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 7:7-13.15 - Coastal Planning Areas in the CAFRA area
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) For purposes of this subchapter and consistent with all other rules in this chapter, descriptions and policy objectives for the Coastal Planning Areas in the CAFRA area are set forth in (b) through (f) below.
(b) The Coastal Metropolitan Planning Area includes a variety of communities on the New Jersey coast. This Coastal Planning Area generally has a high population density and existing public water and sewer systems. The policy objectives for the Coastal Metropolitan Planning Area are as follows:
(c) The Coastal Suburban Planning Area is generally located adjacent to the more densely developed Coastal Metropolitan Planning Area, but can be distinguished by a lack of high intensity centers and by a more dispersed and fragmented pattern of development. The existing inventory of undeveloped and underdeveloped land in this Coastal Planning Area should be sufficient to accommodate much of the market demand for future growth and development in the CAFRA area. Internally oriented, mixed-use centers should be encouraged in the Coastal Suburban Planning Area. While development patterns are well established here, development intensities should be highest within CAFRA centers to concentrate development and take advantage of infrastructure efficiencies. Development in the Coastal Suburban Planning Area outside of centers should be less intense than in centers, and less intense than in the Coastal Metropolitan Planning Area. Development in areas not in centers and not in or adjacent to an existing sewer service area should be less intense than in other parts of the Coastal Suburban Planning Area. The policy objectives for the Coastal Suburban Planning Area are as follows:
(d) The Coastal Fringe Planning Area is generally located adjacent to the Coastal Metropolitan Planning Area or the Coastal Suburban Planning Area. It is a predominantly rural area that is neither prime agricultural nor environmentally sensitive land, but which supports agriculture and other resource-based activities. The Coastal Fringe Planning Area is served primarily by a rural, two-lane road network and on-site well water and wastewater systems. It generally lacks public wastewater systems except in existing centers. This Coastal Planning Area is characterized by scattered small settlements and free-standing residential and commercial developments. The policy objectives for the Coastal Fringe Planning Area are as follows:
(e) The Coastal Rural Planning Area generally contains most of the CAFRA area's remaining prime agricultural land, as well as large contiguous tracts of forested areas and other open lands. It is interspersed with centers and with scattered commercial, industrial, and low density residential development. It is served by rural road networks and on-site wastewater and water supply systems. The Coastal Rural Planning Area also supports rural economic activities such as recreation related business. The policy objectives for the Coastal Rural Planning Area are as follows:
(f) The Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area generally has large contiguous land and water areas with critical coastal ecosystems, wildlife habitats, geological features, and other valuable coastal resources. Some of these lands have remained rural and relatively undeveloped, while others have been dominated by development for many years, such as the coastal barrier islands and spits. The barrier islands represent a major public investment in infrastructure systems that should be maintained while protecting the economic and ecological value of adjacent coastal resources. Centers on the barrier islands are almost all served by public wastewater facilities whereas centers in other environmentally sensitive areas are not often. Centers are usually linked by rural roads and separated by open spaces, or linked to the mainland by State highways crossing coastal wetlands and waterways. Areas outside of centers in the Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area are by definition more vulnerable to disturbance from new development. Damage may include fragmentation of landscapes, degradation of aquifers and potable water supplies, habitat destruction, extinction of plant and animal species, and destruction of other irreplaceable resources that are vital to the preservation of the ecological integrity of the coastal area. The Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area also supports recreation and tourism industries, and resource based industries such as mining and forestry. The policy objectives for the Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area are as follows:
(g) Rationale: The designation of planning areas allows the Department to preserve the most ecologically sensitive parts of the CAFRA area by encouraging development in compact growth areas and limiting it in outlying and environmentally sensitive areas. These broad planning area criteria are applied to the CAFRA permit decision-making process. Development is encouraged or concentrated in areas where development already exists and where infrastructure is already in place to reduce sprawl and preserve remaining open space.