CAFRA Notice Published 8-6-18
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1 50 N.J.R. 1794(a) Copy Citation VOLUME 50, ISSUE 15, AUGUST 6, 2018 RULE ADOPTIONS Reporter 50 N.J.R. 1794(a) NJ - New Jersey Register 2018 AUGUST AUGUST 6, 2018 RULE ADOPTIONS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION -- LAND USE MANAGEMENT Agency ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION > LAND USE MANAGEMENT > LAND USE REGULATION PROGRAM Administrative Code Citation N.J.A.C. 7:7, Appendices I and J Text Notice of Administrative Changes Notice of Acceptance of New and Changed State Plan Policy Map Planning Area Boundaries and the Designation of Regional Center and Core Community Development Boundaries Formally Approved by the New Jersey State Planning Commission as the Boundaries for Coastal Planning Areas and CAFRA Centers and Cores under N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16 Township of Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey Take notice that, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (Department) has evaluated and determined to accept the new and changed Planning Area, Regional Center, and Core Community Development boundaries for the Township of Toms River (Township), Ocean County, New Jersey that have been formally approved 2 by the State Planning Commission as new and changed Planning Area boundaries and designated Regional Center and Core Community Development Boundaries in the coastal zone. In accordance with Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Rules, N.J.A.C. 7:7, the Department shall evaluate the new or changed boundaries to determine if they are consistent with the purposes of Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA), N.J.S.A. 13:19-1 et seq., and the CZM Rules whenever the State Planning Commission formally approves new or changed State Plan Planning Area, core, or node boundaries. Also in accordance with the rules, the State Planning Commission approved boundaries will only be rejected or revised if the boundaries would result in unacceptable harm to the coastal ecosystem or the resources of the built or natural environment, or would otherwise be clearly inconsistent with the purposes of CAFRA or CZM rules. The 1993 amendments to CAFRA required that the rules adopted to implement those amendments be closely coordinated with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan (State Plan). The Department has evaluated the boundaries and determined that they are consistent with the purposes of the CAFRA and the CZM rules. In accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16(c), the boundaries accepted by the Department will be operative 30 calendar days from the date of publication of this notice in the New Jersey Register. The new and changed Planning Area boundaries and Regional Center and Core Community Development boundaries described by the accepted operative boundaries will be incorporated into N.J.A.C. 7:7-13 for purposes of applying the requirements for impervious cover and vegetative cover. Maps indicating the operative boundaries of the amended coastal planning areas, CAFRA Centers, and Cores are available on the Department's Geographic Information System (GIS), on the Department's website at www.nj.gov/dep/cmp/czm_news.html and may be reviewed in hard copy at the Department, 401 East State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08625. An appointment for review can be scheduled by calling (609) 984-0058. Portions of the map are reproduced as part of this notice, as described below. The resulting administrative changes to N.J.A.C. 7:7 Appendices I and J are indicated below and shall be operative September 5, 2018, 30 days from the date of publication in the New Jersey Register. Historical Context and Establishment of Mainland Coastal Centers In February 2000, as part of its effort to coordinate the rules adopted pursuant to CAFRA with the State Plan in accordance with 1993 amendments to CAFRA, the Department, considering centers identified in the 1992 State Plan and input from counties and municipalities in the coastal area, delineated coastal centers (see 31 N.J.R. 2042(a); 32 N.J.R. 503(a)). The designated coastal centers were divided into two groups; coastal centers located on barrier islands, oceanfront spits, and peninsulas, which were codified at the time in N.J.A.C. 7:7 Appendix 3, and coastal centers located on the mainland, codified in then-existing N.J.A.C. 7:7 Appendix 2. While the barrier island, oceanfront spits, and peninsula coastal centers in N.J.A.C. 7:7 Appendix 3 were not given an expiration date because these areas were already intensively developed, a five-year expiration date was imposed on the boundaries of coastal centers located on the less developed mainland (mainland coastal centers) to provide time for the mainland municipalities to conduct the more comprehensive planning required to obtain plan endorsement from the State Planning Commission and ultimately achieve CAFRA center status. The five-year expiration date was February 7, 2005. A large portion of the Township was designated as a Mainland Coastal Regional Center under the CAFRA rules in 2000. This designation enabled some CAFRA projects in the Township to have up to 80 percent impervious cover. In consideration that some local governments, including the Township, had committed substantial time and money on diligent efforts to obtain plan endorsement from the State Planning Commission 3 but had not yet obtained such endorsement, the Department determined it appropriate to re- establish the boundaries of certain mainland coastal centers that expired on February 7, 2005, for a limited term and in limited circumstances. These re-established mainland coastal centers remained effective until March 15, 2007, and were governed by existing N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.19. In September 2008, the Permit Extension Act of 2008 was enacted. This Act re-established certain mainland coastal centers, including the Township's Mainland Coastal Regional Center. 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. Because of the 2010 amendments to the Permit Extension Act, the boundaries of certain mainland coastal centers were once again 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 applied to the State Planning Commission for plan endorsement as of March 15, 2007, and were in compliance with the provisions of existing N.J.A.C. 7:7E-5B.6, including the Township. In accordance with P.L. 2012, c. 48, these centers expired December 31, 2015. However, P.L. 2016, c. 14, extended the Permit Extension Act for Sandy-impacted counties, which included Ocean County, until December 31, 2016. All mainland coastal centers have now expired. It is important to note that, due to the difference in the level of planning involved, the mainland centers that expired and the new boundaries approved by this notice, including the coastal planning area boundaries and the CAFRA Center and CAFRA Core boundaries, are governed by separate provisions within the CZM Rules. Particularly, N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.19 provided limitations applicable to the interim, temporary mainland centers described above, which were initiated to allow time for municipalities to achieve the level of planning necessary to obtain plan endorsement through the State Planning Commission process. Due to the limited planning involved, limitations included prohibitions on inclusion within mainland centers of certain environmentally sensitive areas. In contrast, N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16, which governs the Department's determination in the current context, provides that the Department may approve CAFRA Center boundaries based upon the boundaries established through the more extensive planning required by the State Planning Commission process, provided the Department determines that the boundaries approved by the State Planning Commission are consistent with the purposes of CAFRA and the CZM Rules. Unlike N.J.A.C. 7:7- 13.19, the simple presence or absence of environmentally sensitive resources within a particular area does not automatically bar that area from being considered and approved as a CAFRA Center under N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.16. Plan Endorsement In August 2005, after the Department proposal to re-establish the mainland coastal centers, Dover Township (now the Township of Toms River) filed a petition with the State Planning Commission, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:85, seeking endorsement of its planning documents and [page=1795] amendments to the State Plan Policy Map. The Office of Smart Growth (now the Office of Planning Advocacy (OPA)) issued its consistency review of the Township's petition on May 23, 2006. The review listed the tasks the Township needed to undertake and/or complete before their petition for endorsement could be recommended for approval to the State Planning Commission. The recession, the Permit Extension Acts, and Superstorm Sandy all impacted the Township's planning efforts in the interim period between the initial filling of the petition and the determination by OPA that the Township's petition was complete, which occurred in 2016. During the ensuing years between 2006 and 2016, the Township moved on the tasks identified by the Office of Smart Growth's May 2006 consistency review. During this time, OPA, the Department, and other State agencies worked with the Township to settle upon the identification of areas most appropriate for new growth and redevelopment. The Township held over 15 public meetings in 2016 and 2017 to develop the vision for the smart growth plan and on master plan revisions. The Township ultimately determined to seek the designation of two Regional Centers (with one of the two Regional Centers 4 divided into two parts) and six Cores that encompass compact areas of land and which exclude significant areas containing sensitive environmental features.