Cape May County Steps Up Opposition to State's Proposed Flood-Control Rules

Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed flood-control regulations to protect New Jersey’s vulnerable coastal communities from rising sea levels were denounced by Cape May County officials as extreme measures that would actually discourage people from living at the shore.

County officials repeatedly warned during a community meeting in Ocean City on Wednesday night that the regulations would unfairly make it much tougher and more expensive to build homes on or near the coast – including the possibility that many would have to be elevated 5 feet higher to comply with flood-protection requirements.

The 1,100 pages of proposed rules are the state’s most far-reaching coastal environmental restrictions since the mid-1980s and will have the greatest impact on Cape May County and its 16 municipalities, they said.

“These rule proposals are not limited to only coastal communities, but will also impact our mainland communities, affordable housing stock and persons with disabilities at an inordinate level,” said Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Leonard Desiderio, who also serves as mayor of Sea Isle City.

The Resilient Environments and Landscapes regulations, known by the acronym NJPACT/REAL, are designed to protect the coast and other areas of New Jersey from climate change and rising sea levels.

Murphy, a Democrat, has issued an executive order to implement the regulations through the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, effectively bypassing the state Legislature from having any formal input at all on the plan, critics say.

“When the DEP and organizations like our government bypass everybody and write executive orders, it’s very dangerous. We had that with the windmills and now we’re having it with this,” Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said, referring to Cape May County’s previous and so far successful legal battle to block the development of an offshore wind energy farm off the South Jersey coast.

    Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian criticizes the state government for bypassing the Legislature for the regulations.
  

State Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, a Republican whose First Legislative District includes the Atlantic and Cape May County shore communities, joined Gillian in criticizing the governor for proposing the regulations in an executive order rather than going through the state Legislature.

“So the time is now to make sure our voices are heard and make sure that the governor knows that we don’t want this – that we want to have an opportunity to have a seat at the table to discuss what our area should look like, what our county should look like, what our places should look like,” McClellan said while imploring the audience of about 200 people at the meeting.

During his remarks, McClellan also said that it appears the NJDEP wants to force homeowners away from the shore and instead allow the wildlife “to take over the barrier islands and run free.”

The community meeting, held at the Ocean City Tabernacle, was organized by Families of Ocean City United in Success, or FOCUS, a political action committee and community group that has expressed concerns about the NJPACT/REAL regulations.

Cape May County has hired an environmental consultant Peter Lomax, of the Lomax Consulting Group, to analyze the regulations and point out perceived flaws.

Lomax and county officials have been warning the public about the consequences in hopes that New Jersey residents will speak out in opposition to the regulations. The public comment period for the regulations expires Nov. 7. Barring delays, the NJDEP will have the regulations take effect in summer 2025, speakers said.

    Audience members listen to the speakers.
  

According to Lomax, the state Department of Environmental Protection failed to conduct an economic impact study to determine what effect the proposed regulations would have on critical industries, such as commercial fishing and tourism at the Jersey Shore.

“This rule proposal is drastic,” Lomax told the audience. “It creates immediate change. It has happened without the necessary stakeholder engagement, without contacting our tourism industries and our commercial fishing industries.”

Cape May County and the county’s 16 municipalities have adopted resolutions formally objecting to the regulations. Cape May County officials have called on the governor to slow down on the regulations. They want him to take an incremental approach toward rising sea levels based on more conservative flood projections in the state.

McClellan said Cape May County has led the opposition to the proposed regulations so far, but legislative districts in Atlantic, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties are preparing to “join us in this fight.”

“Realize this – this is not just affecting Cape May County; this is affecting the entire state,” McClellan said.

While acknowledging that climate change and sea level rise pose a true risk, Cape May County’s municipalities have asked the state to conduct a thorough analysis of all potential impacts before moving forward.

One of the more controversial aspects is a requirement that home construction or major renovation projects in areas vulnerable to rising sea levels would have to be built 5 feet above existing flood-elevation requirements.

Calling the 5-foot elevation requirement far too high, McClellan said it would be like homeowners building “a stairway to heaven.”

    State Assemblyman Antwan McClellan urges members of the audience to voice their opposition to the proposed climate-control rules.
  

New Jersey towns and counties in flood-prone areas would be considered an “Inundation Risk Zone,” meaning that there would permanent standing water in those areas due to rising sea levels projected by the year 2100.

The proposed regulations would designate 43 percent of Cape May County’s entire land mass as an Inundation Risk Zone. In Ocean City, about 82 percent of the town would be in the same classification, according to Lomax.

Lomax said coastal Cape May County towns such as Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor, Avalon and Cape May would also be within Inundation Risk Zones, as would parts of the bayside communities and even west to the Garden State Parkway.

As a result, those areas would be subject to more stringent building restrictions, homeowners would have to buy flood insurance and properties would be required to have deed restrictions noting that they are in areas susceptible to flooding, officials said.

“By DEP’s own admission, these rules are intended to discourage further development in the barrier islands and our low-lying mainland areas,” Lomax said.

The impacts of the flood-control regulations would reach throughout the state. Major cities such as Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark, Elizabeth, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Camden and Salem City would also be included in the flood zones, Lomax said.

As part of their opposition, Cape May County officials are disputing the conclusions of a Rutgers University scientific panel whose analysis of rising sea levels serves as the basis for the governor’s proposed regulations.

State Sen. Michael Testa, a Republican representing the First Legislative District, characterized the Rutgers analysis as a “debunked study” based on “doomsday predictions.”

    Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Leonard Desiderio, center, speaks with local residents at the meeting.
  

Cape May County officials contend that the panel’s flood predictions are grossly exaggerated and extend all the way out to 75 years from now. They want the state to take a more incremental approach, perhaps 10 or 20 years into the future, not 75.

“In conclusion, it makes sense that we pause the process, we adjust to a more reasonable planning horizon. Not 75 years into the future, but something that’s more akin to what we see with municipal and county master plans,” Lomax said of having a 10 or 20-year planning window.

Members of the public who spoke or asked questions during the meeting expressed fear that the flood-elevation requirements could dramatically change building standards, construction costs, insurance costs and the affordability of housing.

Sea Isle City resident, Joe Griffies said he hopes Murphy’s executive order would simply end once Murphy leaves office in 2026 or would be repealed by the next governor.

“Can a new governor come in and reverse this and everything goes back to normal?” Griffies asked.

Ocean City resident George Tuthill also indicated he was uncomfortable that the governor has proposed the regulations through an executive order. He said Murphy appears to be promoting “an agenda” rather than proposing a legitimate response to climate change.

“This is big government control; that’s my opinion,” Tuthill said.

Video of the community meeting follows: