CAPE MAY – For many South Jersey citizens the official publication of the state’s new land use rulemaking, termed Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL), is cause for alarm. Even though the rulemaking has been in the works for over two years, the thousand-page compendium of new regulations for the state’s coastal zone is now more visible and more distressing to the average resident based on recent comments at governing body meetings.

At the Cape May City Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 6, comments by officials and the public put on display a heightened level of concern. Resident Jules Rauch pointed to new proposed inundation zones that would encompass over 40% of the city’s land area, as well as expose over 98% of the city to proposed expansion of flood hazard zones.

Mayor Zack Mullock said the proposed rules would be “very, very tough” on South Jersey. He added that if these rules had a similar impact on the urban areas along the North Jersey coastline “they would not be happening.”

City Manager Paul Dietrich reminded the public that the council recently passed a county-developed resolution asking for a more phased and measured approach to climate change threats. In that resolution the council expressed serious concern with the state Department of Environmental Protection’s continued reliance on a sea level rise projection from 2019 that Dietrich argued is no longer in line with current scientific thinking. The resolution also saw a fundamental problem with requiring shore communities in 2024 to adhere to planning requirements driven by expectations of climate change in 2100, a 76-year planning horizon that is, in the minds of many shore communities, excessive.

The 90-day public comment period on the new regulations commenced with the publication of the rules in the New Jersey Register on Aug. 5. Dietrich said the resolution adopted by the council would be submitted as the city’s public comment.

The DEP plans three public hearings, two of which will be virtual, on the rulemaking with public comment accepted. The DEP web page at https://dep.nj.gov/njreal/hearings/ lets residents learn more about the hearings and provides a link for joining them when they are held. It also provides methods for submitting comments independent of the public hearings.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.