TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection Monday formally proposed new rules it believes will improve and enhance public access to New Jersey’s beaches, bays and waterways.
The revisions to the state’s Coastal Zone Management rules were developed after extensive input and review by local governments, recreational interests, public access advocates, business leaders, and members of the public, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said in a release.
“Access to our ocean beaches, bays and rivers is a fundamental right for everyone,” said Martin.
The official Public Access Rule proposes a number of measures to ensure proper access is offered, including assisting and providing local governments in developing Municipal Public Access Plans, dedicating State Green Acres Program funds and other State resources to implement local plans, and communicating the wealth of public access opportunities already available in New Jersey, DEP stated.
The Public Access Rule was developed after the courts struck down a rule adopted by the previous administration that, among other things, required 24/7 access to waterways, even in industrial and port areas along rivers, and allowed the DEP to deny funding for beach replenishment projects if municipalities did not meet the strict letter of the rules, according to DEP.
The court also struck down parking and public restroom requirements. The top-down regulations left cities and towns out of the planning process, and proved to be too costly and unwieldy with little public benefit.
“This rule will direct public access opportunities to places where it’s safe and appropriate, without placing undue economic burdens on existing port or industrial facilities such as refineries,” said Ray Cantor, Chief Advisor to Martin, in a statement. Under the rule proposed Monday, municipalities that develop public access plans will be able to determine and direct public access uniquely suited to each community. Martin said that DEP wants to do away with the one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to waterway access.
Jeff Tittel, chapter director of the N.J. Sierra Club, said Monday in reaction that while the old Corzine administration-era rules were not perfect, this proposal also has problems.
According to Tittel, this new rule will give more power back to municipalities, which he argued do not provide enough beach access, and will side with special interests, such as developers, over the public.
“What a lot of the public doesn’t realize,’’ he said, “is that the waterfronts belong to us, whether it’s the oceans or the bays or the rivers, that under New Jersey’s public trust doctrine, we have the right to access.”
Specifically, the rule:
* Requires new commercial, residential and industrial development to provide public access or pay into a fund created by a municipality with an approved access plan;
* Encourages municipalities to work with the Department to develop town-specific municipal public access plans;
* Expands the definition of public access to include certain recreational facilities under the definition of amusement pier, thereby opening up opportunities for rehabilitation of piers;
* Maintains all existing public access along the Shore and waterfronts;
* Enables the DEP to rank municipalities without approved access plans lower for shore protection funding projects.
The DEP has launched a Web site http://www.state.nj.us/dep/cmp/access/ that has information about public access points, including public restroom and parking facilities, amenities such as restaurants, boat and kayak launches, marinas,
Public hearings are scheduled on May 12, 11 a.m. at Liberty State Park, Jersey City; and May 17, 11 a.m., at Richard Stockton College, Pomona. Written comments may be submitted through June 3 to: N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, Gary Brower, Esq., ATTN: DEP Docket No. 05-11-03, Office of Legal Affairs, 401 East State Street, 4th Floor, PO Box 402, Trenton, New Jersey 08625. To read the rule proposal, and for information on submitting comments and the public hearings, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/notices/040411a.html