Essex, New Jersey — 2025 Year in Review
Land use and zoning activity from city and county planning meetings in Essex during 2025.
Essex County indexed 885 projects with at least one decision in 2025, leading to 1,072 approved and 1 denied actions. Approval was effectively unanimous at 99.9% — typical for a county where most agenda items are administrative or staff-recommended. East Orange drove most of the activity (603 of 885 projects, 68%), with Caldwell a distant second.
“Projects with decisions” counts unique projects. “Approved” and “Denied” count individual actions (one project can have multiple actions across meetings).
885
Projects with decisions
1,072
Approved actions
1
Denied actions
99.9%
Approval rate (of actions)
By city
| City | Projects | Approved actions | Denied actions | Approval % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldwell | 258 | 280 | 0 | 100.0% |
| East Orange | 603 | 758 | 1 | 99.9% |
| Glen Ridge | 13 | 22 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Newark | 8 | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
Data from public meeting documents processed by Boardwalk. Coverage varies by jurisdiction. Not all cities are included.