Grading and drainage in Atlantic County is shaped by strong state law. The interior towns lie in the Pinelands, where the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan controls land clearing and earthwork, and freshwater wetland transition areas up to 150 feet require an NJDEP permit.
New Jersey has no county with unincorporated land, so grading is regulated by each Atlantic municipality's ordinance plus overlapping state law. Galloway, Hamilton, Mullica, Hammonton, Egg Harbor Township, and Buena Vista lie within the Pinelands, where the Pinelands Commission and its Comprehensive Management Plan, N.J.A.C. 7:50, restrict clearing native vegetation, altering land, and disturbing the sandy soils and aquifer. Countywide, moving earth or altering drainage within a freshwater wetland transition area, up to 150 feet wide, requires an NJDEP freshwater wetlands permit, because the buffer is defined as a sediment and stormwater control zone. Regraded lots may not divert concentrated runoff onto a neighbor, a longstanding rule of New Jersey drainage law.
Clearing or grading in the Pinelands without Commission approval, disturbing a wetland transition area without an NJDEP permit, or diverting concentrated stormwater onto an adjoining lot brings state enforcement, restoration orders, and civil liability for the resulting damage.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township does not prohibit backyard composting, and New Jersey encourages it. Home compost of yard trimmings and vegetable scraps is allowed, provid...
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township has no ordinance specifically banning or regulating residential artificial turf. Synthetic lawns are generally allowed, but any project alt...
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township requires landscaping on development and site plans under Chapter 233, and because most of the Township lies in the Pinelands Area, planting...
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township sets no ordinance prohibiting rain barrels or rainwater collection, and New Jersey encourages it. Residential rain barrels for lawn and gar...
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township does not publish its own standing lawn-watering ordinance. Watering limits come from the State (NJDEP) during declared drought conditions a...
Galloway Township, NJ
Galloway Township's Property Maintenance Code bars weeds or plant growth over 10 inches on residential lots (6 inches for commercial/multifamily). "Weeds" me...
See how Galloway Township's grading & drainage rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.