05 Policy Recommendations

Overview of Policy Recommendations

The Newark360 Master Plan is an ambitious set of actions that will shape the future of Newark’s built environment for the next 10 years. The plan was informed by community input, as well as expert research and data review. While the plan may set the visions, goals and actions for the city in the voices of the communities, strong and effective governance systems are needed to shepherd the plan through implementation.

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic showed the need for flexible, responsive systems within government, but also how data, technology and operational capacity are all critical. As with nearly every municipal government, Newark was challenged to adapt and respond to new ways of serving its residents and conducting business during the pandemic shutdown. The City should capitalize on the insights it gained from this difficult time to optimize and strengthen its service delivery to enable its vision for the future.

Technology and Data Management Systems

It is critical to invest in technological and data management systems across City government that allow for a consistent and rapid sharing of information between departments. This may include additional staff to strengthen the Office of Information Technology and the creation of a Chief Data Officer role. Every City department currently has needs for both staff capacity and technological upgrades around data tracking and management of their own workstreams and information. Basic technological upgrades and data digitization will smooth communication and coordination between departments and allow for the rapid and transparent sharing of information with the public.

Procurement and Contracting

The procurement, grants management and contracting systems in the City are critical to optimizing the effectiveness of outside vendors for expertise and counsel, as well as the execution of programs using municipal funds and government grants. The City should review possibly outdated procurement rules that may hinder departments from contracting for the best value and most appropriate services in a timely fashion. This may include allowing for postings of RFPs on the City website, digital submissions of RFP responses, the shifting of existing rules for contract awards, and more rapid contract approval by Council. Improvements to the regulations and systems concerning contracting will enable significant cost savings and efficiencies.

Departmental Capacity and Performance

As the City looks to its future and aspires to a thoughtful, healthy and vibrant built environment, the government may consider augment investment in staff and expertise to meet the expectations and requirements of residents for municipal service delivery. Some City departments critical to the implementation of the Master Plan may not be at allocated staff capacity. Investment in ensuring that the best qualified candidates fill vacant positions in a timely manner, and in some instances increasing the number of staff in particularly high demand departments responsible for complex transactions would elevate public service delivery, economic development, the production of housing and create cost savings on transactions. The City might also consider a long-term performance management evaluation to optimize some departmental structures and create quantitative measurements systems to track impact.

Economic Development/Development

To create a policy and operational environment to foster prosperity for all Newarkers, there are several key actions that municipal leadership and City departments can take in order to improve internal operations and increase capacity to enable a development environment that supports meeting the goals of the administration and the community. Ensuring there are adequate staff who have skills in planning and implementation of already thoughtful policies and ordinances are central to implementing the master plan. Systems that expedite projects that support the mayor’s goals for development and land use could all be achieved with operational and technological changes that keep Newark apace with other cities in the US.

Key Departments and Divisions:

Economic and Housing Development, Office of Affordable and Sustainable Housing, Office of Planning and Zoning, Property Management, Invest Newark, Workforce Development, Newark Alliance

Cultural Assets and Historic Preservation

Newark is one of the oldest cities in the US, boasting a rich and storied history, but also a lively, proud and vibrant contemporary culture of expression. In order to preserve the beauty of its historic built environment, while allowing arts and cultural expression to thrive, the City could strengthen the regulatory environment around historic preservation, and be creative in activating spaces, both structural and in the public realm to support the arts and artistic community. Additional capacity and dedicated funding stream to steward and support historic and current cultural assets are key.

Key Departments and Divisions:

Department of Parks, Recreation, Senior Services and Arts and Culture, Economic and Housing Department, Engineering Department

Parks and Open Spaces

Providing and protecting public green spaces creates a sense of place and pride for the community, as well as space to connect with each other.

Key Departments and Divisions:

Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Engineering

Action

Digitize the development application process for expediency and transparency. *

Digitize internal review processes between key departments for development applications.

*In 2021 Equitable Economic Recovery Strategy Impact

Digitizing the development applications and approvals process and creating an online public portal would have numerous beneficial outcomes for both the development community and the planning bodies within EHD, as immediate and consistent information about application status could be known by all parties.

Create a unified digital platform between the Office of Planning and Zoning, Engineering and Water and Sewer to expedite the approval process for development.

Action

Formalize a Public Arts Commission made up of local experts, residents and other key stakeholders and cultural stewards. A Public Arts Commission would enable the ongoing installation of public art and the cultivation and support of local artists. The Commission would act as a dedicated support to all kinds of public art projects with immense social and economic dividends for the city and its residents.

Create additional staff roles in the Department of Arts and Cultural Affairs or Office of Planning and Zoning to specifically identify new uses and preservation efforts for the city’s historic fabric to create spaces for learning and cultural exchange. Increasing the number of staff in the Department of Arts and Cultural affairs and Office of Planning and Zoning will allow for a dedicated effort to support the adaptive reuse of historic buildings for cultural purposes.

Impact

Action

Create a Department of Parks and Recreation to increase programming in city parks and facilitate coordination with the County Parks Department. Newark has excellent access to parks and green spaces, but some of those spaces are underutilized due to lack of programming or cleanliness. While the County manages some of the larger parks in the city, the partnerships, and the capacity of the Newark department could be strengthened for the sake of the residents’ experiences.

Impact

Housing

Newark is a city of diversity – and requires a diversity of housing choice for its residents. The population of the city is growing and changing – its population grew 13% in the past decade, and the demographics of residents has also shifted. For families in Newark to stay, and to provide for many generations of Newarkers to thrive, the City is focusing efforts on creating more affordability while reducing evictions and displacement. But residents also need their cities to be safe, clean, verdant and healthy. Concurrent with protecting and ensuring affordability, it is necessary to make sure residential areas are not at risk of negative environmental factors such as pollution and other contamination.

Key Departments and Divisions:

Department of Economic and Housing Development, Office of Planning and Zoning, Planning Board, Department of Engineering, Housing Finance, Invest Newark.

Critical Infrastructure, Sewer and Water, Transportation

Some of the most important systems in the city remain hidden from view – those that move water, waste and power through the city’s dense urban fabric. Others, like bike lanes, sidewalks and road systems are integral to day-to-day mobility of residents. However, when these large systems fail or are disrupted by natural events or damaged, it can cause suffering and quality of life issues for Newark’s residents. A thoughtful evaluation of the functionality and resilience of the large infrastructure systems should be considered in light of sea level rise, extreme heat events, surface flooding and other anticipated hazards. A future transportation department should be considered for better envisioning, coordinating and implementing transportation projects and infrastructure. This dedicated capacity would also enable consistent coordination with the state and other non-city public transit providers.

Key Departments and Divisions:

Office of Planning and Zoning, Planning Board, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Engineering, Water and Sewer Department.

Action

Continue to track affordable housing development though the Housing Dashboard, and improve data flows and updates.

Expedite transfer of vacant city-owned properties to the Land Bank for development of affordable housing. The Land Bank at Invest Newark is in a unique position to facilitate the development of city-owned property into housing that is affordable in perpetuity. Expediting the transfer of developable parcels to the Land Bank will allow for the more rapid development of affordable housing.

Impact

This implies streamlining data collection, updating public-facing data dashboards for housing development and ensuring all EHD data sources are using the same QuickBase platform. This will result in a regularly updated, public-facing communications tool that can serve multiple department priorities.

Action

Establish a department or office of transportation to institutionalize leadership and jurisdiction over transportation policies and programs. As Newark’s population grows, its needs for transportation of all kinds will increase. The City currently does not have a dedicated body to plan for and manage the transportation programs, anticipate and strategize for future needs, apply for state and federal funding and coordinate with other key City agencies. A body and key staff whose full-time role is to foster the implementation of transportation strategies for Newarkers would support the execution of partnerships, projects and priorities.

Impact

Begin data collection, digitization and capacity of transportation infrastructure – high crash intersections, roadway and pavement conditions. Creating a system and database to collect and manage data related to transportation and circulation, development, and road and safety conditions, would empower the city and its departments, and reduce dependency on the state and other local institutions for tracking and maintaining data.