Cherry Hill's Community Development Office administers and regulates development in the Township. The Office's guiding force is the Master Plan, which seeks to balance quality of life in Cherry Hill. A challenging mandate, the Office ensures that Cherry Hill remains an attractive place to live, while balancing commercial development and preserving ecologically sensitive areas.

The Master Plan, last updated in 1996, analyzes population trends and determines community development goals. Because most of the large-scale development occurred in decades passed, top priorities in the plan now include preserving wetlands, neighborhoods and open space.

A new and improved Master Plan is currently in the works, which will be reviewed and adopted by the Planning Board after public hearings. The new plan will be a culmination of resident input, evaluation of existing land uses, and the formulation of short and long term planning, growth and preservation strategies.

Today, all new commercial development plans must include provisions to retain 25 percent of the property as open space. And developers will not receive building permit approval if they propose to build on wetlands, which are a vital natural resource.

The Office also enforces the Township's zoning ordinances and property maintenance regulations. Income restricted housing rehabilitation programs are available through this office to assist Township residents.

Questions concerning zoning classification, minimum lot size requirements, permitted uses for property and sign regulations can be addressed to this office. The Community Development Office also processes applications to the Planning Board, Zoning Board and the Rent Review Board.

The following offices and services are available through the Community Development Department:

Zoning Office

• Zoning applications
  
• Sign applications
  
• Zoning questions, concerns, and complaints

Zoning Board

• Bulk variance applications
  
• Use variance applications
  
• Sign variances
  
• Ordinance interpretations
  
• Appeals of an administrative officer

Planning Board

• Major/minor subdivision applications
  
• Site plan approvals
  
• Change of use and conditional use approval
  
• Sign variances
  
• Bulk variances

Property Maintenance

• Property Maintenance Code enforcement
  
• Questions, concerns, and complaints

Housing Programs

• Income restricted programs
  
• Rental assistance programs
  
• Questions and eligibility requirements

Housing Rehabilitation

• Home repair assistance
  
• Questions and qualifications