CAFRA Critical Environmental Sites in New Jersey

CAFRA critical environmental sites allows the delineation of boundaries for Coastal Planning Areas and CAFRA Centers consistent with the rules and policies of the State Planning Commission, while also recognizing the critical nature of the underlying environmental resource. For example, the State Planning Commission rules definition of "Planning area" includes a size criterion of "An area of greater than one square mile that shares a common set of conditions, such as population density, infrastructure systems, level of development, or environmental sensitivity." The same rules include a size criterion in the definition of critical environmental site as "an area generally greater than two acres and less than a square mile." These criteria allow for planning areas and centers at an appropriate scale for Statewide planning. The CAFRA critical environmental site allows for the appropriate consideration of the underlying natural and environmental resources at a scale appropriate for site specific reviews consistent with the goals of resource protection pursuant to CAFRA. CAFRA critical environmental sites share the same features as the Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area, but do not meet the size criteria for designation as such. Generally, planning areas are greater than one square mile in size while critical environmental sites are less than one square mile but greater than two acres. Consistent with Table H in N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.17, the impervious cover limits for a CAFRA critical environmental site are 3%. Consistent with Table I in N.J.A.C. 7:7-13.18, the vegetative cover for a CAFRA critical environmental sites are 70% in forested portions of a site and 5% in unforested portions of site.CAFRA关键环境场地（CAFRA Critical Environmental Sites）可用于划定海岸规划区域及CAFRA中心的边界，此项划定工作需严格遵循州规划委员会的相关规则与政策，同时亦需充分考量其基底环境资源的关键属性。例如，州规划委员会在规则中对“规划区域（Planning area）”的定义包含一项规模标准：“面积大于1平方英里且具备统一的共性条件，如人口密度、基础设施体系、开发水平或环境敏感度等”。同一套规则还在关键环境场地（critical environmental site）的定义中设置了另一项规模标准：“通常面积介于2英亩至1平方英里之间”。上述两项规模标准可确保规划区域与中心的设置适配全州规划的合理尺度。CAFRA关键环境场地则可在适配场地特定审查的尺度下，对基底自然与环境资源进行恰当考量，以契合CAFRA所规定的资源保护目标。CAFRA关键环境场地与海岸环境敏感规划区域（Coastal Environmentally Sensitive Planning Area）具备相同的特征，但未达到该类区域的命名规模标准。通常而言，规划区域的面积大于1平方英里，而关键环境场地的面积则小于1平方英里但大于2英亩。根据新泽西州行政法规（N.J.A.C.）7:7-13.17中的H表，CAFRA关键环境场地的不透水覆盖层覆盖率限制为3%。根据新泽西州行政法规（N.J.A.C.）7:7-13.18中的I表，CAFRA关键环境场地的植被覆盖要求为：场地森林区域的植被覆盖率不低于70%，非森林区域不低于5%。