New Jersey environmental regulators have proposed rules that would raise the minimum height of new construction in flood prone areas of the state, including the Jersey Shore.

Among the changes, announced July 14, 2025, is a reduced height requirement that is one ft. less than what state environmental regulators proposed last year, when they said at least 5 ft. on top of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Base Flood Elevation was necessary to protect homes in the future.

Still, the rules would add a significant cost to new construction, the Asbury Park Press reported July 15, 2025.

"We've got to be guided by the best available science and acknowledge that science is not static," said New Jersey Environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

He said the reduction in the state's proposed flood zone rules reflect international policy changes that experts predict will reduce carbon emissions and slow global temperature increases from previously higher projections.

If FEMA's Base Flood Elevation on a property is 3 ft. over ground level, the new 4-ft. requirement would mean a home would need to be built 7 ft. over ground level, according to the draft rules.

The reason for the height difference is that New Jersey's proposed building standards look ahead to projected changes in global temperatures, precipitation and sea level rise when factoring building elevations.

In contrast, FEMA's building rules for flood zones look back at historical flood data.

Experts say sea levels will rise 4.4 ft. through the end of the current century, which marks a reduction from earlier estimates that predicted 5.1 ft. of increase, noted Jennifer Moriarty, the state's assistant commissioner for watershed and land management at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

"That's because global temperature increase is now projected to be 2.7 degrees, whereas at the time of the original proposal it was projected to be 3.3 degrees of warming," she said.

Sea level has already climbed 18 in. since the early 1900s along the coast, according to the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University.

Flood Zones Are Shifting

The new amendments to New Jersey's proposed flood zone building regulations, or Resilient Environments and Landscapes (REAL) coastal flood rules, also would reduce the regions and neighborhoods that are considered to be within the "inundation risk zone" from the earlier draft to meet the new predictions.

However, even these amended rules would place neighborhoods that are not currently considered at risk into new flood zones, according to critics of the proposal.

The amendments would give builders flexibility in flood zones for projects that have "dry access" during floods, so that residents could evacuate or emergency responders could enter.

DEP officials said some low- and moderate-income housing projects could also receive a "hardship exception" from the some of the building rules, as long as public safety is not jeopardized.

But waiving the flood-mitigation requirements for affordable housing projects puts people living in vulnerable areas at risk and "is just going to be very dangerous," warned Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy organization.

"Why would we build in a place we know is going to flood in a way we know will kill people … particularly for our most vulnerable (residents)," he said. "Families with limited financial ability are going to have the most difficult time escaping and finding another place of refuge. They can't just go and necessarily rent a hotel when the storm is coming."

But LaTourette countered that argument when he said, "Under no circumstances are … the DEP or the [Gov. Phil] Murphy Administration suggesting that folks who are in need of affordable housing … be placed in the most vulnerable areas."

He added that the hardship exemption would only apply if builders can prove they have plans to protect health and safety in affordable housing projects in flood zones.

Will Flood Rules Make Building Too Expensive?

Members of New Jersey's building industry have been critical of the new flood rules since they were first introduced. Many of them believe the proposed building height requirement would make construction prohibitively expensive across much of the state.

Despite reducing the proposed building height standard from 5 ft. over Base Flood Elevation to 4 ft., potential homebuyers will still be priced out of the state's housing market, Ray Cantor, deputy chief of government affairs for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) told the Asbury Park news source.

"That one-foot decline may not make a difference to some, but it will be cost-prohibitive to many and impossible to overcome for others," Cantor said in a statement. "Put simply, it will be devastating to many of our coastal and river communities. The DEP is simply doing a great economic disservice to the state that will greatly add to our lack of affordability in New Jersey."

Jeff Kolakowski, CEO of the New Jersey Builders Association, said his organization was still reviewing the changes in the proposed regulations.

"We will need to thoroughly evaluate the changes to gauge the impact on our state's planning, redevelopment, transportation, infrastructure, housing affordability and economy," he said in an email to the Asbury Park Press. "This proposal's monumental impact on the long-term future of [New Jersey] deserves more robust public engagement, better coordination amongst state agencies and priorities and, at this point, should be left to the next administration."

In a July 14 video conference with members of the media, LaTourette said that DEP officials will look at temperature and sea level rise projections every five years and re-evaluate the building rules in flood areas in response to changes.

"It's important to consistently update the science," he said. "Nothing about the way the number is formulated has changed. The inputs have changed."

While the proposed rules would apply to new construction, they would not affect existing buildings in areas that are already experiencing regular and occasional flooding: coastal Monmouth County, Long Beach Island and some communities around Barnegat Bay, for example.

Many of the homes in these areas were elevated after Superstorm Sandy, but some neighborhoods where the worst flooding happens are routinely cut off from dry land during coastal storms and king tides. Others face the risk of flooding during heavy rains or summer deluges.

LaTourette told the Asbury Park Press that these communities will require more than just elevating buildings to address flooding in the coming years; rather, they must reimagine stormwater drainage systems, collaborate on flood prevention projects with state and federal partners and take advantage of state programs that buy out the most flood-prone properties. In some places, levees and tidal gates may also be necessary, he said.

"The resilience menu is large, but you have to invest in each course for it to be effective," LaTourette said.