The short version
- The Pinelands divides land into nine management areas; the area your parcel sits in decides what you can do with it.
- In the strictest areas (like the Preservation Area District and Agricultural Production Areas), building is limited but land often carries Pinelands Development Credits (PDCs).
- A PDC can be sold to a builder for use in a Regional Growth Area, so it has real, transferable value.
- We buy Pinelands-restricted parcels and check the management area and PDC status for you.
Why can't I build on my Pinelands land?
Because of which management area it falls into. The Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan sorts land into areas with very different rules, from the Regional Growth Area where building is encouraged to the Preservation Area District where it is tightly limited. If your parcel is in one of the restrictive areas, the rules, not your wishes, set what can happen on it. Our Pinelands land guide breaks down all nine areas.
What is a Pinelands Development Credit worth?
PDCs are a way the program compensates owners of land it restricts. Qualifying parcels in sending areas are allotted credits that a builder can buy and use to build at higher density in a receiving area. That means even land you cannot build on may carry credits with genuine market value. Working out whether your parcel has PDCs, and what they are worth, takes someone who knows the Pinelands program. That is us, and it is exactly the value a national buyer overlooks.
How do I find out what my parcel is and what it is worth?
Send us the address or block and lot. We check the management area, the zoning, and any PDC allocation, then make a cash offer based on the real, restricted value of the land. There is no cost to you and no obligation.
Sources & related
- NJ Pinelands Commission, CMP and management areas - nj.gov/pinelands/cmp.
- The South Jersey Pinelands land guide
- Wetlands and unbuildable land