Jackson, NJ Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Under § 244-133.1 of the Code of the Township of Jackson, added August 12, 2014 by Ordinance No. 13-14, a solar energy facility is permitted only as a conditional use, and only in the zoning districts the chapter specifies for it. The Highway Commercial, Commercial Recreation 1, Commercial Recreation 2 and Neighborhood Commercial Zone sections each cross-reference § 244-133.1 as the baseline conditional-use standard before layering on zone-specific conditions of their own. To qualify, the applicant must first show that public service infrastructure needed to support the facility is already available, or can be extended in the PA, FA-1, FA-2 or FA-3 Pinelands zone without new off-site development.

The facility and any off-site infrastructure must be sited and screened to minimize visual impact as seen from the Toms River, publicly dedicated roads and highways, low-intensity recreational facilities, campgrounds and existing homes on adjoining parcels. Any new or expanded off-site infrastructure is held to the clearing that is actually necessary, and a new right-of-way built to serve the array cannot exceed 20 feet in width unless a safety or reliability need justifies more. Once a facility stops being used, the owner has 12 months to decommission it: remove every energy facility, structure and piece of equipment, including subsurface wires and footings, restore the parcel under § 244-79B(4) unless the land is going into active farming or has already won new development approval within that year, and undo any ecological or visual damage from off-site infrastructure.