CREST HAVEN – Cape May County government officials were joined by business representatives at a press conference at which they said they would fight newly proposed state environmental regulations they say are designed to drive residents away from Shore areas.
Officials said that in addition to stopping development, halting reconstruction and forcing some buildings to be raised an additional 5 feet, the rules, known as REAL and put forward by the Department of Environmental Protection in a 1,057-page document, would result in a “managed retreat” of homeowners from Cape May. The DEP says the rules were designed to deal with climate change and sea level rise.
Ray Cantor, vice president of government affairs with the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, said at the Sept. 6 press conference, “There is nothing in the 1,057 pages that is good.”
“It will force a mass retreat from the Shore, and this is one of the first steps,” he said.
Cantor referred to his association’s response to REAL, which says, “Cumulatively, along with other requirements on infrastructure, these rules will have the effect of requiring, or at least driving, a retreat.”
Commission Director Leonard Desiderio said the DEP document was “bad.”
“That’s spelled B-A-D,” Desiderio said. He characterized the proposed rules as a “misguided, over-reaching mandate.”
“The financial burden on businesses and residents cannot be overstated,” he said.
Responding to a request for comment, DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said, “We are not able to comment on a rule that is currently in the public comment period.”
Hajna, however, provided links to websites he said might be helpful – https://dep.nj.gov/njreal/ and https://dep.nj.gov/njreal/facts/.
The new regulations would create an “inundation zone,” based on a 2019 Rutgers study that said there is a 17% chance that sea levels will rise 5 feet by the year 2100. The result, according to Cantor, would be that 43% of Cape May County would end up in a “no build” zone, and 67% of the county would end up in a flood zone.
Local officials do not dispute sea-level rise, but questioned the validity of the Rutgers study as well as the DEP decision to apply standards based on what might happen 76 years in the future.
Municipalities will also feel the pain of increased elevation requirements. When the Herald asked about how infrastructure would be affected, Desiderio referred the question to environmental consultant Peter Lomax, who said infrastructure would also be subject to the new regulations.
First District Assemblyman Antwan McClellan said that in March the state abolished the Council on Affordable Housing while requiring municipalities to provide affordable housing.
“There is nothing affordable about this,” McClellan said.
Middle Township Mayor Christopher Leusner said his township just settled a case with the Fair Share Housing Center to create affordable housing, and REAL will ultimately make the area less affordable.
Cape May City Manager Paul Dietrich, a former municipal engineer, said the state is applying standards on municipalities that it does not intend to follow. He said there are three evacuation routes out of Cape May County, routes 47 and 55 and the Garden State Parkway, and none of them can provide dry access out of the county.
The DEP will be holding a session on Tuesday, Sept. 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Woodbine Community Center, 812 Longfellow St., as one of the public hearings on the proposed rules.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
