Not only is West Windsor’s designation of a redevelopment zone expected to receive state approval, the township may also receive state funding to help pay for the cost of drafting a plan.##M:[more]##
“I have held a meeting with the state and their reaction has been positive,” says Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. “I expect that they will approve the redevelopment area.”
The mayor said he didn’t want to say anything more definitive, pending official notification by the state Department of Community Affairs. Once that approval comes, the township and state will issue a joint release.
Hsueh also said that there is a good possibility that the township will receive some state funding to pay for development of the plan.
In December township council approved the designation of a 350-acre area surrounding the Princeton Junction train station — including the downtown Princeton Junction business district — as an area in need of redevelopment.
The state’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law sets up certain criteria to allow municipalities to designate redevelopment areas that can include public and private parcels. Redevelopment area designation provides officials with tools to spur redevelopment, including the use of tax exemptions, favorable bond financing, and the creation of revenue allocation districts.
According to Hsueh, once the redevelopment area designation is officially approved by the state, he will meet with township council to determine the process of creating a redevelopment plan. Council will then designate the planning board as the official entity that will draft the plan.
Another important step will involve the hiring of a master planner to work with the township in the development of the plan. Hsueh has said he intends to conduct a nationwide search to find the planner.
He says the township will also assemble a committee comprised of members of council, the planning board, and administration to conduct the hiring of the redevelopment master planner.
Hsueh says that he wants the planning process to be an open one that involves significant input from the public. “We will hold a series of public meetings for residents to tell us their ideas and concerns before the planning gets started.”
The mayor also adds that although he would like to see the redevelopment plan finished in about two years, the township can’t rush through the process. “We have to go through this methodically. Sometimes people get too enthusiastic and get two or three steps ahead.”
A major piece of the plan will involve the proposal to create a transit village at the train station. Last year New Jersey Transit released a vision study proposing a transit village on the west side of the train station that mixes commercial, retail, and residential uses.
Hsueh reminds people that the plan presented by the state was just a vision of a potential development of the transit village, and not a fait accompli. “What we do might be a totally different direction from what was in the transit village vision study.”
