With the controversy at a fever pitch six months after the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued its new precedent-setting coastal zone development rule crafted during the administration of former Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Democratic successor Mikie Sherrill has opted to delay its enactment. The projects are now on hold for a year starting in July, before the mandate goes into effect, giving forces for and against more time to fight over likely amendments.
The Resilient Landscapes and Environments (REAL) rule would require new or substantially improved structures (residential, commercial, and infrastructure) in tidal flood zones to be built up to 4 feet higher than current FEMA-based flood elevations to account for future flooding that, according to studies, is expected to worsen due to the impacts of climate change.
The July 20, 2026 deadline that was set for review of project permit applications under pre-REAL “legacy” requirements would now be extended to July 20, 2027. A 60-day comment period on the extension is in effect until July 31.
REAL has the support of environmental groups and the New Jersey Association of Environmental Commissioners, who raise concerns about future impacts to one of the most developed and at-risk ocean coasts in the US, with projections through the year 2100 showing a potential sea level rise of 4.4 feet.
Superstorm Sandy in 2012 cost New Jersey’s waterfront communities between $30 billion and $38 billion in physical and economic damage, according to official records.
But the New Jersey Home Builders Association and the State Association of Business and Industry filed a state Superior Court appeal against the rule, noting its effect on development, including the expansion of affordable housing. Four beach-oriented counties (Cape May, Monmouth, Cumberland and Ocean) have also sued to block the mandate regulations, arguing they are outside the state agency’s authority, and even state Senate President Nicholas Scutari, a Democrat, started a legislative move in March to eliminate the rule.
“The 1,000+ page REAL rule goes far beyond resiliency to sea level rise and is loaded with … wish list items that do little or nothing to improve resiliency,” said Jeff Kolakowski, CEO of the builders group, which wants to cut elevation requirements in half and suspend the directive. Legal challenges are pending.
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While advocates worry that extending the rule could lead to changes that weaken or kill it, Sherrill said, “We’re taking a close, hard look at the REAL [requirements] to ensure they reflect our core priorities of protecting lives and property [and] to support responsible development”.
He added that the extension “gives us time to meaningfully engage with … stakeholders in New Jersey to get this right.”
