CAPE MAY POINT — New rules from the state Department of Environmental Protection include an alphabet soup of acronyms for homeowners to learn and abide by, especially when renovating their properties.
Before Gov. Phil Murphy’s second term ended, New Jersey regulators adopted Protection Against Climate Threats/Resilient Environments and Landscapes (PACT/REAL) via executive order on Jan. 20.
The regulations from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) raise FEMA base flood elevation (BFE) to 4 feet in coastal areas, expand flood hazard zones and include numerous other changes.
After local, county and state representatives provided comment and feedback this past summer, the DEP modified the coastal flood rules in July 2025, including reducing the BFE from 5 feet to 4 feet.
During Borough Commission’s meeting Feb. 10, Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger said the technical manual released by the DEP on Jan. 20 includes more than 300 pages of information.
“The rule doesn’t exist in one place, so you can’t just look up NJ REAL and then read it,” Geiger said. “It’s four different rules: the Coastal Zone Management rules, the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act rules, the Flood Hazard Area Control Act rules, Stormwater Management rules, and any rule apparently in the state that mentions the word ‘flooding.’”
Part of the PACT/REAL creates the Inundation Risk Zone (IRZ), which applies to residential buildings, critical buildings and infrastructure.
Geiger said 44 percent of borough properties are now in the IRZ.
“What this means is that any house or property in this zone will be in standing water due to sea level rise by the year 2100 — there is a 17 percent chance of this occurring,” she said.
State residents can visit the DEP website to use New Jersey’s Flood Indicator Tool to determine whether their house is in the zone.
“My house is in the zone,” she said. “I think we probably need more information to be able to communicate to the public what it means. What I can glean from my reading, it’s increased permitting impacts.”
Geiger added that to receive permits, an impact assessment would have to be completed and risk documents would have to be attached to the property title.
“This is my quick read of it and I think that we need to dig in and have a discussion as to where we can get the information to be clear to tell the 44 percent of people who live here, what this means to them and their properties,” she said.
Another component of the PACT/REAL is the new Climate-Adjusted Flood Elevation (CAFE).
“99 percent of the people in Cape May Point are now covered by CAFE, which basically means 4 feet have been added to the FEMA 100-year flood level,” Geiger said. “Right now, we have a first floor build requirement of 10 feet, so my understanding is that’s 8 feet of FEMA and 2 feet of freeboard.”
Mayor Anita VanHeeswyk said the 2 feet of freeboard is half of the 4-foot BFE. Geiger said there needs to be a foot of freeboard for flood insurance.
“It’s a big change, whether we like it or not, and it’s here,” Geiger said, adding that for discussion purposes, the Planning Board could get together with the zoning official to review the ordinances for impacts.
“I wanted to bring it up so we could move ahead,” Geiger said. “Two things we can do: the Planning Board to review to how high for renovations, and maybe some stormwater input. And to communicate to the Cape May Point homeowners what does this mean to their properties.”
Geiger added that she did not see any likelihood for a reversal of the regulations.
“Municipalities have a 180-day grace period to implement the rules,” VanHeeswyk said, adding that on Nov. 12, Cape May County authorized a resolution to meet with other affected counties regarding litigation.
VanHeeswyk said she would be meeting with the FEMA Community Rating System coordinator, Paul Dietrich, zoning office Bruce Britton, and borough engineer Dale Foster to review areas of concern and potential changes.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
