A bipartisan group of state and local officials came together recently to argue that the state Department of Environmental Protection overstepped its administrative authority in adopting Land Use reforms.
The groups are seeking both regulatory and legislative solutions to development standards adopted on Jan. 20—Gov. Phil Murphy’s last day in office—that will be especially disastrous for Shore towns.
Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-1) and mayors from his 10th Legislative District sent a letter Friday to NJDEP Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak demanding the rule—called Resilient Environments and Landscapes—be paused to await legislative action.
The group lauded Senate President Nicholas Scutari’s resolution (SCR106) calling for the department to amend or withdraw the rule established under a Murphy initiative dubbed New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats.
“The repercussions and the impacts to our district, considering that we have the most waterfront property in the state, would be severe," Kanitra said. "Republicans and Democrats alike are concerned about the impacts to homeowners and businesses: the additional massive areas of land that will now be in flood zones, additional height requirements on homes which are unrealistic, and the ADA compliance problems associated with the changes,"
Among the sweeping updates adopted to address the NJDEP’s concerns about rising sea levels and unprecedented weather damage, one requires that new or substantially improved structures be elevated four feet above the current FEMA base flood elevations.
The letter asseverates that the rule “represent[s] an unprecedented and deeply consequential overhaul of development standards that will fundamentally reshape our legislative district and have sweeping consequences for the entire State. …[and] will significantly increase construction and redevelopment costs.”
Businesses all along the Jersey Shore have delayed or abandoned projects over uncertainty about the DEP rule, Kanitra added.
In a video posted on his social media feeds last week, Kanitra and Manasquan Mayor Mike Mangan gave a visual and verbal account about why the DEP rules will be very challenging for homeowners.
Legal action has been initiated by Ocean, Monmouth, and Cape May counties to have the rule amended or rescinded. Additionally, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and the New Jersey Builders Association filed to legally appeal the rule in the Appellate Division of Superior Court last week.
“When the Legislature does its job, the 120 members here in New Jersey have to put aside ideologies and look at the data, and that data must include the total real-world impacts our residents and businesses face in real life, not some computer model that spits out a thousand possible futures,” Kanitra said. “And the laws the Legislature passes and the governor signs must take into account both environmental protection and economic vitality.”
The mayors from Manasquan, Bay Head, Brick, Brielle, Lavallette, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant, Sea Girt, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, South Toms River, Island Heights, Spring Lake, Toms River, Point Pleasant Beach and Spring Lake Heights signed onto Kanitra’s letter.
