ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 99
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 26, 1996
By Assemblymen CONNORS and MORAN
A Concurrent Resolution condemning the recommendations of the proposed Coastal Hazard Management Plan for New Jersey prepared by the Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
Whereas, The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, was commissioned by the Department of Environmental Protection in 1994 to conduct a reassessment of the New Jersey Shore Protection Master Plan of 1981; and
Whereas, The Institute, after over two years of study and at a cost to taxpayers of $227,000, has released a final report, entitled the "Coastal Hazard Management Plan for New Jersey," that calls for abandoning the State's historical committment to the protection of coastal resources and properties in favor of a State plan that advocates the creation of a State "division" dedicated to the management of coastal hazards and post-storm land use along the Jersey Shore; and
Whereas, The proposed plan advocates that the State enact building moratoria and relocation of people as part of post-disaster planning at the Shore, relocate roads and sewers away from high hazard areas, and encourage the enactment of zoning ordinances to limit development in high hazard areas; and
Whereas, The proposed plan calls for the elimination of beach protection projects in high erosion rate areas, and further discourages the use of beach restoration efforts except as a short-term approach, while recommending that public funds be directed only toward shore management alternatives that are part of a program to achieve long-term goals; and
Whereas, New Jersey has clearly established as a top priority and as a long-term goal the periodic replenishing and general preservation of the beaches of the State, and has done so by creating the Shore Protection Fund, a $15 million annual stable source of funding for beach replenishment; and
Whereas, Tourism could not exist without adequate protection of the Jersey Shore through periodic beach renourishment, and the billions of dollars in tourism spending in the coastal area constitute approximately one-half of total tourism spending in the State, which is estimated to be $20 billion annually; and
Whereas, The proposed "Coastal Hazard Management Plan for New Jersey," if adopted as the policy directive of the State, would have a disastrous effect on the shore tourism economy, including the potential loss of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly related to the tourism industry, on property values, and on State and local tax revenues; and
Whereas, The proposed plan is nothing less than an abandonment of the State's historic committment to its scenic beaches and to the preservation of the culture of the Jersey Shore, and thus a blueprint for dismantling the great heritage of our New Jersey Shore resort communities; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey hereby condemns the "Coastal Hazard Management Plan for New Jersey" proposed by the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences and submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection for implementation.
2. The Legislature further urges the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and leaders of the State Legislature to prevent implementation of the recommendations contained in the proposed plan.
3. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and the President of the Senate and attested to by the Clerk of the General Assembly and the Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the Governor of the State of New Jersey and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
STATEMENT
This concurrent resolution condemns the Coastal Hazard Management Plan for New Jersey proposed by the Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences and submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection. The resolution urges the Governor and the commissioner of the department to prevent the implementation of the recommendations contained in the plan.
Condemns proposed Coastal Hazard Management Plan for NJ and urges prevention of its implementation.