STONE HARBOR – At its April 19 meeting, Stone Harbor Borough Council heard a report from Councilwoman Robin Casper on the status of compliance with its ordinance concerning bulkhead heights.
The numbers were mixed, but the fact that almost 30% of the homes due to be in minimal compliance this year have made no progress was not good news.
In 2018, the borough revised its minimum bulkhead height requirement, moving from 6.2 feet to 8 feet, as part of the municipality’s plan to meet the challenge of rising seas levels. Even though the previous standard of 6.2 feet had been established in the 1980s, a survey in 2018 demonstrated that 70% of the bayside properties in the borough did not then meet that 40-year-old standard.
The study, conducted by Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center, noted that 158 properties in the borough had bulkheads at 5.5 feet or lower.
The ordinance adopted in 2018 mandated the new minimum 8 feet height for all bulkheads by 2050. The borough also set dates by which the lowest bulkheads had to come into compliance of at least 6.2 feet within a shorter period.
There are 65 bulkheads at 4.5 feet or lower that are required to achieve at least 6.2 feet by November 2022.
Casper’s report to council noted that of 65 properties, only 20 have already achieved that goal. With the 20 now in compliance, 25 others have obtained permits and appear to be working toward meeting the requirement.
One of the 65 was moved to the next phase; 19 others, or 29% of the 65, have no activity aimed at coming into compliance by the deadline.
