13:18A-8. Comprehensive management plan; preparation and adoption; contents

The commission shall, on or before August 8, 1980, and after public hearings held in the pinelands area and in other areas of the State at places of its choosing, prepare and adopt a comprehensive management plan for the pinelands area. The portion or portions of the comprehensive management plan applicable to the preservation area shall be adopted on or before August 8, 1980. The portion or portions of the comprehensive management plan applicable to the protection area shall be adopted on or after November 14, 1980, but in no case later than December 15, 1980, and shall take effect on the thirty-first day following adoption, except as otherwise expressly provided in subsection h. of section 5 of P.L.1979, c. 111 (C. 13:18A-5). Such plan shall be periodically revised and updated, after public hearings, and shall include, but need not necessarily be limited to:

a. A resource assessment which:

(1) Determines the amount and type of human development and activity which the ecosystem of the pinelands area can sustain while still maintaining the overall ecological values thereof, with special reference to ground and surface water supply and quality; natural hazards, including fire; endangered, unique, and unusual plants and animals and biotic communities; ecological factors relating to the protection and enhancement of blueberry, cranberry and other agricultural production or activity; air quality; and other appropriate considerations affecting the ecological integrity of the pinelands area;

(2) Includes an assessment of scenic, aesthetic, cultural, open space, and outdoor recreation resources of the area, together with a determination of overall policies required to maintain and enhance such resources; and

(3) Utilizes soil resources information from the National Co-operative Soil Survey and the soil conservation districts in the pinelands area.

b. A map showing the detailed boundary of the Pinelands National Reserve, such map to delineate:

(1) Major areas within the boundary which are of critical ecological importance;

(2) Major areas and resources adjacent to the boundary that have significance to the ecological integrity of the Pinelands National Reserve; and

(3) Areas of scenic, open space, cultural, and recreational significance.

c. The map prepared pursuant to subsection c. of section 10 of this act.

d. A land use capability map and a comprehensive statement of policies for planning and managing the development and use of land in the pinelands area, which policies shall:

(1) Consider and detail the application of a variety of land and water protection and management techniques, including but not limited to, zoning and regulation derived from State and local police powers, development and use standards, permit systems, acquisition of conservation easements and other interest in land, public access agreements with private landowners, purchase of land for resale or lease-back, fee acquisition of public recreation sites and ecologically sensitive areas, transfer of development rights, dedication of private lands for recreation or conservation purposes and any other appropriate method of land and water protection and management which will help meet the goals and carry out the policies of the management plan;

(2) Include a policy for the use of State and local police power responsibilities to the greatest extent practicable to regulate the use of land and water resources in a manner consistent with the purposes and provisions of this act and the Federal Act; and

(3) Recognize existing economic activities within the area and provide for the protection and enhancement of such activities as farming, forestry, proprietary recreational facilities, and those indigenous industries and commercial and residential developments which are consistent with such purposes and provisions.

e. A coordination and consistency component which details the ways in which local, State, and Federal programs and policies may best be coordinated to promote the goals and policies of the management plan, and which details how land, water, and structures managed by governmental or non-governmental entities in the public interest within the pinelands area may be integrated into the management plan.

f. A public use component including, but not limited to, a detailed program to inform the public of appropriate uses of the pinelands area.

g. A financial component, together with a cash flow timetable which:

(1) Details the cost of implementing the management plan, including, but not limited to, payments in lieu-of-taxes, acquisition, within 5 years of the effective date of this act, of fee simple or other interests in lands for preservation or recreation purposes, compensation guarantees, general administrative costs, and any anticipated extraordinary or continuing costs; and

(2) Details the sources of revenue for covering such costs, including, but not limited to, grants, donations, and loans from local, State, and Federal departments and agencies, and from the private sector.

h. A program to provide for the maximum feasible local government and public participation in the management of the pinelands area.

i. A program for State and local governmental implementation of the comprehensive management plan and the various elements thereof in a manner that will insure the continued, uniform, and consistent protection of the pinelands area in accord with the purposes and provisions of this act and the Federal Act, including:

(1) Minimum standards for the adoption, as required in section 11 of this act, of municipal and county plans and ordinances concerning the development and use of land in the pinelands area, including, but not limited to, standards for minimum lot sizes and stream setbacks, maximum appropriate population densities, and regulated or prohibited uses for specific portions of the pinelands area; and

(2) Such guidelines for any State or local agencies as may be prepared by the commission pursuant to section 12 hereof.

j. In conjunction with existing State programs and planning processes, a plan to implement the provisions of the "Clean Water Act" (P.L. 95-217) and the "Safe Drinking Water Act" (P.L. 93-523) which pertain to the surface and ground water of the Pinelands National Reserve;

k. The report transmitted to the commission by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 22 of this act.

L.1979, c. 111, s. 7, eff. June 28, 1979. Amended by L.1980, c. 65, s. 2, eff. July 10, 1980.