Barrier island complex definition
Barrier island complex means the series of land surrounded by both bay and ocean, including barrier islands, spits and peninsulas, situated along New Jersey’s Atlantic coastline, extending from the northern tip of Sandy Hook, in Monmouth County, to the southern tip of Cape May County. The barrier island complex includes the barrier island corridor, as defined in the Department’s Coastal Zone Management rules at N.J.A.C. 7:7E- 3.20, as well as any associated wetland complex adjacent to the corridor. A barrier island is a long, narrow island that generally lies parallel to the mainland and serves to protect the coast from erosion. A spit is a long, narrow depositional landform projecting outward from the shoreline associated with a barrier island corridor. A peninsula is narrow land surrounded by both bay and ocean waters and connected to the mainland. The barrier island complex does not include bay islands, which are islands or filled areas surrounded by tidal waters, wetlands, beaches or dunes, lying between the mainland and barrier island, but which may be connected to the mainland or barrier island by elevated or fill-supported roads. The entire Cape May peninsula is not part of the barrier island complex, but Cape May does include barrier islands, spits and peninsulas along its Atlantic coastline.