N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-9.29

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 7:7-9.29 - Coastal bluffs

(a) A coastal bluff is a steep slope (greater than 15 percent) of consolidated (rock) or unconsolidated (sand, gravel) sediment which is adjacent to the shoreline or which is demonstrably associated with shoreline processes.

1. The waterward limit of a coastal bluff is a point 25 feet waterward of the toe of the bluff face, or the mean high water line, whichever is nearest the toe of the bluff.

2. The landward limit of a coastal bluff is the landward limit of the area likely to be eroded within 50 years, or a point 25 feet landward of the crest of the bluff, whichever is farthest inland.

3. Steep slopes, as defined at 7:7-9.32, are isolated inland areas with slopes greater than 15 percent. All steep slopes associated with shoreline processes or adjacent to the shoreline and associated wetlands, or contributing sediment to the system, will be considered coastal bluffs.

(b) Development is prohibited on coastal bluffs, except for linear development which meets the rule on the location of linear development, 7:7-14.1, shore protection activities which meet the appropriate coastal engineering rule, 7:7-15.11, and single-family homes and duplexes which are not located along the shorelines of the Atlantic Ocean, Delaware Bay, Raritan Bay, or Sandy Hook Bay and comply with 7:7-15.2(e) or (f).

(c) The stabilization of coastal bluffs with vegetation is encouraged.

(d) Rationale: Coastal bluffs are most prominent in New Jersey along the Delaware River at Roebling and Florence and along the Raritan Bay at Aberdeen Township and Atlantic Highlands. They have a significant function in storm damage prevention and flood control, by eroding in response to wave action and resisting erosion caused by wind and rain runoff. Bluff erosion is also an important source of beach nourishment where the coastal bluff faces an open water body. Disturbance of coastal bluffs which undermines their natural resistance to wind and rain erosion increases the risk of their collapse and causes cuts in the bluffs. This increases danger to structures at the top of the bluff and reduces the bluff's ability to buffer upland area from coastal storms. Vegetation helps stabilize bluffs and can reduce the rate of erosion caused by wind and rain runoff. A minimum construction setback on the stable land is required to protect life and property, and reaffirms the setback requirement of the erosion hazard area rule, 7:7-9.19.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-9.29

Renumbered from 7:7E-3.31 by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015