TRENTON-The cost of housing remains very high in New Jersey, and the state Department of Environment Protection is proposing to help bring more affordable product onto the market by easing some of the state's stringent coastal restrictions. The proposed rules have just been published and are set for public hearings.
According to a statement issued by Ruth Ehinger, director of DEP's Coastal Management Program, such affordable housing projects "would still have to meet wetlands and other environmental rules." According to a statement posted on DEP's website, a key goal of the state's larger development and redevelopment plan "is to encourage development [in interim development centers] and protect the environs."
The relaxations involve the amount of "impervious cover for proposed developments consisting entirely of affordable housing in limited circumstances," according to the just-published rules. The amount of vegetation covering a site proposed for development would also be eased. But within the zones in which development rules would be eased, those areas deemed "environmentally sensitive"--mostly habitats for endangered species and what are termed "coastal critical" areas--will still be off-limits. Among the communities in which the targeted zones lie are portions of Brick, Barnegat, Lakewood, Waretown, Lacey, Pine Beach, Point Pleasant Borough and Dover.
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