By Anne Levin

Princeton’s proposed plan for its fourth round of affordable housing is the topic of two special sessions being held this week.

A public hearing is scheduled for the Planning Board on Wednesday, June 25 at 7 p.m., when the draft plan is expected to be adopted. Princeton Council may endorse the plan at a special meeting on Thursday, June 26 at 4 p.m. The deadline for submission to Fair Share Housing is June 30.

Princeton has an obligation to provide 276 units in the next 10 years. The 13 sites proposed in the plan, which are located both in the former Borough and Township, are generally within walking distance of amenities.

Three of the sites are 100 percent affordable developments owned by the municipality. At the former firehouse on Chestnut Street, 16 units have been designated and will be built and managed by Princeton Community Housing (PCH), including a ground floor community room that will showcase the firehouse’s history. The plan also designates PCH to build and manage 35 rental units at 303 John Street, in multiple buildings. The former Harrison Street firehouse will have 34 units.

Sites that have 20 percent affordable units range from 19 on land at The Jewish Center of Princeton at 435 Nassau Street to 191 at the mostly vacant Princeton Executive Center (Niksun) at 457 Harrison Street. In between, there are 14 properties on Witherspoon Street that are part of a 69-unit project being proposed by Hillier Architecture. Five other units on Witherspoon Street are in a vacant office building in front of Princeton Cemetery.

Also included in the plan for 20 percent affordable units are 26 at 360-366 North Harrison Street, 18 at 245-247 Nassau Street (across from Hoagie Haven), eight at 40-42 North Tulane Street and 32 Spring Street (the former home of Kopp’s Cycles), eight at 86-88 and 92-94 Spruce Street, 16 at 11-33 State Road and 60 Mount Lucas Road, 17 at 29 Thanet Circle, and 40 at 457 North Harrison Street (Princeton Executive Center).

Details on each of these sites are in the 437-page document available on the municipal website (princetonnj.gov).

The document also explains the complicated process involved in its creation.

“Princeton’s Fourth Round Plan is a model for how towns can meet their Mount Laurel obligation in an environmentally responsible, economically productive way,” said Council President Mia Sacks, in an email this week. “Using smart growth principles, the plan incorporates infill development, adaptive reuse, repurposing of stranded assets — vacant office buildings with large parking lots — and mixed use zoning. The new housing sites, which limit impervious surface expansion and sprawl, are situated near amenities, jobs, schools and transit corridors, to promote walkable neighborhoods and reduce car dependence and traffic. Princeton’s plan is about more than meeting a legal mandate: it reaffirms our longstanding commitment to enhancing racial and socioeconomic diversity through inclusive development, while strengthening the fabric of our community.”