Proposed DEP rules spark debate on development, resiliency

njspotlightnews.org

New rules concerning land use in flood-prone areas have sparked debate on development and sustainability.

Resilient Environment and Landscapes (REAL) is a thousand-page draft rule that would drastically alter development in New Jersey. If formally adopted, it would require developers to raise new structures by five feet in flood-prone areas, and it would reclassify flood-prone areas based on five feet of sea-level rise by 2100.

“REAL represents a paradigm shift in how we think about development in flood-prone areas,” said Lindsey Sigmund-Massih, manager of the Mainstreaming Green Infrastructure program at New Jersey Future.