State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection, Plaintiff-Respondent v. M.J. Stavola, T/A Driftwood…

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the Department of Environmental Protection possesses implicit authority under the Coastal Area Facility Review Act to treat beach‑club cabanas as "housing developments of 25 or more dwelling units or equivalent," but that the agency has not validly exercised that authority because its existing regulations do not include cabanas. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Appellate Division and required DEP to regulate such cabanas through formal rulemaking rather than ad‑hoc adjudication. Justice Handler dissented, arguing that the agency’s adjudication was fair and that rulemaking was unnecessary.