Policy Implementation Committee recommends CMP amendments, including Black Run redesignation, to full Pinelands Commission

The Pinelands Commission Policy Implementation Committee on Sept. 26 recommended that the full commission adopt a package of amendments to the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP), including redesignation of part of the Black Run watershed to a more protective management area.

Committee members moved and seconded the recommendation after Executive Director Dave Holmes summarized public feedback and staff responses. Holmes told the committee, “We received 490 comments — unusual for us — and they were almost all positive,” and said roughly 342 of those commenters expressly supported the Black Run redesignation.

The amendments change the management‑area designation for the mapped portion of the Black Run watershed, reducing development intensity and narrowing the types of permitted uses in that area if the commission adopts them. Holmes emphasized that a management‑area redesignation is a zoning change: it “reduces development potential” but “does not preserve anything” in the sense of transferring ownership or creating a conservation easement. Township rezoning and voluntary land‑preservation efforts remain separate processes staff said they are coordinating with locally.

Staff also summarized other, smaller changes in the package: modest fee increases for certain completeness reviews, proposals to assign expiration dates to long‑unused certificates of filing (CFs) and very old waivers, and clarifications to the Pinelands Development Credit (PDC) program that would make municipal flexibility in regional growth areas clearer. Holmes said staff identified roughly 1,600 legacy certificate holders and mailed notifications in August because many contact emails were unavailable.

Holmes addressed a commenter’s suggestion that expiring certificates could constitute a taking, stating that CFs are “completeness documents” rather than approvals or property rights. Staff explained the proposal would generally assign a five‑year lifespan to new certificates but retain executive‑director authority to sign off in cases where a local approval shows the project complies with CMP standards.

The committee approved the recommendation to place the adoption on the full commission agenda; staff said the schedule calls for the full commission to consider adoption on Oct. 10, after which there is a roughly 30 working‑day gubernatorial veto period and anticipated publication in the Register in January 2026. Staff also said the commission will provide a one‑year extension (to Jan. 2027) for a small set of very old waivers so affected applicants have additional time.

Public commenters from advocacy organizations offered support during the meeting. Doctor Amy Golden of the Friends of Black Run Preserve said the group “sincerely thank[s] the commission for moving the Black Run rule proposal changes forward.”

Next steps: the committee recommended the amendments to the full Pinelands Commission for a formal adoption vote; if the commission adopts them and no gubernatorial veto is exercised, the amendments would take effect when published in the administrative register.