NORTH WILDWOOD, Oct. 21, 2026 — North Wildwood City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution designating the entire city an area in need of rehabilitation under New Jersey's Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, according to city records.
The designation, Resolution 245-26, rests on the age of the city's homes. Of 9,183 housing units, 4,873, or 53%, were built before 1976, according to a study by planner Tiffany A. Morrissey that the city's Planning Board reviewed. State law allows the designation when more than half of a town's housing is at least 50 years old.
Council sent the proposal to the Planning Board on Oct. 6. The board held a public hearing Oct. 14 and recommended that the designation cover the whole city.
What it means
The designation allows the city to offer five-year property tax exemptions and abatements on improvements, and to adopt redevelopment plans with their own zoning for specific sites. Each of those steps would need its own ordinance and public hearing.
It does not allow the city to take property through eminent domain, which state law reserves for areas found to be in need of redevelopment, and it does not change taxes or zoning on its own. No project or tax break has been announced.
State law requires the city to send the resolution to the Department of Community Affairs. Depending on how the state classifies the area, the designation may also need the department commissioner's approval before it takes effect.
Neighboring Wildwood used a similar designation to start a five-year tax incentive program in 2015.
Sources: City of North Wildwood council and Planning Board records; the Wildwood Video Archive first reported the vote.