Pinelands Commission moves to adopt CMP amendments, redesignating part of Black Run watershed

The Pinelands Commission on Oct. 10 advanced amendments to its Comprehensive Management Plan that staff said will reduce permitted development intensity near the Black Run watershed and modernize administrative rules for certificates and fees.

Susan, the staff lead for the rule package, told commissioners the core change is a map redesignation that moves a swath of land from the rural development area to the forest area, which staff said will reduce the amount and intensity of development allowed near the Black Run watershed. "Most commenters strongly encourage the commission to move forward with that," Susan said during the presentation, adding the agency had received unusually high and overwhelmingly positive public comment on the redesignation.

The amendments also change several administrative practices: for the first time the commission would assign expiration dates to very old waivers of strict compliance and give Certificates of Filing (CFs) a five-year lifespan; staff explained that CFs are completeness documents, not approvals, and that assigning expiration dates is intended to prevent decades-old documents from creating uncertainty under changed rules. Susan described other changes such as shifting some application fees to a per-acre basis for wetlands letters of interpretation, and adding a separate fee category for waivers of strict compliance.

Staff acknowledged public questions that the rule package does not require or set standards for accessible trails, and said that while there is interest in trail standards the present amendment does not address that topic. On comments urging the commission to use affordable-housing status as the basis for exemptions, staff cited the Pinelands Protection Act and said the commission lacks authority to require or approve municipal zoning on the basis of affordable housing. "We are not permitted to use affordable housing as a reason for approving a specific zoning ordinance or master plan," Susan said.

Commissioners briefly discussed the record of public comment, the scope of fee changes and how the CF expiration will be implemented. The commission voted by voice to move the adoption package forward; the transcript records affirmations of "Aye" but does not provide a roll-call tally. Staff said the package has been submitted to the governor's office for its review period and, subject to that review and the Office of Administrative Law process, publication in the Administrative Register is anticipated in early January 2026, with the package taking effect following that publication.

The commission's action at the Oct. 10 meeting was procedural: staff recommended adoption without changes to the published proposal, and the commission authorized submittal of the adoption package to the governor's office as part of the statutorily required review and publication process. If adopted through the full rule-adoption sequence, the amendments will change the land-capability map and implement the administrative fee and expiration provisions described by staff.

Next steps: staff will complete the submission packet to the governor's office and follow the 30-working-day review timeline; the commission will post adoption notices and coordinate outreach to certificate holders and applicants affected by the new expiration provisions.