Although the new council member will not be sworn in until July 1, the effects of the May 8 council election have had an immediate effect on West Windsor ’s redevelopment plans.##M:[more]##
In the wake of the election that saw opponents to Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh take a majority on the council, the mayor, council, and Hillier Architects are changing their tack.
Hsueh, who had previously proclaimed his faith in Hillier, now says that he believes the planner made a “political mistake” when it did not include options in its redevelopment concept plans for less than 1,”000 housing units.
“Hillier has been doing a good job bringing in hundreds of opinions to come up with one concept plan,” says Hsueh. “I think they just made a political mistake and now people consider the 1,”000 units a done deal, and it’s not.”
According to Bradley Walters, a West Windsor resident and an architect at Hillier, the firm will show what the project could be if it included 250, 500, or 750 units, in addition to the original 1,”000.
“Whether it was a political mistake or not is a part of politicking we’re not interested in,” says Walters. “We’re trying to create a plan that comes up with solutions for and addresses as many issues as possible, whether it is politically good or not.”
Residents have voiced consistent objection to the volume of housing since it was first revealed that the plan could include 1,”000 housing units. Bob Hillier said that the project could not work with fewer than 1,”000 units. The firm now says the presentation on Monday, June 4, which was originally supposed to focus on a single plan, will include options for projects of various scales.
“We’ve heard from everyone that the scale should be smaller,” says Walters. “We’ve heard it from all six council candidates, from the mayor, and from some residents. Other residents say they are happy with that number. We’re trying to come up with a range of options that will enable the plan to move forward in some shape.”
Councilman Charles Morgan, who won re-election earlier this month, says the options presented on June 4 must include an analysis of what could be done if no housing is built at the train station. “I’m not saying we should have zero housing. If Hillier is going to present alternatives, we need a baseline of zero against which to compare them.”
Morgan says the redevelopment does not necessarily need to address the township’s affordable housing obligation. “That is a red herring. Affordable housing we will build. It does not need to be built in the redevelopment area.”
Morgan believes certain amenities could be supported without building housing. “A plan with zero housing could address the infrastructure, and have retail and commercial included. The question is, what does the community want?”
Morgan says a plan with no housing might require higher taxes. “An informed public decision on no housing would be based on the public’s acceptance of the tax cost or on a belief that we could work the numbers to make it tax positive,” says Morgan. “The people in West Windsor are very smart, and there have been times when they have said they want more taxes in order to get things, like open space.”
Morgan also charges that Hillier has not lived up to its contract with the township. “We’ve failed our community by not having a true charrette process. By any definition we have not gotten charrettes.”
He says if the township is not satisfied with the plans, Hillier should provide another charrette process at no cost. “I would expect Hillier, being professionals, to stand by their obligation. If they don’t have the skill set to conduct charrettes, they should subcontract to a different company that does. That is going to be mandatory if we’re not all pleasantly surprised by what we see on June 4.”
While Morgan says Hillier has not performed up to its contract, some say the firm has gone above and beyond its obligation. Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner says he has gotten the company to agree to additional meetings. “Council agreed to just one public hearing before the planning board, but, at no additional cost to the township, Hillier agreed to three public meetings to deal with the redevelopment plan, the zoning ordinance, and site plan design for the entire redevelopment.”
Walters says the firm did not breach contract. Further, he says altering the plans presented on June 4 to include more options will not put the process behind schedule. However, he says: “If the one meeting ends up multiplying into two months of meetings, that will have an impact on the time line.”
On Tap For June 4
That one meeting will most likely multiply into at least two meetings. Council, the planning board, and Hillier, have all set aside Monday, June 18 as a tentative date for the continuation of the presentation of the plans and the questioning to follow.
The June 4 presentation will be held at 7 p.m. at Grover Middle School. It will begin with Hillier’s review of the process thus far, and then his presentation to council and the planning board.
Walters says the specialists who have worked on various parts of the project will be present, and some may speak.
“It’s one plan with options,” says Walters of the what will be presented on June 4. “What we’ve all been working towards is options. We have been trying to create a framework that can allow flexibility in the creation of the plan, and will allow for flexibility over the next 10, 20, or 50 years.”
Gardner says he expects the plan to include economic analyses of all the options presented. “He may show 1,”000 and its economic impact. He may go to 750, 500, 250, and show each of them relative to their economic impact.”
The presentation will be followed by questions from the council and the planning board, and finally, from the public.
“We don’t believe we can complete that in one session,” says Gardner. “He’ll take as many comments as he can receive. This is the time for the public to tell him what we like and what we don’t like.”
Options with fewer housing units will mean fewer amenities for the township. Hsueh has said the township will need to identify the things it needs to accomplish with the redevelopment. He defined what he believes are residents’ top 10 desires for the project.
“People identified 10 public amenities,” said Hsueh before he went on vacation on May 19. “The Vaughn Drive connector, a firehouse and EMT substation for better coverage of emergency needs, additional parking reserved for West Windsor residents, a community center and amphitheater, a place for the farmer’s market, additional open space and a town green, the bowl for an attractive and effective connection between the east and west side of the tracks, a pedestrian bridge at the south end of the station, either moving or camouflaging the electric substation, and having the brown fields cleaned up for free.” Hsueh said he compiled the list based on what residents said during the redevelopment workshops. “We need to identify which are wants and which are musts,” he said.
Most involved list the Vaughn Drive connection as a must. The state promised Mayor Hsueh it would pay for part of the cost for the extension. But Gardner says the state’s contribution is far from a done deal. “I certainly think the Vaughn Drive connection is an absolute must,” says Gardner. “I question the verbal commitment that the mayor received. Due to the fiscal crisis on the state level, I am not absolutely certain those moneys will be received.”
