RSIS, or Residential Site Improve-ment Standards, what are they? I believe a majority of the public is unaware that these standards exist.
RSIS was developer-sponsored legislation whose purpose was to promote uniformity in building regulations throughout municipalities in the state. RSIS was adopted in New Jersey in 1993.
RSIS applies to all residential development in the state and governs the technical requirements for streets, sidewalks, sanitary sewers, water supply, storm water management and parking.
As far as engineering goes, the effect was to eliminate those things from local control and provide standardized regulations throughout all municipalities. However, the downside is that two completely different municipalities, with different density and makeup, have the same set of standards. Why should the same standards in Jersey City be applied in Colts Neck? It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Additionally, the RSIS have actually allowed for more development in places where you could not develop previously. How? In some cases, it lowers the standards municipalities choose to apply.
Case in point: Roads. It can allow for narrower roads than a municipality would have originally dictated. With narrower roads, the number of building lots can be increased, resulting in larger developments. All of this leads to higher-density population. Herein lies the hidden negative effect of the standardized regulations.
The result is that RSIS has limited the control of planning boards. The balance of power has shifted to the developers, and municipalities are now at the mercy of the developers and the Residential Site Improvement Standards.
We need to raise our standards in towns throughout our county, not lower them. Understanding these regulations is important to every municipality in New Jersey, and especially in Monmouth County, where we stand to lose so much. Once lost, our precious land cannot be regained.
Judith H. Stanley
Monmouth Conservation Foundation
Tatum Park, Middletown