Navigating New Jersey’s REAL Rules

July 16th, 2025 by Chris Sotiro

Author’s Note: This session was held on June 13, 2025. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released a Notice of Substantial Changes in the July 21, 2025, New Jersey Register. This blog does not reflect the proposed changes.

“Sixty-two thousand homes along New Jersey’s coast will experience chronic flooding by 2050,” said Diane Schrauth, Water Policy Director at New Jersey Future, during the 2025 NJ Planning & Redevelopment Conference (NJPRC). That will be the material reality for tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who will face skyrocketing flood insurance rates, loss of property value, and, eventually, displacement. However, through forward-thinking updates to the state’s land-use policy and floodplain maps, residents and businesses can be protected against climate threats like sea level rise and flooding.

A panel of expert planners explored the NJ Protecting Against Climate Threats (PACT) Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) proposal from different perspectives at the 2025 NJPRC, hosted by New Jersey Future and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association. The session “Navigating New Jersey’s REAL Rules: A Guide to Development in the Garden State” featured Jennifer Moriarty, Assistant Commissioner of Watershed and Land Management at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Dan Kennedy, CEO of the New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP (also known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association), and Lindsey Massih, former Climate Adaptation Policy Program Manager at New Jersey Future.

As Jennifer Moriarty explained, the latest climate research by Rutgers University found that New Jersey can expect to see roughly five feet of sea level rise by the end of the century under a moderate-emissions scenario. At the time of the session, REAL required newly developed and redeveloped homes within coastal flood zones to be elevated five feet above FEMA’s 100-year flood elevation, which has sparked opposition by some, arguing that five feet is too high. As of July 21, the rules have been amended through a Notice of Substantial Change to only require four feet of elevation. Still, the underlying science relies on the assumption that the United States will continue to enact clean energy initiatives that reduce global greenhouse gas output. More so, this figure assumes that the world will meet the Paris Climate Accords’ stated goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Recent rollbacks of hundreds of federal environmental regulations, policies, and the weakening of key laws, like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, call into question the ability to meet a “moderate-emissions scenario”. The same Rutgers report asserts that New Jersey will face 6.3 feet of sea level rise by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario.

Keeping New Jerseyans safe from climate threats, such as storm surge, sea level rise, and flooding, requires significant changes in how New Jersey develops and the location of that development. To that end, this comprehensive rule proposal would amend the Flood Hazard Area Control Act Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:13), Coastal Zone Management Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:7), Stormwater Management Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:8), and Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:7A).

This sweeping rule package, over 1,000 pages, has sparked much uncertainty over its real-world applications. Dan Kennedy of the New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP expressed opposition to the rules in their current form and wanted to see them improved. He highlighted concerns about the NJDEP’s staffing capacity and its ability to process the expected increased flow of permit applications in a timely manner under these stricter regulations. Another potential unintended consequence would be interference with municipalities’ ability to meet their affordable housing obligations.

Lindsey Massih expressed general support for REAL’s direction, emphasizing the need to protect coastal communities from extreme precipitation, which is only due to worsen over the coming decades. She recalled the response to Hurricane Sandy, where the state issued a statewide exception to height restrictions on local zoning, allowing property owners to elevate their homes while rebuilding. Many coastal residents opted to elevate their homes 7 or 8 feet high to open up space for a first-floor garage while maximizing flood resilience. The rules would also maximize stormwater management standards, requiring on-site retention for stormwater runoff and closing loopholes that prevent water quality control from being mandated in redevelopment projects.

Ultimately, while the NJ PACT REAL rules face criticism and logistical hurdles, their urgency cannot be overstated. The highly vulnerable position of hundreds of communities along New Jersey’s coastal areas demands broad changes to the state’s land use and flood management techniques if those communities are to stand resilient against climate threats. While ill-prepared communities throughout the country continue to be ravaged by floodwaters, REAL offers a pathway for New Jersey to mitigate the disastrous effects of extreme weather. With an August 4th deadline rapidly approaching, the ball is now in Governor Phil Murphy’s court to advance the state’s climate resilience goals by acting on this comprehensive rule package.