By: Follow South Jersey Staff
CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE, N.J. — Cape May County Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio believes that New Jersey’s proposed climate rules changes are “ill-conceived policies” that “will do more harm than good” for Cape May County families.
At a press conference held on Friday, Sept. 6 held outside of the County Administration Building, local and state officials voiced their concerns about the proposed changes.
“To be clear, these regulations will devastate our communities under the weight of bureaucratic red tape from Trenton and exorbitant costs that will be throttled upon our residents,” Commissioner Director Desiderio said. “This is not just bad policy; it is a seriously misguided plan that is being mandated with little regard for the realities and no consideration of the potential impacts.”
The Resilient Environments And Landscapes (REAL) reforms are a “comprehensive update to land-use regulations will help New Jersey communities, residents and businesses build and strengthen their resilience to sea-level rise, extreme weather, chronic flooding and other impacts through a suite of updates,” according to NJ Department of Evironmental Protection (NJDEP).
According to the NJDEP, the REAL rule “will require applicants to address water quality and flooding issues, both critical issues in light of a changing climate.” The new rules would apply to “certain new construction and redevelopment activities.”
Officials at the press conference shared concerns of the impact of the new rules that include “increased construction costs for public and private projects; issues with access for ADA compliance for seniors and the disabled, a population concentration that makes up greater than a quarter of the County’s net population; economic impacts to housing, specifically affordable housing, economic impacts on property values; impacts to the fishing industry that will cause distress to operations and impact the shellfish industry by revising current regulations that would allow for offshore wind developers the ability to trench utility infrastructure through shellfish habitats; and impacts to historic structures, including Cape May City whose entire City operates within a historic district designation,” according to a press release from the county.
NJDEP has published the proposed REAL Rules for a 90-day public comment period and had an in-person public hearing on August 5. There are two virtual public hearings to be held on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 2:00 p.m. Click Here to Join, and Thursday, Sept. 19 at 10:00 a.m. Click Here to Join.
To read the proposed REAL rules, click here. To register for public comment, click here.
For more information on the REAL rules impact on Cape May County, click here.
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