As the deciding vote over whether to adopt a redevelopment plan for the 350-acre Princeton Junction train station area is nearing, at least one council member is saying the plan does not have his support.
At the same time, there is one fewer council member up at the dais to vote on the plan. The public hearing and vote on the plan is scheduled for Monday, March 23.
Council President Charles Morgan, who is running for mayor this year, states, in a campaign newsletter that was sent to township residents, that he will vote “no” again on Monday, March 23. And former Councilman Will Anklowitz handed in his letter of resignation on March 16 to assume his new position as Superior Court Judge (see story above).
The plan calls for a total base number of 483 housing units consisting of 311 market-priced units and 172 affordable housing units. As for non-residential development, the plan proposes 207,”910 square feet of retail with the potential option to increase retail floor area in District 1 — which encompasses the 25 acres off Washington Road owned by InterCap Holdings — by an additional 67,”500 square feet along with 7,”500 square feet of added office space.
If the option for 75,”000 square feet of additional commercial space is implemented, it would add an obligation for 9 more affordable housing units. This would bring the total redevelopment area residential unit count to 496, with 311 market units and 185 affordable units.
Office use is the predominant future land use proposed for the redevelopment area, with a total of 871,”909 square feet, built and proposed.
The redevelopment plan was introduced by a vote of 4-1 — Morgan also voted against introduction — after the council spent more than six hours reviewing changes made by community groups and residents at a meeting last month.
“I will vote against the plan because it is another Metropark in the making,” Morgan states. “It doesn’t make additional parking the first and primary priority.”
“And it provides no assurance that our residents won’t bear the burden of increases in traffic and taxes that go along with it,” Morgan added.
Councilwoman Linda Geevers, who is also seeking re-election in May, responded to Morgan’s comments by questioning how he could serve as one of the key authors of the plan and still compare it to a MetroPark. “Maybe MetroPark came about because there was no redevelopment plan,” she said, emphasizing why it is so important to have a plan — so that a large development like MetroPark does not occur. “We need to plan comprehensively for the future.”
Geevers also said that the public hearing has not yet occurred, and she questioned how he has already decided without giving the public the opportunity to be heard. “There is an obligation that council members must listen to the public at a hearing, and then make a decision,” she said. “There are people who do support redevelopment, and he seems to be shutting them out of his consideration.”
The council sent the plan to the Planning Board just before the end of the year, and the board finished its list of recommendations, including 100 recommendations for changes to the plan. But because the board faced public criticism from groups like the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, who said that the board did not spend enough time considering and addressing their concerns, the council decided to hold the work session to review the language with these groups — the Environmental Commission, Parking Authority, WWBPA, New Jersey Transit, and the Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS) — before introduction.
A 200,”000 square foot hotel/conference center, previously approved as part of the Sarnoff General Development Plan, is retained as a primary business service use. But the plan would allow a transfer of development rights of the conference center and a portion of the offices up to 137,”000 square feet from the Sarnoff Woods area to an area closer to the train station in District 6, a move meant to preserve as much open space in the woods area along the Millstone River as possible. It also included language suggesting that the developer try to move some of the approved development of the Sarnoff tract closer to Princeton-Hightstown Road as possible, rather than having it at the center of the forest.
A bicycle and pedestrian map will also be included in the appendix of the plan, although the township’s traffic consultant had argued that creating a specifically designed bicycle and pedestrian plan was supposed to be done during the site plan review process, after a developer comes in with a proposal.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said he was awaiting the chance to finally take the plan, if adopted, to the state and county agencies and see what kind of commitment the township can get from them in terms of funding for various infrastructure improvements. Hsueh pointed to the loss of $19 million in state funding for Vaughn Drive last year, when state officials cited the township’s lack of a plan for the train station area as a major reason they dropped the projects from their priority list. He said he hoped to recover some of those funds.
“That’s what I intend to do within the next few months,” he said, adding that he will be “definitely coming back and making sure the public is aware of the process and what is going on.”
“It will be open, and also, we can make more effective decisions after this,” Hsueh said. “We still have a long way to go. Right now, it’s only the first step.”
After talking to governmental agencies, the third step after the plan is adopted is to try to recruit developers, and then select developers, he said. “After that, they have to come up with the site plan review with social and economic impact analysis to make sure it’s tax positive and that no taxpayers will have to pay for it. I will not allow a penny going into this process. There will be many steps we have to follow before you see any project get started.”
