Bill Text: NJ S1499 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits DEP from requiring mitigation as condition of certain approvals for public access walkways in Hudson River waterfront area.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-01 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S1499 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S1499-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits DEP from requiring mitigation as condition of certain approvals for public access walkways in Hudson River waterfront area.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain mitigation requirements of the Department of Environmental Protection and supplementing Title 12 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.12:5-3 is amended to read as follows:
12:5-3. a. All plans for the development of any waterfront upon any navigable water or stream of this State or bounding thereon, which is contemplated by any person or municipality, in the nature of individual improvement or development or as a part of a general plan which involves the construction or alteration of a dock, wharf, pier, bulkhead, bridge, pipeline, cable, or any other similar or dissimilar waterfront development shall be first submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection. No such development or improvement shall be commenced or executed without the approval of the Department of Environmental Protection first had and received, or as hereinafter in this chapter provided.
b. The following are exempt from the provisions of subsection a. of this section:
(1) The repair, replacement or renovation of a permanent dock, wharf, pier, bulkhead or building existing prior to January 1, 1981, provided the repair, replacement or renovation does not increase the size of the structure and the structure is used solely for residential purposes or the docking or servicing of pleasure vessels;
(2) The repair, replacement or renovation of a floating dock, mooring raft or similar temporary or seasonal improvement or structure, provided the improvement or structure does not exceed in length the waterfront frontage of the parcel of real property to which it is attached and is used solely for the docking or servicing of pleasure vessels; and
(3) Development in the coastal area, as defined in section 4 of P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-4), landward of the mean high water line of any tidal waters.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Department of Environmental Protection shall not, as a condition of approval required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, include solar panels in any calculation of impervious surface or impervious cover.
As used in this subsection, "solar panel" means an elevated panel or plate, or a canopy or array thereof, that captures and converts solar radiation to produce power, and includes flat plate, focusing solar collectors, or photovoltaic solar cells and excludes the base or foundation of the panel, plate, canopy, or array.
d. The Department of Environmental Protection may, as a condition of an approval required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and pursuant to standards established by rule or regulation adopted pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), require a person or municipality to provide on-site public access to the waterfront and adjacent shoreline, or off-site public access to the waterfront and adjacent shoreline if on-site public access is not feasible as determined by the department. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to abrogate or otherwise affect any public access obligations or requirements of any approval, administrative order, consent decree, or court order in effect prior to the effective date of P.L.2015, c.260.
e. (1) The Department of Environmental Protection shall not require mitigation as a condition of any approval required pursuant to subsection a. of this section when the approval is issued for an activity related to the maintenance, rehabilitation, repair, or restoration of a public access walkway that is coincident with the shoreline of property located in the Hudson River waterfront area and was constructed as a condition of a prior approval issued by the department.
(2) As used in this subsection, "Hudson River Waterfront Area" means the same as defined by the department in its Coastal Zone Management Rules or other substantially similar regulations adopted pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to implement the provisions of R.S.12:5-3.
(cf: P.L.2015, c.260, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) from requiring mitigation as a condition of an approval issued for the maintenance, rehabilitation, repair, or restoration of a public access walkway coincident with the shoreline of property located in the Hudson River waterfront area and constructed as a condition of a prior approval issued by the DEP.
As a condition of an approval issued pursuant to R.S.12:5-3, commonly referred to as a "waterfront development permit," in the Hudson River waterfront area, the DEP requires the construction of a public access walkway for development along the Hudson River waterfront, and further requires a conservation restriction to be placed on the property in favor of the DEP. The owner of the property is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the public access walkway. Under certain circumstances, the rehabilitation, repair, or restoration of the public access walkway may require an approval from the DEP. This bill would prohibit the DEP from requiring mitigation as a condition of those approvals.
As defined by the DEP in its "Coastal Zone Management Rules," the "Hudson River Waterfront Area" extends from the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, Bergen County to the Bayonne Bridge in Bayonne, Hudson County, inclusive of all land that is subject to the "waterfront development act." This includes property within the municipalities of Bayonne, Edgewater, Fort Lee, Guttenberg, Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Weehawken, and West New York.
