CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE — Members of the Cape May County Board of Commissioners along with mayors and representatives from the county’s 16 municipalities held a news conference Sept. 6 to voice their opposition and solidarity against proposed regulations from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The rules, which are based on an expected sea level rise in 2100, would require new homes to be built 5 feet higher and expand flood zones, forcing owners to purchase flood insurance.
Know as Resilient Environmental and Landscape Rules (REAL), the proposed regulations would increase construction costs for public and private projects countywide, putting distress on low- and moderate-income families and establishing unachievable compliance standards for historic structures and public infrastructure projects, according to speakers.
The rules also would expand flood hazard areas, decreasing the area of developable land and increasing construction costs of development and redevelopment opportunities including affordable housing, according to the county.
In addition, the regulations would require new height standards for Americans with Disabilities regulations for new roads and construction, and revise state environmental regulations to allow for offshore wind developers to be able to trench utility infrastructure through shellfish habitats by making a monetary donation to the state’s shellfish habitat mitigation fund.
Board of Commissioners Director Len Desiderio said the DEP was attempting an unprecedented transfer of power under the guise of climate change.
He said the proposed regulations, introduced under an executive order from Gov. Phil Murphy, are misguided and overreaching, and would hurt the livelihoods of residents, the local economy and the future of the county.
Desiderio said while climate change is a serious issue, the regulations are not the answer.
“It is a seriously misguided plan that is being mandated with little regard for the realities and no consideration of the potential impacts,” he said. “The financial burden these regulations will impose on our local businesses and residents cannot be overstated.”
The regulations would lead to higher taxes and insurance costs, skyrocketing utility costs and devastating economic fallout for families and businesses already stretched thin, Desiderio said.
“There are smarter, more balanced ways to address climate change that don’t involve gutting the economic stability of our communities,” he said. “These regulations in their current form are a disaster waiting to happen and I strongly urge our state lawmakers to repeal or significantly revise the regulations before they devastate our communities.”
Assemblyman Antwan McClellan (R-1) said the state should approach each municipality and allow design professionals to come up with ideas that make sense instead of sweeping legislation.
“We have plenty of Senate and Assembly legislators that are willing to roll their sleeves up and work together with the administration to make sure we’re not causing any undue harm on the residents of New Jersey,” he said.
Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-10) said McClellan and Assemblyman Erik Simonsen (R-1) have organized legislators along the shore “who recognize this bureaucratic overreach.”
The DEP fails to take into account the significant economic impact the rules would have on ratables, real estate values and development, he said.
“These regulations also fail to consider the impossibility of some structures to ever comply, such as historic buildings or the tens of thousands of tiny lots along the shore,” Kanitra said. “Physically they don’t even have the space for the stairs to get up that high.”
“These regulations will begin to drive residents out that cannot afford to comply but that’s their goal,” he continued.
The rules state that action must be taken now to prepare communities for the inevitable shift for managed retreat that through individual or market decisions, people, businesses and coastal functions will eventually move from here to safer areas, Kanitra said.
“We believe people should be free to choose the flood risk they wish to endure for their own homes and businesses,” he said.
Kanitra said new regulations should not move forward until a comprehensive economic analysis with alternatives to managed retreat is presented to the public.
Based on the science used for the regulations, a 2019 Rutgers University study, there is only a 17 percent chance that sea level will rise 5 feet in the next 75 years, he said.
The DEP is aware the study is deeply flawed, and subsequent studies have shown it is a “wild overestimation,” Kanitra said.
“As a state legislator myself, these are decisions that should not be getting done in a back room by a group of unelected bureaucrats,” he said. “Let the legislators who are beholden to the voters and face true accountability be the driving force here.”
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said the DEP needs to work cooperatively with all stakeholders, the Legislature, the municipalities and the county to reach a sustainable solution.
“This rule will probably only last as long as the next DEP commissioner or the next governor,” he said.
Middle Township Mayor Chris Leusner said the regulations would drive up the price of home ownership and put the creation of affordable housing further out of reach.
Barbara Jones, president of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber submitted detailed comments on the regulations to the DEP.
“It’s important to note that no member of the chamber, Cape May County government or Cape May County community were invited to participate in the stakeholder meetings held by the DEP to develop these regulations,” she said.
Jones said the state decided to base the regulations on projections of what they think is going to happen 75 years in the future. She said municipalities prepare master plans that look 20 years into the future and are required by the state to re-examine them every 10 years, something the state should also follow.
“The science of climate change continues to change and the 2019 report that projected flood levels will rise 5 feet by the year 2100 is not supported by more recent scientific studies, a good reason for a more incremental approach,” Jones said.
She said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in the process of developing new flood maps for the coast that are being engineered to take into account new bulkheads, seawalls, living shorelines and other protections towns are putting in place. Jones said the state ignores those improvements and regulates on a “doomsday scenario.”
The county is challenged to provide workplace housing for the 40,000 people employed here, she said.
“Hundreds of homes will be included in the state’s new expanded floodplain and these homes were never required to have flood insurance,” Jones said. “This will impact homeowners that cannot afford another expense.”
New homes and additions to homes would be required to meet onerous risk assessment criteria including an alternate analysis designed to discourage building, she said.
“If a homeowner wants to improve their home and the cost is more than 50 percent of the home’s value, they will be discouraged by this regulation,” Jones said.
She said the chamber is asking Murphy to withdraw the proposed regulations and to work with the county, the chamber and local communities to find a comprehensive strategy that includes funding to assist businesses and homeowners and carefully considers the economic impacts of proposed regulations.
– STORY and PHOTO by JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff
At top, Cape May County Commissioners and mayors gather in a press conference to oppose climate change regulations proposed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.