well the state this week published long awaited changes to land use rules that the Department of Environmental Protection says will strengthen resilience to sea level rise and flooding by putting regulations on development in New Jersey Coastal communities now Advocates argue the goal is to protect those neighborhoods along with infrastructure in and around them while business groups say the guidelines dubbed real rules is a regulatory overreach senior correspondent Joanna Gagis has the story [Music] the first rule of holes is that when you're in one stop digging right so these rules adopt that philosophy a group of environmentalists gathered on the Asbury Park Boardwalk today to celebrate the Department of Environmental Protection publishing a new set of guidelines for developing around the shore these are the first in the country to integrate climate change impacts into land use regulations and these will make us safer called real which stands for resilient environments and Landscapes rules the DEP says it'll make New Jersey homes and businesses more resilient as the state deals with sea level rise current projections indicate as much as 5.1 ft of sea level rise is likely by 2100 here in New Jersey and nearly 2third of New Jersey's coastline is at high or very high risk of coastal erosion these rules Come As hurricane Debby is making its way up the coast and NOAA the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that New Jersey will see 4 to seven major storms this year alone that means a category two or higher this rule is trying to anticipate where sea level rise due to climate change will bring those flood elevations so that creates coastal inundation zones in which a new set of Standard Supply uh in that area new Housing and Redevelopment will have to be built 5 feet above the base flood elevation that's an increase from the three- foot building rule set by Governor Chris Christie in the wake of superstorm Sandy it'll also include guidelines around storm water runoff and these coastal inundation zones will apply to Redevelopment as well which was previously exempt from State Guidance the new rules say that when you're redeveloping a site a you have to address the storm water runoff that's brand new and B if you're adjacent to a wetland you've got to roll back the impervious surfaces I believe it's 25 ft right we need to allow the healing of these Wetlands that are so critical to protect us from flooding business and industry Advocates say the rules are too onor and will drive people away from the shore they'll no doubt appeal to the state for roll backs during this 90-day open public comment period Cape May City manager and engineer Paul Dietrich would like to see exemptions made for residential development I think uh for residential construction a shorter term approach and you know and cutting that number in half you know whether it's two or three feet of uh you know sea level rise to accommodate residential construction is probably more appropriate for our communities and more affordable plus he says it'll impact the overall economy I mean tourism is is not just our local economy but it's part of it's a big component of the state economy so um you know it's not like you know there is going to be impact to this it's going to raise costs on building and doing things but Lucia Osborne says if we're talking costs look at what it costs to recover from storms in New Jersey we've already spent over $5.8 billion in federal funding um to help rebuild properties that have been lost from flood damage um and then when you factor in the cost of wages loss business closures and other related losses we've actually spent over $50 billion in the state of New Jersey alone from climate change and there's the devastating loss of life the state will take public comment on the proposed rules until early November in Asbury Park I'm Joanna Gagis, NJ Spotlight news [Music]