SANDY’S
DEVASTATION
of continued beach nourishment
would “inevitably collide with resource and financial constraints.”
“There is concern that less federal money will be available in
the future for beach replenishment projects, just when need for
the projects is increasing,” the
report concluded.
In contrast, the state reserves
only $15 million each year for a
program that allows local governments to buy out property damaged by past floods or purchase
undeveloped land in hazardous
flood zones. That, of course, has
encouraged continued coastal development and prompted researchers to warn of growing risks.
The state’s own Department
of Environmental Protection has
warned in a series of reports over
the past decade that officials needed to relocate private development
away from hazardous areas. One
DEP report from 2006 cited the
challenges of such a policy, including “lobbying efforts of special
interest groups, legal challenges to
[state] permit decisions, provision
of flood insurance through the
National Flood Insurance Program,
and public perception that largescale beach nourishment projects
eliminate vulnerability.”
HUFFINGTON
12.02.12
Over the years, critics have said
the state has not been nearly aggressive enough in managing development in its coastal zone. Under long-standing state law, many
smaller developments of less than
25 units in hazardous coastal flood
regions don’t require any state approval, leaving decision-making to
smaller local governments.
John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute
of Politics at Rutgers University,
and a former official at the state
Department of Environmental
Protection in New Jersey, recalled
that throughout much of the
1970s, 80s and 90s, nearly half
the development on the Jersey
Shore was in projects involving
fewer than 25 units.
“We all said that some day archaeologists will dig up the Jersey Shore and think the number
‘24’ had religious implications,”
Weingart said.
Property owners are also allowed to rebuild and in some cases expand on developments that
have been damaged, leading to
much larger and more expensive
homes being built in risky areas.
At the local level, New Jersey
coastal communities have not
pushed for major structural upgrades that would allow homes
to better withstand floods and
storm surges.