Calls are growing among residents of the Jersey Shore and beyond against new flood elevation rules aimed at protecting the state from the growing threat of climate change. The rules put out by New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection have been dubbed “REAL,” which stands for res ilient environments and landscapes, are flood elevation regulations intended to protect the state from the growing threat of climate change. The rules were adopted on former Gov. Phil Murphy’s last day in office and require new and rebuilt properties in areas at risk of flooding to be four feet higher than FEMA’s base flood elevations. But opponents, including a bipartisan group of Jersey Shore leaders, say the rules will make construction and redevelopment projects much more expensive because they are too broad and too extreme Kathryn Kehoe, a home and business owner in Manasquan, said that she wants to renovate her property, but she has concerns about the required height and number of stairs needed under the new rules. “My foundation’s crumbling, you know. So it needs love,” said Kehoe.  “As you’re growing older, like less is more.” Manasquan Mayor Michael Mangan, a Democrat, said the new rules pose a problem for seniors. “If you have seniors who have mobility issues, try and get ramps up to a structure that high…” Mangan said. Mangan is among the leaders who sent a letter to the NJDEP urging the agency pause the new rules. “The policy is completely unworkable as written, and it’s certainly too broad,” Mangan said. “It doesn’t just affect coastal communities, it’s anywhere along rivers and lakes as well.” Another concern leaders are raising is that they believe the NJDEP overstepped its authority. “We think that the DEP overstepped their bounds by circumventing the legislature,” said Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, a Republican representing New Jersey’s 10th legislative district. “The costs are simply going to be catastrophic for my district and for the individual towns up and down the entire coastline of New Jersey.” The NJDEP declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation surrounding the rules. Cape May, Ocean and Monmouth counties have taken legal action. However, Danielle McCulloch, of the American Littoral Society, is a supporter of the new rules because she believes that the tougher requirements are needed to protect communities from the growing threats of climate change and sea level rise. “We have storms where we have these four foot increases, we see this. So it’s not outrageous,” she said. ...read more read less