Borough of Madison
Morris County, New Jersey
Madison’s definition of open space (from the Madison general code): Any land “essentially unimproved and set aside… for the use and enjoyment of owners and occupants of land …provided that such areas may be improved with only those … improvements that are designed to be incidental to the natural openness of the land.”
Annual open space tax: $.02 per $100 of assessed land. This costs the average homeowner about $80 a year.
Acres of land preserved with open space funds: Because Madison is a municipality lacking in large amounts of open space, like some of the other towns in the Watershed, Madison is a net payer of funds. This means that the money that residents contribute often goes to other parts of the county.
Recent developments:
- With the passing of the Highlands Act in 2004, Mayor Woody Kerkeslager has expressed some concern with what may happen to Madison. The town does not have a large amount of open space, but the Act nonetheless puts pressure on Madison to develop using “smart growth” policies.
- In 2004, the borough expanded the section on open space in the municipal Master Plan. Because South-East Morris County has the least amount of open space in the county, Madison had to ensure the preservation of the scarce amount of open space left.
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Bernards Township
Bernardsville Borough
Chatham Township
Harding Township
Long Hill Township
Mendham Borough
Mendham Township
Morris Township
Morristown
Morris County
Somerset County