New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 7 - COASTAL PERMIT PROGRAM RULES › Subchapter 9 - SPECIAL AREAS › Section 7:7-9.38 - Public open space

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Public open
				space constitutes land areas owned or maintained by State, Federal, county and
				municipal agencies or private groups (such as conservation organizations and
				homeowner's associations) and used for or dedicated to conservation of natural
				resources, public recreation, visual or physical public access or, wildlife
				protection or management. Public open space also includes, but is not limited
				to, State Forests, State Parks, and State Fish and Wildlife Management Areas,
				lands held by the New Jersey Natural Lands Trust (13:1B-15.1 19 et seq.), lands held
				by the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (58:1B-1 et seq.) and designated
				Natural Areas (13:1B-15.1 2a et
				seq.) within DEP-owned and managed lands.
(b) New or expanded public or private open
				space development is encouraged at locations compatible or supportive of
				adjacent and surrounding land uses.
(c) Development that adversely affects
				existing public open space is discouraged.
(d) Development within existing public open
				space is conditionally acceptable, provided that the development is consistent
				with the character and purpose of public open space, as described by the park
				master plan when such a plan exists.
(e) Development in Atlantic City is
				acceptable within existing public open space provided the public open space is
				a street right-of-way or the Boardwalk and the development meets the standards
				of 7:7-9.47(e) through
				(j).
(f) Provision of barrier free access to
				public open space is encouraged.
(g) All new development adjacent to public
				open space will be required to provide an adequate buffer area and to comply
				with the buffers and compatibility of uses rule,
				7:7-16.11. The buffer required will
				be dependent upon adjacent land uses and potential conflicts between users of
				public open space and the proposed adjacent land use.
(h) Rationale: As the urbanization of New
				Jersey continues and leisure time increases, open space will play an
				increasingly important role in maintaining a desirable living environment for
				the residents of New Jersey. While the supply of open space has decreased under
				the growing pressure for development, the State's expanding population will
				require more public open space to satisfy its needs.
Not only is open space the basic resource for recreation
				  facility development, it also performs other worthwhile functions. Open space
				  can create public spaces in densely settled areas, shape urban growth, provide
				  buffers between incompatible uses, retain contiguous farmland, insure the
				  preservation of wildlife corridors, increase the economic value of adjacent
				  land, and preserve distinct architectural, historic, and geologic sites. In
				  addition, undeveloped and minimally developed open space can positively affect
				  water quality by, for example, absorbing stormwater runoff.