The Steering Committee for the West Windsor redevelopment project will meet Monday, August 6 to determine the dates of the upcoming “community education” meetings. Bob Hillier is expected to give a presentation outlining the parts of the project on which he believes the public should be informed.##M:[more]##
The meeting will take place at 10:30 a.m. at Town Hall. The steering committee consists of Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner, councilpersons Heidi Kleinman and George Borek, and Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh.
One of the topic that is expected to be part of the community education is the project’s housing component. This aspect of the plan has been its most controversial, leading some to say that Hillier’s inclusion of 1,”000 housing units led to the plans being stalled after the initial public meetings.
Habitat for Humanity has offered to help the town build housing in the redevelopment area that would help the township meet its state-mandated affordable housing requirement. Marshall Lerner, a West Windsor resident and a representative of the organization, said Habitat “would be happy to assist the community and the township. We build affordable housing and combat poverty, and our approach is different than a regular builder.”
Habitat for Humanity builds homes using funds generated from grants and donations from the community. It builds the homes with the help of labor provided by volunteers. “We have no political agenda, we help and improve the community, and we have no profit margin to balance anything against,” said Lerner.
Council President Will Anklowitz said West Windsor will address the proposal at a later date.
Also on August 6, the Township Council will meet to discuss several future projects in West Windsor. Among those topics are the Maintenance and Development of Open Space, a discussion on whether to establish joint sub-committees for redevelopment, the West Windsor Website’s content, the proposed referendum on redevelopment and a discussion of the controversial policy and ordinance review committee.
The committee, started in June, came under fire when councilmen Will Anklowitz and Charles Morgan were accused of creating a legislative body against protocol to serve their own agenda. The committee has since originated the guiding principles of the redevelopment resolution, a piece of legislation that the township council will vote on at the August 6 meeting. The group’s members are Chairperson Alison Miller, David Siegel, Virginia Manzari, Valerie Servis, and former mayor Bob Murray.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh has called the resolution unnecessary. He wrote a document that outlined five guiding principles in early 2006, before the township began its search for a redevelopment planner. “I don’t think there is anything in the new resolution that was necessary. I know some council members have their constituencies, and they want to do this to satisfy them.”
At its meeting on July 27, council added two new items to the list of guiding principles. One stipulates that the redevelopment project will aim to achieve a “sense of place” in the redevelopment area, and the other is that the project will strive to meet environmental and energy standards.
“I think a few things should be added,” said Hsueh. “We should aim to clean up all the contaminated sites in the redevelopment area, and we should address our constitutional obligation for affordable housing.
The list of guiding principles, on which council will vote on August 6, now reads:
1. The redevelopment project will be tax positive consistent with the desires of the residents of West Windsor; 2. The redevelopment project will be scaled to be consistent with the desires of the residents of West Windsor, including the number and diversity of housing units; 3. The redevelopment project will remediate the traffic congestion within, around and through the redevelopment zone and encourage bicycle and pedestrian usage; 4. The redevelopment project will at least preserve, if not strengthen, the neighborhoods in and around the redevelopment zone; 5. The redevelopment project will provide more parking for West Windsor residents; 6. The redevelopment project will maximize preservation of open space, protect environmentally sensitive land, and minimize impervious cover; and 7. The size, scale and aesthetic design of the redevelopment area will be consonant with the nature of West Windsor Township; 8. The redevelopment project will consider active public places for the community that create a “sense of place;” and 9. The Redevelopment Project will strive to incorporate the economic, environmental, and social sustainability urban planning principles as outlined in the LEED-ND (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design-Neighborhood Design) standards for conservation of West Windsor natural resources.
