N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-13.19

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 19, October 7, 2024

Section 7:7-13.19 - Mainland coastal centers

(a) On March 15, 2007, the boundaries delineated by the Department for mainland coastal centers not located on barrier islands, oceanfront spits, or peninsulas in the CAFRA area expired. The expired boundaries were re-established under the Permit Extension of Act of 2008 as amended January 18, 2010, September 19, 2012, and December 26, 2014. The boundaries of mainland coastal centers are described in Appendix J of this chapter.

(b) The boundaries of the mainland coastal centers established in accordance with (a) above shall expire in accordance with P.L. 2012, c. 48 on December 31, 2015. On and after the expiration of the mainland coastal centers, the impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages for all sites in the CAFRA area, except for sites in the non-mainland coastal centers in Appendix H of this chapter, shall be determined in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.17(c), (e), or (f).

(c) To reflect changes in mainland coastal centers occurring after February 6, 2006, the Department shall publish in the New Jersey Register a notice of administrative change when the boundaries of a mainland coastal center expire under (b) above.

(d) The areas identified at (d)1 through 6 below shall not be considered part of a mainland coastal center, except for purposes of (f) below:

1. Areas mapped as endangered or threatened wildlife species habitat on the Department's Landscape Maps of Habitat for Endangered, Threatened or Other Priority Species. The data are available from the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program at http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/landscape/index.htm;

2. Areas mapped as Natural Heritage Program priority sites, excluding those lands within the boundaries of these sites mapped in the URBAN lands layer extracted from the most recent NJDEP Land Use/Land Cover GIS data set. Both the Natural Heritage Program priority site data and the URBAN lands data are available as a download at the following webpage: http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/listall.html;

3. Land that is owned by Federal, State, county or municipal agencies or conservation organizations and dedicated to recreation, conservation of natural resources, wildlife protection, or wildlife management;

4. Special water resource protection areas along a Category One water established under the Stormwater Management rules, N.J.A.C. 7:8. Surface waters that are designated Category One are listed in the Surface Water Quality Standards at N.J.A.C. 7:9B;

5. Wetlands as defined at 7:7-9.27; and

6. Areas identified as Coastal Critical Environmental Sites. The data are available as a download at the following webpage: http://www.nj.gov/dep/gis/listall.html.

(e) For the purposes of any CAFRA permit issued for a development within a re-established mainland coastal center pursuant to (a) above:

1. The impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages for those portions of the site located within the mainland coastal center shall be determined in accordance with 7:7-13.17(d) and 13.18, respectively, provided no portion of the proposed development, is located outside the boundaries of the mainland coastal center, or in one of the areas identified at (d)1 through 6 above.

2. If any portion of the proposed development is located outside of the mainland coastal center boundaries, or in one of the areas identified at (d)1 through 6 above, then the impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages for the entire development shall be determined in accordance with 7:7-13.17(e) and 13.18, respectively, for the appropriate Coastal Planning Area.

(f) For the purposes of (d)6 above, the boundaries of the Critical Environmental Sites on the State Plan Policy Map adopted by the State Planning Commission on March 1, 2001, are incorporated by reference into this subchapter. These boundaries are the boundaries of the Coastal Critical Environmental Sites. Whenever the State Planning Commission formally approves any new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundary within a mainland coastal center, the Department shall evaluate the new or changed boundary to determine whether it is consistent with the purposes of CAFRA and this chapter. The Department shall not reject, or reject and revise, a boundary unless it finds that accepting the State Planning Commission approved boundary would result in unacceptable harm to the coastal ecosystem or the resources of the built or natural environment, or would otherwise be inconsistent with the purposes of CAFRA or this chapter. For those new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundaries located within the Pinelands National Reserve, the Department shall also, in consultation with the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, determine whether the boundaries are consistent with the intent, policies and objectives of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, P.L. 95-625, section 502, creating the Pinelands National Reserve, and the State Pinelands Protection Act of 1979 ( 13:18A-1 et seq.). Within 90 calendar days after the date on which the State Planning Commission formally approves such boundary, the Department shall publish in the New Jersey Register a notice of its determination to accept, reject, or reject and revise the boundary for the purposes of (d) above.

1. If the Department accepts the State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundary, the accepted new or changed boundary is incorporated by reference as the boundary of the Coastal Critical Environmental Site, and shall be operative 30 calendar days after the date of publication of the New Jersey Register notice under this subsection.

2. If the Department determines under this subsection to reject the State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundary, any applicable boundary incorporated by reference under this subsection shall continue to be operative, except as provided under (f)3 below.

3. The Department may determine under this subsection to reject the State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundary and to establish a revised Coastal Critical Environmental Site boundary by promulgating an amendment to this chapter in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, 52:14B-1 et seq. Until the Department promulgates such revised boundary, any applicable Coastal Critical Environmental Site boundary under this subsection shall continue to be operative.

(g) Rationale: The 1993 amendments to CAFRA required that the rules adopted to implement those amendments be closely coordinated with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. In response to these statutory amendments, the Department adopted new rules for determining impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages for sites in the CAFRA area based on the site's location in a CAFRA center, core or node, Coastal Planning Area or coastal center (see 32 N.J.R. 503(a)) with higher impervious cover allowed in a coastal or CAFRA center. A five-year term was established for the boundaries of coastal centers located on the less developed mainland (mainland coastal centers), with the five-year term expiring February 5, 2005. This five-year term was intended to provide sufficient time for municipalities to obtain center designation through the State Planning process and ultimately achieve CAFRA center status. In consideration that some local governments had committed substantial time and money on diligent efforts to obtain plan endorsement from the State Planning Commission, the Department determined it appropriate to re-establish the boundaries of mainland coastal centers that expired on February 7, 2005, for a limited term and in limited circumstances. Re-established mainland coastal centers remained effective until March 15, 2007, or until the municipality's petition for plan endorsement was approved by the State Planning Commission and the Department determined the appropriateness of the State Planning Commission approved center boundary as a CAFRA center boundary, whichever occurs first ( 38 N.J.R. 928(c)). In September 2008, the Permit Extension Act of 2008 was enacted. This Act re-established certain mainland coastal centers. The Act initially extended the expiration of approvals covered by the Act, including mainland coastal centers, to July 1, 2010. The Permit Extension Act of 2008 was subsequently extended on January 18, 2010. As a result of the 2010 amendments to the Permit Extension Act of 2008, the boundaries of certain mainland coastal centers were extended through March 15, 2013.

On September 19, 2012, the Permit Extension Act of 2008 at N.J.S.A. 40:55D-136.2 through 136.6 was further amended by P.L. 2012, c. 48. This Act further extended center designations in municipalities that had submitted an application for plan endorsement to the State Planning Commission as of March 15, 2007, and were in compliance with the provisions of existing N.J.A.C. 7:7E-5B.6. In accordance with P.L. 2012, c. 48, these centers expired December 31, 2015. P.L. 2016, c. 14, extended the Permit Extension Act for Sandy-impacted counties until December 31, 2016. All mainland coastal centers have now expired. The impervious cover and vegetative cover requirements for the expired mainland coastal centers in the CAFRA area are subject to N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.17(c), (e), or (f).

Certain areas are not included in mainland coastal centers. These areas include mapped endangered or threatened wildlife habitat, Natural Heritage Program priority sites, land dedicated to recreation, conservation, or wildlife protection/management, wetlands, and Coastal Critical Environmental Sites. In order for the impervious cover and vegetative cover requirements for a coastal center to apply, the entire proposed development must be located within the area of the coastal center. These provisions ensure that coastal centers do not expand inappropriately or contribute to sprawl.

The State Planning Commission's approved boundaries of Critical Environmental Sites are incorporated into the CZM Rules as Coastal Critical Environmental Sites. When the State Planning Commission approves any new or changed Critical Environmental Site boundary, the Department will evaluate the change for consistency with the purposes of CAFRA and the CZM Rules, and will accept, reject, or reject and revise the boundary of the Coastal Critical Environmental Site for the purposes of this chapter accordingly. These procedures remain relevant even since the expiration of the mainland coastal centers.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-13.19

Renumbered from 7:7E-5B.6 by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015

Amended by 50 N.J.R. 361(a), effective 1/16/2018

Administrative Change, 51 N.J.R. 1193(a).