BERGEN COUNTY 2023 OPEN SPACE TRUST FUND NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Floodplain Protection, Historic Preservation, Land Acquisition, and Municipal Park Improvement grants available in 2023 funding cycle
(HACKENSACK, NJ) – The Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Land Management, announces the 2023 Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund Grant Program. The 2023 grant cycle welcomes applicants seeking aid in four categories: Land Acquisition, Historic Preservation, Floodplain Protection, and Municipal Park Improvements. All Bergen County municipalities and qualified non-profit organizations are invited to apply. All applicants must file a Letter of Intent no later than Friday, April 14th, 2023.
Trust Fund grants are administered by the Division of Land Management, Bergen County Department of Parks. Applications are reviewed by a public Trust Fund Advisory Board and the Bergen County Board of County Commissioners finalizes all grant awards. The County Commissioners set the 2023 open space tax assessment rate at 1 cent per $100 of total County equalized real property valuation. It is anticipated that approximately $18 million will be collected, while the County Treasurer will determine the final amount of available funding. Of the available 2023 Trust Fund money, 30% will be allocated for the Municipal Program for Park Improvements and the other 70% will be allocated for Land Acquisition, Historic Preservation, and Floodplain Protection countywide.
For the first time, the Historic Preservation Program will accept grant applications for the preparation of Historic Preservation documents. Documents may include Historic Surveys, Historic Design Guidelines, and the Historic Preservation Element of a municipal Master Plan.
Information and application materials for the 2023 Funding Round for all Open Space Trust Fund Programs is now available on the Department of Parks website: Trust Fund Webpage.
Program-specific pages with necessary information and application materials:
Floodplain Acquisition Program
Historic Preservation Program
Land Acquisition Program
Municipal Park Improvement Program
2023 Grant cycle timeline:
Letters of Intent due Friday, April 14th, 2023
Completed grant applications due Friday, May 12th, 2023
For answers to specific questions regarding eligibility, guidelines, and the application process, contact the individual program administrators at their contact information below.
Municipal Park Improvement Program – Nancy Witkowski – (201) 336-7255
NWitkowski@co.bergen.nj.us
Historic Preservation Grant Program – Elaine Gold – (201) 336-7294
EGold@co.bergen.nj.us
Land Acquisition and Floodplain Acquisition Programs – Kenneth Aloisio – (201) 336-6454
KAloisio@co.bergen.nj.us
The Division of Land Management is dedicated to protecting and providing additional open spaces and maintaining and enhancing the quality and degree of open space throughout Bergen County.