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New Jersey flood rules expand regulated area in Belmar; town weighs zoning, insurance and permit effects
Summary
Belmar’s floodplain administrator outlined new climate-adjusted flood elevation (CAFE) rules that expand regulated coastal flood hazard areas and add four feet of elevation over base flood levels; council and residents raised concerns about grandfathering, mapping, building height, and possible effects on homeowners and Main Street businesses.
Christine Bell, Belmar's floodplain administrator, briefed the council on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection rules that expand coastal flood hazard regulated areas using a climate-adjusted flood elevation (CAFE) through 2100 projections. Bell said the rules were signed into effect by executive action and carry a 180-day grandfathering period; municipalities are expected to adopt a model flood-damage prevention ordinance by January next year.
"These rules will really go into effect on July 20th of this year," Bell said, noting that the state added a four-foot elevation requirement above base flood elevations in regulated areas and that the standard was revised from an earlier five-foot proposal.
In the presentation and follow-up discussion, Bell and council members addressed practical consequences: properties with substantial improvements (typically defined as 50% of assessed structure value) may need to meet the higher elevation or use floodproofing strategies; the rules expand the regulatory footprint on Belmar maps; and municipal zoning (including permitted heights and setbacks) may need review to reconcile new first-floor elevation requirements with existing building-height limits.
Councilors and residents raised questions about grandfathering and mapping clarity, whether the borough could delay or phase local adoption until January, how flood insurance (based on FEMA maps) interacts with the state standard, the municipal process for ascertaining base flood elevations for individual lots, and whether Main Street commercial properties could use alternative floodproofing instead of raising first floors.
Bell said that a complete permit filed before July 20 would generally be grandfathered, that DEP mapping and the borough's linked mapping tools are available for address-specific checks, and that the borough will provide guidance and outreach so residents and committees can understand implications and compliance steps.
The council discussed possible next steps: distributing clear public information on how to check a property’s regulated status and base flood elevation, convening training for relevant committees, and coordinating with neighboring shore towns that are pursuing legal challenges to the rules.
