By Wayne Parry, The Associated Press

TOMS RIVER, N.J. — New Jersey officials are defending proposed building rules designed to limit damage from future storms and steadily rising seas in coastal areas, countering criticism that the state aims to force people away from the Jersey Shore by making it harder and more expensive to build or rebuild there.

Lawmakers from both parties held a hearing Thursday in Toms River, one of the hardest-hit communities by Superstorm Sandy, to discuss the state’s Protecting Against Climate Threats initiative and respond to criticism of the proposal from business interests.

Mandated by an 2020 executive order from Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, the proposed rules are designed to account for rising seas and a changing climate in making land use decisions near the ocean, bays and rivers in an effort to limit damage from future storms.

The rules would extend the jurisdiction of flood control measures further inland, require buildings to be constructed five feet (1.5 meters) higher off the ground than current rules call for, and require elevating roadways in flood-prone areas.

They are to be published soon in the New Jersey Register, and subject to public comment before taking effect later this year.

Other states and cities are considering or doing similar climate-based updates to development rules or acquisition of flood-prone properties, including North Carolina, Massachusetts, Fort Worth, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.

Nick Angarone, New Jersey’s chief resilience officer, said proposed rules are necessary to “be clear-eyed about what is happening right before us.”

He said New Jersey ranks third in the nation in flooding claims paid by the federal government at $5.8 billion since 1978.

Angarone and others cited a Rutgers University study projecting that sea levels in New Jersey will rise by 2.1 feet (65 centimeters) by 2050 and 5.1 feet (1.5 meters) by the end of the century. By that time, he said, there is a 50% chance that Atlantic City will experience so-called “sunny-day flooding” every day.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association pushed back hard against the rules and the study upon which they are based, warning that the initiative is the start of a much-debated “managed retreat” from the shoreline that some scientists say needs to happen but that is anathema to many business groups.

“It will significantly harm the economy of our shore and river communities, and is premised on the policy that people and businesses should be forced to retreat from the coast,” said Ray Cantor, an official with the group and a former advisor to the Department of Environmental Protection under Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

“We do believe that we need to consider sea level rise in our planning efforts,” he said. “However, this rule is based on flawed scientific assumptions and will force a retreat from the Jersey Shore and coastal communities.”

Rutgers defended its projections as consistent with 2021 sea-level projections for Atlantic City of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “a trusted, highly credible, heavily reviewed source of information for climate change.”

Cantor claimed the new rules will create “no-build zones” in parts of the shore where it will simply be too costly and onerous to comply with the new requirements.

State officials vehemently denied that claim, saying the rules aim only to lessen the amount of damage from future storms that residents and businesses must deal with. They created a website aimed at “myths” about the new rules, making clear that nothing would prevent the rebuilding of storm-damaged structures and that there would not be any “no-build zones.”

Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, said governments should start discouraging new construction in areas that repeatedly flood.

“We need to stop developing highly vulnerable areas,” he said. “We ought to take steps to keep those people out of harm’s way.”

Under its Blue Acres buyout program, New Jersey acquired and demolished hundreds of homes in areas along rivers and bays that repeatedly flood. But it has yet to buy a single home along the ocean.

Sen. Bob Smith, who chaired the hearing, said the measures called for by the proposed rules “are not a retreat.” He called opposition from the Business and Industry Association “silly.”

The association appeared unfazed by the criticism; it hired an advertising plane to fly a banner up and down the oceanfront on Thursday with words for the governor: “Don’t Force A Shore Retreat.”

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The New Jersey Devils today officially announced a number of new hires regarding management, scouting/player development, athlete care, and equipment staffs. The announcements were made by Devils’ President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.

• Chuck Fletcher has joined the organization as Senior Advisor to the President, Hockey Operations and General Manager. He will advise Tom Fitzgerald on hockey operations matters including player personnel, scouting, and contracts. Fletcher served as General Manager for the Flyers from December 2018 to March 2023 and spent nine seasons (2009-2018) as General Manager of the Minnesota Wild, where he led the club to six straight playoff appearances. Fitzgerald and Fletcher previously worked together in Pittsburgh for three years, 2006-2009.
• Andy Greene has been officially added to the staff as Advisor, Hockey Operations. Greene previously lent his time to the organization over the past two years, as his schedule permitted, including attending Devils’ practices, working with the coaching staff and scouting minor-league, college games, and Devils’ prospects. He will now serve as an advisor to Fitzgerald and the entire hockey operations group which will include working with the scouting and player personnel departments, coaching staff, and pro and amateur scouting staffs, while serving as a resource from his experience in the game. Greene, 41, retired after a 16-year NHL career on October 12, 2022, after signing a one-day contract with New Jersey, where he spent 14 years and was the 11^th captain in club history.

• Manny Legace has been named Head Amateur Goaltending Scout / Development Coach working with Executive Vice President Martin Brodeur. He will work with all the goaltenders in the Devils system and serve in a scouting capacity for draft-eligible prospects. Legace, 51, joins New Jersey after spending five seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the team’s Goaltending Coach from 2018-19 to 2022-23. He appeared in 365 career NHL games and was a Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings in 2001-02.

The following additions have been made to the club’s scouting staff:

• Mike Rooney and Mike Yandle have been hired as Amateur Scouts.
• Geoff Sanderson has joined the club as a Pro Scout.
• Ryan Fitzgerald has been named S. College Scout.

The club has made the following hirings for the Athlete Care and Equipment Staffs:

• Corey Dietze has been hired as Physical Therapist / Assistant Athletic Trainer.
• Angelo Serse has joined the club as Skating Coach.
• Katie Davis has been named Director, Athlete Care for the Utica Comets (AHL) having previously served as Physical Therapist / Assistant Athletic Trainer for New Jersey.
• Bobby Juliano has been appointed Assistant Equipment Manager in New Jersey after spending last season as Assistant Equipment Manager in Utica.
• Aaron Hoffmeyer has been hired as Assistant Athletic Trainer in Utica.