The new plan would divide Jersey City into several districts: neighborhood/commercial; office/residential; multifamily high-rise; CBD/Journal Square, which essentially was the city's traditional Downtown before waterfront development tipped the scales. Others districts include highway/commercial; industrial, which is mostly on the western edge of the city; university (the section of the city around New Jersey City University and St. Peter's College); and waterfront/planned development, recognizing that district for what it has become.

Still other sections of the city would include an historic district, destination tourism, and cemetery. It also recognizes the potential for new uses, includes beefed up enforcement provisions, and clearly addresses environmental concerns. Finally, it provides for so-called "steep slope" rules that would impose certain controls along the Palisades, the rocky cliffs that overlook the city's Hudson River waterfront.

The Palisades are currently developed and several major projects are in the works, including a redevelopment of the site currently occupied by the Jersey City Medical Center. The latter facility is looking to open a new complex elsewhere in the city to replace the current one.

If the planning board approves the plan, the next step would be to take it to the city council. No timetable has been disclosed.