Requires certain municipalities to include certain information concerning beach costs and revenues in municipality's public access plan.

S2638 1R

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2638

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

Sponsored by:

Senator VIN GOPAL

District 11 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires certain municipalities to include certain
information concerning beach costs and revenues in municipality's public access
plan.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Senate Environment and Energy
Committee on May 18, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act
concerning municipal public access plans and amending
P.L.1975, c.291.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 19 of P.L.1975,
c.291 (C.40:55D-28) is amended to read as follows:

���� 19.� Preparation; contents;
modification.

���� a.���� The planning board may
prepare and, after public hearing, adopt or amend a master plan or component
parts thereof, to guide the use of lands within the municipality in a manner
which protects public health and safety and promotes the general welfare.

���� b.��� The master plan shall
generally comprise a report or statement and land use and development
proposals, with maps, diagrams and text, presenting, at least the following
elements (1) and (2) and, where appropriate, the following elements (3) through
(17):

���� (1)�� A statement of
objectives, principles, assumptions, policies and standards upon which the
constituent proposals for the physical, economic and social development of the
municipality are based;

���� (2)�� A land use plan element

���� (a)�� taking into account and
stating its relationship to the statement provided for in paragraph (1) hereof,
and other master plan elements provided for in paragraphs (3) through (17)
hereof and natural conditions, including, but not necessarily limited to, topography,
soil conditions, water supply, drainage, flood plain areas, marshes, and
woodlands;

���� (b)�� showing the existing and
proposed location, extent and intensity of development of land to be used in
the future for varying types of residential, commercial, industrial,
agricultural, recreational, open space, educational and other public and
private purposes or combination of purposes including any provisions for
cluster development; and stating the relationship thereof to the existing and
any proposed zone plan and zoning ordinance;

���� (c)�� showing the existing and
proposed location of any airports and the boundaries of any airport safety
zones delineated pursuant to the "Air Safety and Zoning Act of 1983,"
P.L.1983, c.260 (C.6:1-80 et al.);

���� (d)�� including a statement of
the standards of population density and development intensity recommended for
the municipality;

���� (e)�� showing the existing and
proposed location of military facilities and incorporating strategies to
minimize undue encroachment upon, and conflicts with, military facilities,
including but not limited to: limiting heights of buildings and structures
nearby flight paths or sight lines of aircraft; buffering residential areas
from noise associated with a military facility; and allowing for the potential
expansion of military facilities;

���� (f)�� including, for any land
use plan element adopted after the effective date of P.L.2017, c.275, a
statement of strategy concerning:

���� (i)��� smart growth which, in
part, shall consider potential locations for the installation of electric
vehicle charging stations,

���� (ii)�� storm resiliency with
respect to energy supply, flood-prone areas, and environmental infrastructure,
and

���� (iii)� environmental
sustainability;

���� (g)�� showing the existing and
proposed location of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure; and

���� (h)�� including, for any land
use plan element adopted after the effective date of P.L.2021, c.6, a climate
change-related hazard vulnerability assessment which shall (i) analyze current
and future threats to, and vulnerabilities of, the municipality associated with
climate change-related natural hazards, including, but not limited to increased
temperatures, drought, flooding, hurricanes, and sea-level rise; (ii) include a
build-out analysis of future residential, commercial, industrial, and other
development in the municipality, and an assessment of the threats and
vulnerabilities identified in subsubparagraph (i) of this subparagraph related
to that development; (iii) identify critical facilities, utilities, roadways,
and other infrastructure that is necessary for evacuation purposes and for
sustaining quality of life during a natural disaster, to be maintained at all
times in an operational state; (iv) analyze the potential impact of natural
hazards on relevant components and elements of the master plan; (v) provide
strategies and design standards that may be implemented to reduce or avoid
risks associated with natural hazards; (vi) include a specific policy statement
on the consistency, coordination, and integration of the climate-change related
hazard vulnerability assessment with any existing or proposed natural hazard
mitigation plan, floodplain management plan, comprehensive emergency management
plan, emergency response plan, post-disaster recovery plan, or capital
improvement plan; and (vii) rely on the most recent natural hazard projections
and best available science provided by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection;

���� (3)�� A housing plan element
pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-310), including, but not
limited to, residential standards and proposals for the construction and
improvement of housing;

���� (4)�� A circulation plan
element showing the location and types of facilities for all modes of
transportation required for the efficient movement of people and goods into,
about, and through the municipality, taking into account the functional highway
classification system of the Federal Highway Administration, the types,
locations, conditions and availability of existing and proposed transportation
facilities, including air, water, road and rail, and identifying existing and
proposed locations for public electric vehicle charging infrastructure;

���� (5)�� A utility service plan
element analyzing the need for and showing the future general location of water
supply and distribution facilities, drainage and flood control facilities,
sewerage and waste treatment, solid waste disposal and provision for other related
utilities, and including any storm water management plan required pursuant to
the provisions of P.L.1981, c.32 (C.40:55D-93 et al.).� If a municipality
prepares a utility service plan element as a condition for adopting a
development transfer ordinance pursuant to subsection c. of section 4 of
P.L.2004, c.2 (C.40:55D-140), the plan element shall address the provision of
utilities in the receiving zone as provided thereunder;

���� (6)�� A community facilities
plan element showing the existing and proposed location and type of educational
or cultural facilities, historic sites, libraries, hospitals, firehouses,
police stations and other related facilities, including their relation to the
surrounding areas;

���� (7)�� A recreation plan
element showing a comprehensive system of areas and public sites for
recreation;

���� (8)�� A conservation plan
element providing for the preservation, conservation, and utilization of
natural resources, including, to the extent appropriate, energy, open space,
water supply, forests, soil, marshes, wetlands, harbors, rivers and other
waters, fisheries, endangered or threatened species wildlife and other
resources, and which systemically analyzes the impact of each other component
and element of the master plan on the present and future preservation,
conservation and utilization of those resources;

���� (9)�� An economic plan element
considering all aspects of economic development and sustained economic
vitality, including (a) a comparison of the types of employment expected to be
provided by the economic development to be promoted with the characteristics of
the labor pool resident in the municipality and nearby areas and (b) an
analysis of the stability and diversity of the economic development to be
promoted;

���� (10)� An historic preservation
plan element: (a) indicating the location and significance of historic sites
and historic districts; (b) identifying the standards used to assess worthiness
for historic site or district identification; and (c) analyzing the impact of
each component and element of the master plan on the preservation of historic
sites and districts;

���� (11)� Appendices or separate
reports containing the technical foundation for the master plan and its
constituent elements;

���� (12) ��� A recycling plan
element which incorporates the State Recycling Plan goals, including provisions
for the collection, disposition and recycling of recyclable materials
designated in the municipal recycling ordinance, and for the collection,
disposition and recycling of recyclable materials within any development
proposal for the construction of 50 or more units of single-family residential
housing or 25 or more units of multi-family residential housing and any
commercial or industrial development proposal for the utilization of 1,000
square feet or more of land;

���� (13)�� A farmland preservation
plan element, which shall include: an inventory of farm properties and a map
illustrating significant areas of agricultural land; a statement showing that
municipal ordinances support and promote agriculture as a business; and a plan
for preserving as much farmland as possible in the short term by leveraging
moneys made available by P.L.1999, c.152 (C.13:8C-1 et al.) through a variety
of mechanisms including, but not limited to, utilizing option agreements,
installment purchases, and encouraging donations of permanent development
easements;

���� (14)�� A development transfer
plan element which sets forth the public purposes, the locations of sending and
receiving zones and the technical details of a development transfer program
based on the provisions of section 5 of P.L.2004, c.2 (C.40:55D-141);

���� (15)�� An educational
facilities plan element which incorporates the purposes and goals of the
"long-range facilities plan" required to be submitted to the
Commissioner of Education by a school district pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-4);

���� (16)�� A green buildings and
environmental sustainability plan element, which shall provide for, encourage,
and promote the efficient use of natural resources and the installation and
usage of renewable energy systems; consider, encourage and promote the
development of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in locations
appropriate for their development, including but not limited to, commercial
districts, areas proximate to public transportation and transit facilities and
transportation corridors, and public rest stops; consider the impact of
buildings on the local, regional and global environment; allow ecosystems to
function naturally; conserve and reuse water; treat storm water on-site; and
optimize climatic conditions through site orientation and design; and

���� (17)�� A public access plan
element that provides for, encourages, and promotes permanently protected
public access to all tidal waters and adjacent shorelines consistent with the
public trust doctrine, and which shall include a map and inventory of public
access points, public facilities that support access, parking, boat ramps, and
marinas; an assessment of the need for additional public access; a statement of
goals and administrative mechanisms to ensure that access will be permanently
protected; and a strategy that describes the forms of access to satisfy the
need for such access with an implementation schedule and tools for
implementation.�
For a municipality with a municipally owned

1
beach
club, children�s recreation camp that is operated primarily on the beach,
or
1

beach
for which the municipality charges beach tag fees, the public access plan shall
additionally include (a) an itemized budget of the actual costs for the
operations and maintenance of each municipally owned

1
beach
club, children�s recreation camp, or
1

beach for the previous
beach season; (b) the revenues generated by each municipally owned

1
beach
club, children�s recreation camp, or
1

beach for the previous beach season; (c) an itemized projection of costs for
the upcoming beach season; and (d) if the revenues enumerated pursuant to
subparagraph (b) exceed the costs enumerated pursuant to subparagraph (a), an
explanation of how the municipality will expend the excess revenue.�
��

���� c.���� The master plan and its
plan elements may be divided into subplans and subplan elements projected
according to periods of time or staging sequences.

���� d.��� The master plan shall
include a specific policy statement indicating the relationship of the proposed
development of the municipality, as developed in the master plan to (1) the
master plans of contiguous municipalities, (2) the master plan of the county in
which the municipality is located, (3) the State Development and Redevelopment
Plan adopted pursuant to the "State Planning Act," sections 1 through
12 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.) and (4) the district solid waste
management plan required pursuant to the provisions of the "Solid Waste
Management Act," P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-1 et seq.) of the county in which
the municipality is located.

���� In the case of a municipality
situated within the Highlands Region, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2004,
c.120 (C.13:20-3), the master plan shall include a specific policy statement
indicating the relationship of the proposed development of the municipality, as
developed in the master plan, to the Highlands regional master plan adopted
pursuant to section 8 of P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-8).

(cf: P.L.2021, c.6, s.1)

���� 2.� This act shall take effect
immediately.