso began her Planning and Redevelopment Director post in July.
On Jan. 29, she was among a three-member team from Newark to receive the Outstanding Plan Implementation Award. Alonso, who served as Newark’s Assistant Planning Director, shares the award with then-Planning Director Damon Rich and Principal Planner Perris Straughter.
The trio also won the 2015 National American Planning Award for Public Outreach.
Started in February 2014, their year-long project was the first time the city’s zoning ordinance was updated since 1957. It was also the first time a comprehensive redrawing of the zoning map was executed since 1935.
The updates transformed the city’s generic zone classification system to a more detailed and modern urban zone classification system.
“I tapped into my ten years of experience with not only the Newark neighborhoods, but also with my experiences with the issues that came up in land development review,” Alonso said in a written statement. “I was able to tailor the new regulations to Newark’s specific problems and needs.”
In Asbury, Alonso will spearhead the city’s Master Plan update, an extensive map that outlines policy, goals, and recommendations for development via zoning guidelines.
Last week, the City Council awarded Trenton-based Clark, Caton, and Hintz the contract to help vet the current Master Plan.
The updated Master Plan will cover land use, historic preservation, housing, sustainability, open space, parks and recreation, economic development, circulation, community facilities, and urban design, city officials said.
“In New Jersey, you’re only required to have a land use element and a housing element,” Alonso said. “We want this to be the best Master Plan yet, and for it to serve the City by looking at all of these elements more deeply than they’ve ever been looked at before.”
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