Published November 6, 2017
By Leslie Ruse

MORRISTOWN — The seat of Morris County received four excellence awards in October.

The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey awarded the town the Outstanding Municipal Partner in New Development; Downtown New Jersey gave Mayor Timothy Dougherty the Individual of Excellence Award; The New Jersey Department of Transportation presented the town with the Complete Streets Excellence award; and The New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association awarded it Morristown the 2017 “Great Downtown” designation.

“Being recognized by these organizations is a great testament to all of the work we are doing in Morristown to make our historic town a desirable place to live, work, and visit,” said Dougherty.

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The Housing and Community Development Network awarded the town for bringing diverse strategies that bear and support growth in the affordable housing market, according to officials. As new development honorees at the organization’s annual community development conference, Morristown was acknowledged for its’ vigilance in ensuring new, market-rate developments have exclusionary affordable housing units or leverage high-impact opportunities elsewhere in town.

Morristown was one of six municipalities honored by NJDOT for successfully implementing its complete streets policy to make public roads safer and more attractive for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, and motorists and public transportation users of all ages and ability.

APA-NJ awarded Downtown Morristown with the “Great Downtown” designation, a title given to only one town per year as a part of its “Great Places in New Jersey” classification, based on its successful integration of new communities and redevelopment projects into the town’s historic business district, as well as its maintenance of open space.