Burlington County is the geographically largest county in New Jersey — extending from the Delaware River at Burlington City and Bordentown through the Philadelphia-metro suburbs of Mount Laurel, Moorestown, and Evesham, to the Pinelands forests and pine barrens stretching to the Atlantic County line. Within this span sit Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL), a substantial agricultural preservation area, and the Pinelands Protection Area covering much of the eastern county. Permitting follows the NJ Uniform Construction Code framework with county-level advisory planning and significant overlay regulation.
Burlington's 40 municipalities enforce the NJ UCC through municipal subcode officials. Each township, borough, or city operates as its own permit intake authority with licensed Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire, and Elevator subcodes. Zoning, subdivision, and site plan review are municipal under the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D).
The Burlington County Planning Board provides:
County-road jurisdiction is significant in Burlington — the county maintains an extensive road network beyond the state-maintained system, and Planning Board approval is often required for access to county roads.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) — one of only a handful of Joint Bases combining Air Force (McGuire), Army (Dix), and Navy (Lakehurst) operations — occupies substantial acreage in central Burlington County. AICUZ overlays extend from the three airfields, producing:
Burlington has incorporated AICUZ provisions into affected municipal zoning ordinances. Development in high-noise contours faces use-compatibility restrictions.
Eastern Burlington County lies within the Pinelands Protection Area administered by the Pinelands Commission under the Pinelands Protection Act (N.J.S.A. 13:18A-1 et seq.) and the Federal Pinelands National Reserve. The Pinelands overlay imposes:
See our NJ Highlands / Pinelands Overlays essay for the overall framework. For projects in the eastern Burlington County Pinelands, the Pinelands Commission is often the gating regulatory body — local approvals cannot issue without Commission certification of consistency.
The western county edge along the Delaware River hosts Burlington City, Bordentown, Delanco, Palmyra, Riverside, Cinnaminson, and other riverfront communities. Redevelopment here faces:
Western Burlington — Mount Laurel (home of the namesake Mount Laurel doctrine), Moorestown, Cherry Hill-adjacent Cinnaminson, Evesham (Marlton), Voorhees-adjacent areas — is densely suburban with substantial office, retail, and multifamily development. Mount Laurel's name gave rise to New Jersey's Mount Laurel doctrine — the constitutional requirement that municipalities provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing.
Inclusionary housing obligations under Mount Laurel settlements and the Fair Housing Act apply in Burlington municipalities, with compliance verified at site plan approval and enforced through covenants.
Major corridors include NJ Turnpike (I-95), I-295, Route 130, Route 38, Route 70, Route 206. NJ Transit RiverLINE light rail serves the Delaware River corridor from Trenton to Camden. PATCO does not reach Burlington directly but Camden-County connections are proximate.
Three practical rules for Burlington County:
Burlington's combination of suburban Philadelphia-metro density, substantial federal military footprint, the Pinelands preservation regime, and Delaware River corridor makes it one of New Jersey's most geographically and regulatorily varied counties.
Primary sources for this essay: NJ UCC (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq.); NJ Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D); Pinelands Protection Act (N.J.S.A. 13:18A-1 et seq.); Pinelands Commission Comprehensive Management Plan (N.J.A.C. 7:50); Mount Laurel doctrine caselaw and Fair Housing Act (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.); JBMDL AICUZ Study; Burlington County Master Plan and road standards. Burlington County Planning Board, Pinelands Commission, and individual municipal departments are the agency resources.