Politics & Government

Aberdeen Gets $50K To Help Prepare Cliffwood Beach Against Storms

Aberdeen was awarded a Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grant, funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery provided by HUD.

Aberdeen Township has been awarded a $50,000 Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grant to prepare a Master Plan Reexamination Report that will better protect Cliffwood Beach against future storms, announced NJ  Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable Tuesday. 

It is the second step towards establishing a guide on recovery and protection towards future disasters. In October 2013, Aberdeen received a $20,000 grant to produce the initial Strategic Recovery Planning Report. 

The Master Plan Reexamination Report will evaluate the existing Township Master Plan and Land Development Ordinance and offer recommended amendments to implement post-Sandy strategies and policies related to hazard mitigation, community resiliency and sustainability. 

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According to the Township’s grant application: “This effort will include the evaluation and mapping of current land uses, new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain and wetland mapping, critical community facilities, and important natural resource areas.”

The Township’s Cliffwood Beach neighborhood was devastated by the storm, with scores of homes suffering significant flood- and wind-related damage. 

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The Township’s waterfront, which provides a number of public and private recreational amenities, was also significantly affected by the storm. Much of the existing public infrastructure located along the Township’s waterfront and tidal waterways were damaged or destroyed by Sandy.

The Post-Sandy Planning Assistance Grants are funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery monies provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The $5 million program is available to each of the nine counties most impacted by Sandy as determined by HUD (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union) and all of the municipalities within those counties that have experienced a ratable loss of at least 1% or $1 million due to the storm.


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