New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES › Subchapter 13 - REQUIREMENTS FOR IMPERVIOUS COVER AND VEGETATIVE COVER FOR GENERAL LAND AREAS AND CERTAIN SPECIAL AREAS › Section 7:7-13.16 - Boundaries for Coastal Planning Areas, CAFRA centers, CAFRA cores, and CAFRA nodes; non-mainland coastal centers

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The boundaries
				of the Planning Areas, the community development boundaries of centers, and the
				boundaries of cores and nodes formally approved by the State Planning
				Commission as of August 1, 1999, are incorporated by reference into this
				subchapter. These boundaries are the boundaries of the Coastal Planning Areas,
				CAFRA centers, CAFRA cores, and CAFRA nodes and shall be operative for the
				purposes of applying the requirements for impervious cover and vegetative cover
				under this subchapter, unless the Department, in accordance with (b) and (c)
				below, accepts a State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed
				boundary, or unless the Department, in accordance with (b) and (e) below,
				rejects a State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed boundary
				and subsequently promulgates a revised boundary.
(b) Whenever the State Planning Commission
				formally approves (see (h) below) any new or changed Planning Area boundary,
				any new or changed community development boundary, or any new or changed core
				or node boundary, 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 clearly inconsistent with the
				purposes of CAFRA or this chapter. For those new or changed community
				development boundaries or new or changed core or node boundaries which are
				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 (N.J.S.A.
				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 this subchapter.
(c) If
				the Department determines under (b) above to accept the State Planning
				Commission formally approved new or changed Planning Area boundary, community
				development boundary, or core or node boundary, the accepted new or changed
				boundary is incorporated by reference as the boundary of the Coastal Planning
				Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA core, and CAFRA node, and shall be operative 30
				calendar days after the date of publication of the New Jersey Register notice
				under (b) above. A CAFRA center boundary shall supersede the boundary for a
				corresponding coastal center, if any, in Appendix H. CAFRA centers are listed
				for informational purposes in Appendix I of this chapter. As part of the New
				Jersey Register notice published under (b) above, the Department shall
				incorporate into Appendix I by administrative change the name of each CAFRA
				center for which the Department has accepted the boundary. However, in order to
				determine the location of a site with reference to the accepted boundaries of a
				CAFRA center, CAFRA core, or CAFRA node for purposes of determining the
				applicable impervious cover limit, an applicant shall refer to the CAFRA
				Planning Map in accordance with
				N.J.A.C.
				7:7-13.17(b).
(d) If the Department determines under (b)
				above to reject the State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed
				Planning Area boundary, community development boundary, or core or node
				boundary, the boundary incorporated by reference under (a) above shall continue
				to be operative, except as provided under (e) below.
(e) The Department may determine under (b)
				above to reject the State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed
				Planning Area boundary, community development boundary, or core or node
				boundary and to establish a revised Coastal Planning Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA
				core, or CAFRA node boundary by promulgating an amendment to this chapter in
				accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act,
				N.J.S.A.
				52:14B-1 et seq. Until the Department
				promulgates such revised boundary, the Coastal Planning Area, CAFRA center,
				CAFRA core, or CAFRA node boundary under (a) above shall continue to be
				operative.
(f) The CAFRA Planning
				Map, with all Coastal Planning Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA core, and CAFRA node
				boundaries operative under this section for purposes of this subchapter, is
				available on the Department's Geographic Information System (GIS) and may be
				reviewed at the Department, 401 East State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08625,
				609-777-0672.
(g) The boundaries
				delineated by the Department for non-mainland coastal centers, as defined at
				N.J.A.C.
				7:7-13.2, are described in Appendix H of this
				chapter.
(h) For purposes of this
				section, a State Planning Commission formally approved new or changed boundary
				is one that the State Planning Commission has amended in accordance with the
				New Jersey State Planning Act,
				N.J.S.A.
				52:18A-196 et seq., and the State Planning
				rules, N.J.A.C. 5:85.
(i) A site
				in the CAFRA area may include land in more than one coastal center, Coastal
				Planning Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA core, or CAFRA node. Where this occurs, the
				impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages appropriate to the
				respective coastal center, Coastal Planning Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA core, or
				CAFRA node portions of the site apply.
(j) Neither formal approval by the State
				Planning Commission of a new or changed boundary for a Planning Area, a new or
				changed community development boundary, or a new or changed core or node
				boundary, nor the incorporation by reference and acceptance or revision by the
				Department of such boundary as the Coastal Planning Area, CAFRA center, CAFRA
				core, or CAFRA node boundary under this section shall exempt any development
				from this subchapter or from any of the requirements in this chapter.
(k) Rationale: The boundaries of Planning
				Areas, community development boundaries of centers, and the boundaries of cores
				and nodes formally approved by the State Planning Commission as of August 1,
				1999, were drawn after a lengthy public process that involved the participation
				of municipal, county, and State officials and the submittal of thousands of
				documents from public officials and private organizations and individuals. The
				Department determined that the boundaries drawn by the State Planning
				Commission in the CAFRA area are in keeping with the purposes of the CAFRA
				statute to "encourage the development of compatible land uses in order to
				improve the overall economic position of the inhabitants of [the CAFRA] area
				within the framework of a comprehensive environmental design strategy which
				preserves the most ecologically sensitive and fragile area from inappropriate
				development and provides adequate environmental safeguards for the construction
				of any developments in the coastal area." These State Planning Commission
				boundaries are, therefore, an appropriate starting point for the boundaries
				depicted in the CAFRA Planning Map, which are used for the purposes of
				determining impervious cover limits and vegetative cover percentages. However,
				the CAFRA Planning Map boundaries for Coastal Planning Areas, CAFRA centers,
				CAFRA cores, and CAFRA nodes will not necessarily always be the same as the
				boundaries formally approved by the State Planning Commission. The Department
				evaluates any new or revised boundaries approved by the State Planning
				Commission in order to determine if the changes are consistent with the
				purposes of CAFRA and this chapter. If the changes are not consistent with
				CAFRA and the CZM rules, the Department can choose not to incorporate the
				changes and may propose modifications to boundaries approved by the State
				Planning Commission through rulemaking, which allows public input.