Ramapo College of New Jersey Environmental Rules: Coastal Development Rules (2026)

While Bergen County is not a CAFRA-designated coastal county, its eastern municipalities along the Hudson River face intensive shoreline regulation. NJDEP Waterfront Development Permits under N.J.S.A. 12:5-3 and N.J.A.C. 7:7 (Coastal Zone Management rules) apply to all work below mean high water line and within the 100-year floodplain along the Hudson River shoreline in Fort Lee, Edgewater, Cliffside Park, Fairview, and North Bergen. The NJ Tidelands Resource Council (TRC) claims ownership of land below historic mean high water and requires tidelands licenses/grants for private use. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), created by N.J.S.A. 32:14-1, regulates development within the Palisades scenic corridor. Fort Lee Code §150 and Edgewater Code Chapter 335 incorporate these state requirements. Riparian rights and tidelands issues complicate Hudson River shoreline development; the NJDEP Division of Land Resource Protection administers permits. FEMA flood maps (Bergen County effective date 2022) designate large portions of the Hackensack Meadowlands in Bergen (Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Little Ferry, Moonachie, Teterboro, Ridgefield, South Hackensack) as Special Flood Hazard Areas requiring flood-resistant construction per N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.14. The NJ Meadowlands District (governed by N.J.S.A. 5:10A) overlays additional environmental review on Bergen meadowlands municipalities. Sea-level rise adaptation under NJDEP's Inland Flood Protection Rule (N.J.A.C. 7:13, effective 2023) applies to floodway work.