Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods (PCSN)

AvalonBay Returns To Planning Board With Revised Proposal

MIXING IT UP: A view of the townhouses at the corner of Franklin Avenue and the eastern access to the parking garage, which is part of AvalonBay’s revised proposal for a rental community at the former home of the University Medical Center of Princeton. The new design calls for five buildings instead of one. (Rendering by Tangram 3DS)

AvalonBay brought its revised plan for the former Princeton Hospital site back to the Planning Board last Thursday. With greater permeability, five buildings instead of one large edifice, a scaled-down swimming pool, and other adjustments, the developer is hoping to gain the approval of the Board, which rejected its initial plan last December.

The developer sued the Board and the town to reverse that decision, but a settlement was worked out to allow for a revised proposal. The Board must approve the reworked plan if AvalonBay has met their legal obligations, attorney Gerald Muller said in his opening remarks.

The hearing was the first of four to be devoted to the proposed 280-unit rental development. The next meetings will be held July 11, 18, and 25 at the Witherspoon Hall municipal building. Members of the community have been especially vocal on the issue since AvalonBay was first contracted to purchase the site on Witherspoon Street in 2011.

Just before last week’s meeting, representatives from Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods (PCSN) and members of the property service workers union 32BJSEIU held a rally outside the municipal building to protest AvalonBay’s proposal. As rain began to fall, some 30 protesters gathered to complain that the newly revised proposal is too similar to the original. Among the speakers were local residents Shirley Satterfield, Kate Warren, and Alexi Assmus.

During the public comment period at the end of the meeting, union representative Ben Bennett expressed concerns about AvalonBay’s fire safety record over several objections by the developer’s attorney that the comments were inappropriate. When the Board decided to hear Mr. Bennett out, he told them that he wants a public safety monitor on the construction site. He said that a fire at an AvalonBay construction site in Edgewater 13 years ago destroyed the project along with nearby single family homes. But Mr. Muller advised the Board that they should disregard Mr. Bennett’s testimony because it was not relevant.

Earlier in the evening, the Board heard from PCSN attorney Rob Simon on some of the organization’s objections to the plan before listening to reports from the Site Plan Review Advisory Board (SPRAB) and the Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC) about the revised proposal. Both groups recommended approving the plan, but with several conditions based on design standards and other matters. Increased bicycle storage, better distribution of the 56 affordable housing units throughout the complex, and the adoption of food waste composting were among SPRAB’s recommendations. The PEC agreed with those suggestions, adding that the potential contamination of the former hospital site be addressed, more energy-efficient windows be used, all appliances be Energy Star certified, and only native and adaptive plantings be used in the landscaping.

PEC member Wendy Kaczerski also suggested that AvalonBay treat the property as a green building site, making it an example of how a construction project can be done. “The PEC wants to commend AvalonBay for all the green improvements it intends to make,” she added. “They’ve come a long way.”

The public first heard about AvalonBay’s revised proposal at a community meeting in May. The plan calls for 24 studio apartments, 104 one-bedroom units, 120 two-bedroom apartments and 30 three-bedroom units. Building heights will be lower than in the original plan, and range from two to five stories. On the Franklin Street side of the development, three townhouse buildings with stoops and porches are in the design. A garden walk separates the largest building from the main parking garage.

Affordable housing units are in the two largest buildings as part of the plan. A public road will cut through the development, and a public park, larger than in the original plan, will be on the corner of Witherspoon Street and Franklin Avenue. “The new plan responds to comments from 2012,” said Jon Vogel, the AvalonBay vice president now in charge of the project. “Permeability was a main theme.”

—Anne Levin

Superior Court Judge Agrees to Expedite Appeal of Decision on AvalonBay Plan

Developer AvalonBay’s request to fast-track its appeal of the Princeton Planning Board’s decision to reject its proposal for the former hospital site was granted last week by a Mercer County Superior Court judge. The matter is scheduled to be heard in court on April 29.

Lawyers for the Planning Board, the town, and the group Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods will appear before Judge Mary C. Jacobson to argue their case against the developer, who wants to construct a 280-unit apartment building on the Witherspoon Street site. AvalonBay sued last month to overturn the Planning Board’s rejection of their plan.

The complaint filed by AvalonBay says the developer will walk away from the project, backing out of its contract to buy the property from Princeton HealthCare System, if the Planning Board’s decision is not reversed by May 1. The developer wants to demolish the old hospital and build an apartment building in its place. The Board rejected the plan based on concerns about design standards, open space, and sustainability, among other issues.

One of AvalonBay’s contentions in its appeal of the decision is that the Planning Board violates the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which says municipalities are mandated to provide housing for low-income and moderate-income citizens. The developer’s plan would include 56 affordable units.

The lawyers for the Planning Board, the town, and Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods (PCSN) asked the judge to consider issues of jurisdiction first. “Claims that have been made deal with whether the jurisdiction of the Planning Board was correct for this type of application,” says Robert Simon, the attorney for PCSN. “If accepted, that would knock the application out of the Planning Board box and put it into the Zoning Board box.”

While Judge Jacobson’s agreement to expedite the process does not sit well with lawyers representing the town, she has said that she could be persuaded to allow more time for discovery and review if convinced it was important.

Extensive hearings on the issue up to this point have cost PCSN more than originally estimated for attorney’s fees. The group is currently raising funds to pay outstanding bills and to support the process going forward.

“By hiring highly experienced attorneys and experts we are helping to level the playing field for town residents when faced with large, legally aggressive corporate developers, like AvalonBay Communities, Inc., the number two Real Estate Investment Trust on the New York Stock Exchange,” says Alexi Assmus, of the group, in a statement. “As interveners in the case, PCSN is supporting the town’s legal defense against AvalonBay’s appeal with a complementary and independent approach that asserts that the AvalonBay plans require variances.”