The creation of a redevelopment plan for the area encompassing the Princeton Junction train station and the downtown area is now in the hands of the West Windsor Planning Board.##M:[more]##
The board voted on October 3 to accept a mandate from township council to take over the redevelopment process and work with township professionals, the West Windsor Parking Authority, and RMJM Hillier — the redevelopment planning consultant hired by the township — to create a plan to submit to the township council.
In doing so, the planning board is attempting to revive a process that was essentially left for dead after three opponents of the extensive redevelopment plans proposed by Hillier were elected to the township council in May. Since then, council has floundered in trying to decide how to proceed.
“I appreciate the fact council recognizes that the planning board has the expertise and the resources to step in at this juncture to revive what has been a dormant period relative to moving forward on the redevelopment plan,” said Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner following the October 3 meeting.
On September 24, council passed a resolution asking the planning board to take the lead on redevelopment and focus on three priority topics: infrastructure/traffic, parking, and existing “as of right.”
Any plan the board comes up with should include a “main street as a town center,” the resolution also states, but does not identify the location of the main street. Council also asked the board to devise a budget and a timeline for decision making.
The challenge for the board, which has demanded that council also be closely involved in the process, is to determine the scope and size of redevelopment. Officials must also determine whether the township can draft the redevelopment plan one piece at a time, or whether a comprehensive plan for the entire 350-acre redevelopment zone needs to be considered.
The board is tentatively scheduled to meet on Wednesday, October 17, to continue the process.
“I have instructed the town planner (John Madden) to move expeditiously in developing a program in conjunction with our traffic consultant to delve into traffic circulation issues in the environs of the redevelopment zone,” said Gardner, adding that the issue of parking will also be reviewed, but not a main street. “At this juncture we will look at main street subsequent to evaluating infrastructure improvements and their consequences, including financing of these improvements.”
Gardner also ordered Madden to discuss with township traffic consultant Gary Davies whether he can come up with a report without looking at the redevelopment zone in its totality.
“I have serious reservations as to whether we can truly get a professional competent report from the traffic consultant without considering the impacts of both housing and commercial office development that are essential elements of the redevelopment plan,” says Gardner.
“After endless debates and meetings, the time has come to put politics aside and consider a redevelopment plan that is acceptable to this community and would provide a commercial, civic, and cultural focal point for West Windsor,” said Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, who sits on the planning board, during the October 3 meeting.
The mayor also feels that the entire 350-acre redevelopment zone must be considered in order to create a workable plan. “I am suggesting to the planning board that it advise council that it is willing to undertake the long-awaited redevelopment plan provided it is a true redevelopment plan. It must cover the entire 350-acres with a plan for a mixed use of retail, commercial, and housing components, consistent with this community’s constitutional obligations to provide affordable housing required by that development.”
Councilman Charles Morgan, also a member of the planning board and one of three members of the council majority who favors a slow approach to redevelopment, said that review should be focused on traffic, infrastructure improvements, and parking, outlined by the council as areas of agreement in the community, and then determine the scope of redevelopment required to achieve them.
The Hillier plan was too grandiose for West Windsor, said Morgan. “You can’t hire a consultant and then just cut them loose without providing direction. The Hillier team was left to its own devices without a lot of supervision.”
“The plan needs to be reduced dramatically is size and scope. Keep it simple,” Morgan added. “First deal with traffic, parking, and Route 571. I’m in favor of a lot in the Hillier plan, but it’s not easy to go along with that (in this town). We need to give the community what it wants and then show them the implications of what they want.”
Morgan also warned of consequences if the planning board’s review strays too far from its mandate from council. They include removing the planning board as the designated body for creation of the plan, council naming itself as the redevelopment entity, or the appointment of a redevelopment authority to guide the process.
“Council could also decide to revoke the area in need of development designation altogether,” he finished.
