June 29, 2016

Last year, Princeton passed an ordinance to limit the size and regulate the placement of sandwich board signs outside businesses in town. This didn’t sit well with some proprietors, many of whom are members of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA).

In an effort to provide recommendations for improvements to that ordinance and others that may be developed as the municipality continues to harmonize documents from the former Borough and Township, the PMA held a workshop last week at the Arts Council of Princeton. The June 21 event was led by architect Joshua Zinder of the firm JZA + D, and attended by some representatives of local businesses and members of the town’s administrative staff as well as Mayor Liz Lempert and Councilwoman Jo Butler.

“We’ve worked on a number of shops in town, and it always seems to come up that people feel the signage [regulation] is very restrictive, without a clear understanding of why,” Mr. Zinder said a few days before the workshop. “It has come up a number of times at PMA, and several people have asked me about it.”

After the sandwich board ordinance went into effect, “Many of the merchants in town were very upset about how it was being approved,” Mr. Zinder continued. “They didn’t feel there was a good dialogue where they were included in the discussion. They felt it was the municipality, and a couple of isolated people in the community, without consulting the merchants in general.”

The PMA had some talks with members of Council, and the ordinance was put on hold. Last week’s workshop was focused not only on the sandwich board signs, but on all of the different types and styles utilized by local businesses. Mr. Zinder gave a presentation that was followed by a discussion. The possibility of installing wayfinding signs, with information about how far and approximately how long a walk it would be to a destination, was proposed.

One issue that concerns merchants is the amount of time it can take to get signage approved, especially if the process involves coordination with the Historic Preservation Commission. Lighting was another focus of the discussion. Newer technology makes it easier to control light bleed from signage, which presents new and different opportunities, Mr. Zinder said.

The challenge is to attract local residents to the downtown businesses while also bringing in people from the outside. “There are a lot of empty stores in town,” said Mr. Zinder. “Unique merchants who would be attracted to Princeton are going to Route 1 and the malls, where there is free parking, and you can have any kind of sign you want. Here, there are controls. We don’t make it easy for merchants to come to Princeton.”

The PMA will take information from the workshop and elsewhere, and come back to Council with ideas for improving the ordinances. “My sense is that Council wants to make this work,” Ms. Lempert said this week. “I’m sure there is a solution in there somewhere.”

 

November 26, 2014

More discussion is in order on the future of the Witherspoon Street corridor, the mile-long thoroughfare between Valley Road and Nassau Street. At a meeting Monday night, Princeton Council decided to allow additional time for debating the merits of coming up with new zoning as opposed to leaving the current zoning of the street as is.

The consolidation of the former Borough and Township has allowed the opportunity for creating a new vision for the street, but the question is whether new rules are necessary. Planning director Lee Solow presented a comprehensive capacity study at the meeting, going zone-by-zone to explain the limits and opportunities associated with each section of the street. There are eight zoning districts in the corridor, most of which have been in place for more than 30 years. Some of the designations are complicated, with the floor-to-area (FAR) ratios not representative of how much square footage is actually allowed.

The capacity study included a look at individual lots to calculate the maximum building potential, using information from the tax assessor’s office. Parking requirements are controlling development possibilities, Mr. Solow said. The existing zoning allows for more density than is actually dictated by the requirements.

Witherspoon Street is home to the close-knit Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, several businesses, and the former Princeton Hospital, currently being demolished to make room for the 280-unit AvalonBay rental complex. The corridor was first discussed at a meeting last September, during which several area residents and business owners spoke out, some in favor of leaving the current zoning in place and others hoping for new designations that would be more restrictive to developers. Still others were interested in further development.

There were fewer members of the public taking the microphone at Monday’s meeting, a situation that caused some comment. “I’m concerned that there are not many members of the neighborhood here tonight,” said local resident Kip Cherry. Ms. Cherry added that the area is “going through an evolution,” and stressed the need for maintaining its character.

Former Borough Mayor Yina Moore summarized comments made about the issue at the most recent meeting of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood association. Calling the corridor a “very important spine of the community,” she said “There is a real concern about developers buying multiple properties.”

Ms. Moore mentioned the possibility of incompatible designs, absentee ownership, and increased gentrification, among other negative results. She urged Council to take a form-based approach when looking at the zoning “to really bring the neighborhood into conformity,” urging that the zoning limit financial institutions, encourage more owner occupancy, and limit businesses to the first floor of a building.

Marvin Reed, chair of the town’s master plan committee and former Township mayor, also weighed in, urging Council to be aware of the fact that properties are being purchased on Witherspoon Street with the idea of further development. The town should have solid policies in place before potential developers make applications. “The existing zoning, while confusing, isn’t so bad,” he said, expressing views of neighborhood residents, adding that there is a strong emphasis on saving the area’s historic character.

Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller asked Mr. Solow what the potential is for developers coming in and putting in large buildings out of scale with the neighborhood. “There’s a real threat there,” Mr. Solow said. “There’s also a real opportunity.” He added that while the current zoning is complicated, it has worked.

“We embarked on this because the current zoning is confusing to the lay person,” said Mayor Liz Lempert. “Does it work well enough for us to be okay with it, or do we go to the next step? We want to do this only if we’re putting something together that’s not already there, such as a form-based code.”

Council president Bernie Miller said he thinks there is a need for more dialogue and more input from residents. “I’d like to hear more before I say ‘Let’s get a visioning statement’ or go one way or the other,” he said.

Council decided to hold another public discussion of the situation at a future meeting, probably in early January. Councilwoman Jo Butler suggested inviting some of the architects of an original study of the corridor done by the organization Princeton Future when that meeting takes place.

 

November 7, 2012

Democrat Liz Lempert will be the new mayor of consolidated Princeton. At press time the unofficial vote count was 6,093 for Ms. Lempert, and 3,939 for Republican opponent Richard Woodbridge.

“I’m thrilled,” Ms. Lempert said last night when the numbers came in. “It looks like there was a really strong turnout. We were worried that with the storm, there would be a lot of confusion. But it looks like things went more smoothly than expected.”

Township and Borough votes were counted together in this election. Consolidated Princeton now has 22 voting districts.

In the Presidential election, Princetonians overwhelmingly supported President Barack Obama with 7,903 votes. Republican challenger Mitt Romney received 2,474 votes.

The six Democrats running for Council seats were all elected: tentative vote counts were Bernie Miller with 7,114; Patrick Simon with 7,090; Heather Howard with 6914; Jo Butler with 6,903; Lance Liverman with 6,861; and Jenny Crumiller with 6,807. The Republican challenger, Geoff Aton, received 3,533 votes.

Democratic Congressman Rush Holt (D-12) won handily over his Republican challenger, Eric A. Beck, with 7,964 votes to Mr. Beck’s 2,071. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez defeated Republican candidate Joe Kyrillos with 7,474 votes to Mr. Kyrillos’s 2,554.

Princeton voters endorsed an open space tax of 1.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Because the Borough and the Township will cease to exist as separate entities on December 31, it was necessary for this year’s ballot to include a question authorizing the joint tax. The new tax will enable a united Princeton to continue stewardship of its recreation and passive open space and make key acquisitions contemplated by the joint Master Plan.


June 13, 2012

Township Deputy Mayor Liz Lempert, who is a mayoral hopeful for the consolidated Princeton, and Committeewoman Sue Nemeth, will be the Township’s representatives on the Transition Task Force’s Personnel Selection Committee. The Committee will oversee the selection and placement of municipal employees after consolidation. It consists of members of both current governing bodies.

The names were announced at Monday evening’s Township Committee Meeting.

Acting on a recommendation from the Transition Task Force, Township Committee also approved the appointment of Barbara A. Lee, a former Rutgers University dean of the school of management and labor relations, as facilitator for the Selection Committee. Ms. Nemeth described Ms. Lee as “highly qualified” and “very much interested” in the position. Ms. Lempert cited the candidate’s years of residence in Princeton, and long-standing interest in serving the community.

In anticipation of consolidation, a proposal to reconcile the different levels of Open Space Tax currently collected by the municipalities was also approved on Monday. The rate, which was studied by the Joint Finance Committee, among other groups, recommends a blended rate of 1.7 cents per every $100 of assessed property value.

The Township currently collects 2 cents on every $100 of assessed property value; the Borough receives 1 cent. A reciprocal motion recommending the “neutral” rate will be presented to Borough Council for approval.

Attorney Ed Schmierer and Administrator Kathy Monzo led the discussion, noting that time is of some concern in order to get a referendum question about the Open Space Tax on the November ballot. On Committeeman Bernie Miller’s suggestion, it was agreed that there will be a brief explanation under the ballot listing to make it clear that this is not a “new” tax.

Ms. Monzo noted that revenue from the Open Space Tax not only enables the acquisition of properties, it provides for their preservation, development into parks and recreational areas, and improves debt service options.

Ms. Nemeth emphasized the importance of continuing to collect an Open Space Tax without a “lapse” that would endanger preservation and future acquisitions. She noted that on a recent Recreation Department survey, residents indicated that parks and trails were high on their list of this area’s assets.

Open Space President Wendy Mager lauded the proposal and cited the importance of giving voters opportunity the opportunity to participate in the decision.