Ray Cantor, NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs
NJBIA’s concerns about new land use rules being developed by the state Department of Environmental Protection are starting to get more attention.
In an op-ed in The Press of Atlantic City on Sunday, NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Ray Cantor highlighted that the rules to be introduced by the DEP this spring will result in nearly half of New Jersey being placed in a flood zone – based on one single report by Rutgers University, which forecasts a 17% chance that seas will rise 5 feet in 80 years.
Cantor detailed the real-world impacts on land use should the Protecting Against Climate Threats (PACT) regulatory changes come to fruition.
“Buildings in affected areas will have to be elevated an additional 5 feet,” Cantor wrote. “Many areas of the state, including barrier islands, bay communities, as well as urban areas such as Hoboken, Newark, Jersey City and Atlantic City, may become undevelopable. Even redevelopment may be made more difficult if not impossible.
“Homeowners and businesses whose properties never flooded before, and likely may never flood in the future, will be regulated as if they are currently underwater. Infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, will be more expensive to build.”
In a separate story on Monday, Cantor also told NJ101.5 News’ David Matthau that regulations should be based on 30-year projections with updated science.
“What we have objection to is using highly uncertain science to try to regulate what’s going on the ground today, and that has tremendous impacts,” Cantor said.
