The future of West Windsor’s plans for the redevelopment of the Princeton Junction business district now rest in the hands of the state Office of Smart Growth.##M:[more]##
On Monday, December 19, Council unanimously approved a report by township planner John Madden calling the designation of a 350-acre area surrounding the Princeton Junction train station as an area in need of redevelopment . The report, outlining the rationale for the redevelopment zone designation, was shipped off to the state for approval three days later.
The action is the first step towards transforming the area into a village center for the township. The zone includes land where officials are looking to construct a mixed-use transit village. The state can either approve the zone as defined by the Madden report, or recommend changes to the boundaries. Once the zone designation is approved by the state, the Planning Board will begin the process of drafting a specific redevelopment plan.
“Over the past four years, one of the main criticisms I have received as mayor is that I am all study and no action. We need to take this action now,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, urging Council to pass the resolution delineating the redevelopment zone during the December 19 meeting.
Hsueh said that he intends to conduct a nation-wide search to find a planner to assist the township with the creation of the redevelopment plan. He also guaranteed that township residents will be involved.
“This is only the first step. The process has many checks and balances and will be open for all stakeholders,” said Hsueh. “The redevelopment plan will go through a public process, including the planning board, and will need to be approved by council.”
Residents packed the council chamber — their numbers almost equally divided between supporters and opponents — to voice their opinions on the resolution. Most supported the concept of redevelopment, but some expressed fears that they will be excluded as a result of the powers afforded the township by the state Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL). They urged the council to table the measure for further review.
Powers they fear include the condemnation of property for redevelopment through the use of eminent domain, and the ability to approve zoning ordinances and bond issues without referendum.
At the outset of the discussion, township officials sought to soothe residents’ fears, while at the same time saying that the redevelopment process is the best way to achieve the revitalization of the area around the train station.
Hsueh pointed out that the redevelopment zone does not include any residential neighborhoods. “The administration is not looking to use eminent domain. This is a problem that does not need to be used in West Windsor’s redevelopment except if unforeseen problems occur.”
Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner said there is no intention to exclude citizens from planning for redevelopment. “It’s important that the public be invited to participate in a very open fashion. This is a team effort in which every resident of the town has a stake. Don’t ruin this effort with rancor and attacks. We need to engage in discussion in a positive and constructive manner.”
Madden said that the market has proven that the area surrounding the train station will not be redeveloped through rezoning alone, and that a redevelopment plan will provide the tools necessary to accomplish that goal.
Of the 350 acres designated for redevelopment, some 68 percent is parking lots, the railroad line, and undeveloped parcels, said Madden. Some 32 percent are commercial properties that are “vastly underutilized.” Blighted and contaminated properties include the compost station on Alexander Road, the adjacent abandoned Princeton Polychrome building, and the unfinished, and abandoned, shopping center at the rear of the Ellsworth’s Shopping Center on Route 571 at Cranbury Road.
“The area has been stagnant for a number of decades,” Township Attorney Michael Herbert said. “It needs intervention (from government) to provide the incentives necessary to promote development.
Herbert also pointed out that the township is under a court order to clean up the compost site, which was formerly used as the township dump — a project that could cost more than $1 million. Under the redevelopment process, part of a deal with a private redeveloper would be remediation of the site through the use of private funding. A redevelopment plan would also allow the township to issue bonds for a redeveloper at low interest rates.
Residents speaking on the resolution were split equally between those who supported the resolution and those who questioned the need for a redevelopment plan.
“This plan offers the prospect of something wonderful,” said Martin Bernstein, a resident of Bear Creek Boulevard, who moved to town from East Windsor. “One of the things that didn’t impress me about West Windsor was that you didn’t get a feeling of there being a town center. In East Windsor you know where the hub of town is. In West Windsor, the closest we come to that is the Acme.”
“Significant questions and concerns remain,” countered Suffolk Lane resident Art Pope of the redevelopment process. “There are consequences that could affect the public process. What opportunities for public involvement can we be assured of?”
The LRHL states that no aspect of the redevelopment plan can be made subject to a public referendum, Pope pointed out. Other powers granted to the township include issuing bonds, granting tax breaks to developers, and giving officials the ability to enter any building in the redevelopment area for inspection. “The public has to ask if we are ready to grant these powers to our municipal government.”
Harris Road resident Susan Conlon said although she is in favor of a transit village, and “continues to support efforts to improve the area around the train station,” she has reservations about whether redevelopment designation is necessary. She urged council not to take action until more information can be provided about the impact of development on the environment, schools, and taxes.
Conlon’s husband, Joe, said that residents leery of the redevelopment designation are being incorrectly labeled as being anti-development. “We’ve been accused as being a vocal minority that wants to stop things from being done. Nothing could be further from the truth. We’re not here to stop the transit village, but as partners who have concerns about the process.”
Farrell Delman, a resident of Bear Brook Road, shared similar concerns. “The question is not whether we want a transit village or town center. It’s what civil liberties are we going to give up to get there?” He urged the township to achieve its goals through zoning and working with landowners, adding that approving redevelopment designation is “handing over a set of powers (to the township) before we even know what the plan is.”
Bill Benfer, of Benford Drive, a former planning board chairman, supported the redevelopment designation. “We need something other than banks, strip malls, and gas stations (in the downtown Junction). The council and administration must be proactive to make West Windsor a viable community for this and future generations.”
“Residents have many questions, and they can’t all be answered tonight,” said Sandra Shapiro, arguing against the redevelopment zone. “West Windsor is not a city and it’s not blighted.”
Shapiro questioned the inclusion of a wooded area on the Sarnoff property in the redevelopment zone. “How can you say that the Sarnoff woods are in need of redevelopment. The only development there should be as a park.”
Windsor Road resident Pat Boyle, a member of a task force appointed by Hsueh last year to look at the transit village, said the process to date has been very open. She added that as the plan is created by the township, many more details will be forthcoming. “It puts council and the mayor in a bad position to ask them to answer questions that aren’t even clear yet.”
Irene Nemser of Revere Court said West Windsor needs a town center. “It seems like West Windsor is a place to pass through rather than a place to be.” She also pointed out that there was opposition in the community in the 1990s to the construction of the WaterWorks community pool, but people were happy after it was built.
Lee Goldberg of Mather Avenue said that the U.S. Patriot Act was intended as good but had brought about “unprecedented abuses of power. Not that we can expect that from our good council,” he added, “but there are some parallels here. You’re saying we have to do this to get (redevelopment) done, but we’re giving up checks and balances. We need to see some type of mechanism for a citizens alliance that will have meaningful input.”
Harris Road resident Stewart Gould said that before pursuing a redevelopment project, the township should conduct a cost-benefit analysis. For example, he said, the development of a town center may have hidden costs, such as an increase in crime in the area.
Before casting their votes, council members expressed their reasons for supporting redevelopment.
“The master plan and zoning process has not worked for us (in the downtown Junction),” said Council President Charles Morgan. “I agree that a cost-benefit analysis needs to be done, but at this point it’s premature.”
He said he intends to be a strong proponent for protecting residents’ rights in the process, and that Hsueh and the other council members will be as well. “These people sitting here will do right by you.”
“After years, and years, and years of conversation the time has come to move,” said Vice President Franc Gambatese. “I know how I feel about redevelopment, but (until a plan is developed) I don’t know how I feel about a transit village. We have to determine what’s in it for us, and what the impacts will be. I’m counting on everybody out there to keep us on the straight and narrow.”
Councilwoman Kristen Appelget said she counted her approval of the resolution as “one of the five most important votes I’ve taken as a council member. The train station is a gift,” said Appelget. “It’s an asset to our community and we need to take some time to take care of the station.” In moving forward with a redevelopment plan, she said West Windsor will have a chance to look at other communities that have redeveloped, “and learn from their missteps and do it better here.”
“Last March when I ran for election to the Council, I clearly stated that I believed that our town could benefit by being designated as a transit village,” said Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman. “During the May election the township voters came out in unprecedented numbers to support this idea.”
“We can sit back and watch the growth of privately-owned properties happen,” Kleinman said, “or we can take a pro-active step and incorporate the best practices of smart growth planning today. We can sit back and allow all the 65 properties to develop under the current zoning and create a patchwork of un-unified properties and miss the window of opportunity to improve our circulation plan, create funding partnerships with the state and county, and define a main street for our town.”
Councilwoman Linda Geevers said she favors a redevelopment plan over straight rezoning, “because it brings all the designated properties under one umbrella for much needed, coordinated action. There has been too much inaction for years and that’s why it’s necessary for the mayor, council, and planning board to lead us through a very public process towards redevelopment.”
“Some of the economic advantages to the redevelopment process is to boost West Windsor’s status for attaining state Smart Growth Planning grants, financial assistance from the Department of Community Affairs and other state monies for Brownfield remediation and infrastructure funding,” Geevers said. “We should put ourselves in the best possible position to get state funding. If we don’t do this, some other town will reap the benefits of our tax dollars instead.”
Meanwhile, council decided to table a resolution at the December 19 meeting that sought to address concerns expressed about the potential “misuse” of the redevelopment process.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” said Council President Charles Morgan, adding that the measure would help to reassure people and move the focus “from side conversations to the main conversation.”
Hsueh argued that the resolution is unnecessary, stating that it considers issues already addressed by state law. “There is a contract between elected officials through the electoral process” that assumes the government will adhere to these principles.
“The power of eminent domain shall not be exercised unless it can be demonstrated that there is no other alternative to fulfill the public purposes of the redevelopment plan,” states the resolution, which may be reconsidered at a future meeting.
It also addresses township dealings with developers. “Any agreements with redevelopers be awarded on the basis of open competition, in response to requests for proposals approved in open session by the Township Council.”
The measure also states that any tax abatements or payments-in-lieu of taxes be granted only on the basic agreements enacted by ordinance by the township council.
“The formulation and adoption of the redevelopment plan must be through an open process, which would consider the concerns of the residents and businesses in the vicinity of the designated area,” states the resolution.
The proposed measure also states that any plan for redevelopment should minimize negative impacts on the surrounding area. It also calls for “a thorough traffic analysis,” including the extension of Vaughn Drive to Route 571, the construction of all sidewalks and bicycle access, and an emphasis on encouraging public transit.
