The Blackwood West

Neighborhood Preservation Program

* * Resident Surveys Have Begun * *
( Surveyors are out in the neighborhood conducting the resident surveys described below)

Mayor Rau-Hatton is very proud to announce that the Township has been granted a Neighborhood Preservation Program grant for the Blackwood West Neighborhood. The Program which is administered through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs was established as the result of the passage of the Maintenance of Viable Neighborhoods Act in1975. This law provides a program of financial assistance to municipalities for the preservation of threatened but still viable neighborhoods.

The boundaries which will define the Blackwood West neighborhood are Haines Avenue on the north, Black Horse Pike on the east, Marshall Avenue on the south and the Blackwood Lake on the west. The neighborhood was chosen because of several standard criterion. The neighborhood possesses good housing stock, schools and churches, recreational facilities, retail outlets, professional offices and an overall neighborhood cohesiveness while still being in need of improvement. 

The NP Program encourages municipalities to undertake certain activities which will arrest deterioration and preserve threatened neighborhoods. These activities may include but are not limited to: land acquisition, construction, reconstruction, remodeling, restoration, or repair of residential housing in order to restore it to sound condition, code enforcement, demolition, expansion of public services and public facilities or installation of public works facilities and site improvements. Some of the components of the program will be home improvement grants, sidewalk upgrades, street improvements, neighborhood amenities, and business incentives.

The primary objective of the Program is to stabilize and improve a specific neighborhood. The activities should be designed to bring together local and state government, neighborhood residents, private businesses and other institutions in a common effort to restore a favorable climate for investment and to improve the quality of life for the residents of the neighborhood.

The program requires a planning period to determine just what the needs of the neighborhood are. Residents will be very important to that planning process. Surveys will be conducted to determine just what residents think of the neighborhood and where they think improvement is needed. These surveys are extremely important to the planning process and it is suggested that every resident  participate if possible. Residents will also see an inspector in the neighborhood conducting a housing conditions survey. 

Below Blackwood West residents and business owners begin the planning process at the August 18th meeting.