Consequences Of New Jersey's Lax Coastal Development Regulation Exposed By Hurricane Sandy

[marmar]

from HuffPost:



SEA BRIGHT, N.J. -- Along the two-lane highway that threads this narrow spit of sand on the Jersey Shore, the Driftwood Cabana Club stands out as a monument to Hurricane Sandy's destruction. Storm-driven waves ripped one building in half. A surge of water tore another structure from its foundation, knocking it on its side.

But the most striking feature of the wreckage laid out here is its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean: The toppled buildings sit on the wrong side of the 10-foot-high concrete-and-rock-seawall that has protected the town for decades, scattered across a stretch of sand that is directly exposed to the sea.

How this exclusive beach club came to be constructed and expanded here, in one of the highest-risk flood zones in the state, offers testament to how New Jersey now finds itself seeking nearly $37 billion in federal disaster relief funds to repair the ravages of Sandy. It also highlights why the state appears uniquely vulnerable to rising sea levels, future hurricanes and their attendant storm surges, with federal taxpayers on the hook for many of the costs.

New Jersey's coastal land-use regulations are conspicuously lenient compared to other states, an investigation by The Huffington Post has found -- so lenient that authorities permitted the Cabana Club to adopt its precarious location between the seawall and the beach. Based on current state law -- the fruit of a political compromise crafted nearly two decades ago -- the club can fully rebuild here, in exactly the same spot. In New Jersey, owners of coastal developments possess unique rights to rebuild in the wake of storms. Whatever nature removes, and at whatever cost to taxpayers, property owners are free to put it all back. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/jersey-shore-development_n_2267557.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. New Jersey has been predisposed towards developers, allowing them permission to build

in flood plains and selling the homes to people who struggle to pay their mortgages and municipal taxes. Last year, Hurricane Irene flooded the same regional area for the third time in three years. The State has finally decided to give up and offer buy-outs for the owners although they aren't going to get their money back for their investments.

[LiberalEsto]

2. NJ developers have for many years donated money to NJ politicians

who then let the developers do whatever they want. I say this as a former NJ newspaper reporter.

[KamaAina]

3. Sea Bright floods in ANY storm

I can only imagine what it must be like now.