23-07-2025
To Build Affordable Housing, One State Could Loosen Flood Protections
New Jersey officials this week proposed that affordable housing projects in coastal flood zones be allowed to apply for 'hardship' exemptions from new building regulations meant to protect homes from rising sea levels.
The proposed revision to the regulations, known as the Resilient Environments and Landscape Rules, aims to ensure that the environmental guidelines don't discourage the construction of affordable homes in a state experiencing a housing crunch.
But some climate experts and activists in the state, where the vast majority of the coast line is at high risk of erosion and sea level rise, say that such a waiver could place some of New Jersey's most economically vulnerable residents in harm's way.
'What is expensive are the storms,' said Jennifer Coffey, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, a nonprofit. 'These are the people who are the least resilient to recovering from natural disasters.'
The rules were first proposed last summer and have yet to be enacted. They are the final part of a broader package of measures addressing climate change that was introduced by Gov. Philip D. Murphy in 2020. The regulatory package also includes statewide rules for infrastructure projects and the managing of storm water. Rules offering protection against inland flooding were adopted two years ago.
The proposed revisions, if implemented, would make New Jersey among the first states to integrate protective measures against climate change, in particular sea level rise, into its building code. The revisions were posted on Monday for a 60-day public comment period, which will be followed by a hearing in September and final approval in January.
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