July 3, 2013

AvalonBay Returns To Planning Board With Revised Proposal

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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

 
February 27, 2013

Citizens Comment at Council Meeting On AvalonBay’s Appeal of Board Decision

At a meeting of Princeton Council on Monday, February 25, several opponents of developer AvalonBay’s housing plan for the former Princeton Hospital site voiced their opinions of an appeal filed February 20 by the developer in Superior Court. The appeal seeks to overturn the “illegal denial” of their plan issued by the Princeton Planning Board last December, and names the Board, the mayor, and Council as defendants.

Kate Warren, a member of the group Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods (PCSN), called the appeal “one more bullying tactic” by AvalonBay. PCSN has been a constant presence at meetings about the plan over the past year, challenging its density, design, and possible environmental problems with testimony from experts and attorneys. “We are asking you to put your full support behind the Planning Board’s decision,” Ms. Warren told Council.

PCSN member Alexi Assmus pointed out what she said were inaccuracies in the filing, specifically regarding affordable housing. In a statement, PCSN said, “We strongly urge Princeton Council and the Planning Board to fight the AvalonBay lawsuit against the town. We are considering all of our legal options.”

AvalonBay’s appeal asserts that the Planning Board was biased in its decision to reject the proposal for 280 rental units at the old hospital site on Witherspoon Street. “When the Planning Board voted to deny AvalonBay’s site plan application, it was clear that AvalonBay was an unwelcome corporate outsider,” the appeal reads. The developer was fully willing to comply with site plan and zoning ordinance requirements, it continues. “Unfortunately, AvalonBay’s compliance with the law was insufficient to obtain site plan approval from the Planning Board.”

The suit also contends that the Board’s decision violated the Mount Laurel Doctrine on affordable housing, and was not supported by evidence presented in several public hearings. The developer asks the court to reverse the decision and approve the project. They urge the Court to make a decision by May 1, at which time AvalonBay says it will have to back out of its contract with Princeton HealthCare System because of time and money constraints. The contract has a June 30, 2013 deadline, which the lawsuit says cannot be extended. The company also wants the court to award legal fees and other costs, which they expect to reach more than $2 million by the June date.

The hospital issued a statement last Thursday saying, “We are not a party to the lawsuit filed by AvalonBay and therefore are not in a position to comment on it.” AvalonBay also declined comment on the appeal.

Planning Board attorney Gerald Muller said Monday that he was surprised by the manner in which the suit was filed. “It’s an order to show cause, which we don’t think is appropriate here,” he said. Once the court sets up a briefing schedule, Mr. Muller added, the Board’s decision will be proven to be legal. “We think we have valid legal ground. And in our opinion, a number of standards in the ordinance have been violated.”

Mayor Liz Lempert said Monday a decision has not yet been reached on whether the task force which has been meeting regularly to discuss possible rezoning of the hospital site will be continued.

February 29, 2012

Avalon Bay Should Generate Designs Reflecting Future Needs of Princeton

To the Editor:

When Princeton Hospital moves to its new site in May 2012, it is widely anticipated that AvalonBay, the nationwide developer of residential rental housing, will sign on to develop the present site: Princeton surely needs rental units.

But it’s critical that AvalonBay (www.avalonbay.com) generate designs that represent to the fullest extent possible the real future needs of the new consolidated Princeton. This site is possibly the last large tract to be developed in our downtown: its effect upon Witherspoon Street and surrounding neighborhoods will be dramatic. Princetonians are entitled to know what AvalonBay plans to do; we are equally entitled to have our voices heard as plans evolve.

Important issues include the following:

First, the site plan itself should be compatible to the fullest extent with present neighborhoods and their future needs; this matter includes both the height and the appearance of the buildings that will have frontages on Witherspoon Street and Franklin Avenue.

Second: AvalonBay must commit to a full complement of units (20 percent) to be marketed to/for low- and lower-middle income housing. It is essential that Princeton be able to draw into the community a truly diverse population that includes the young, the non-affluent, seniors, and others who contribute to our local workforce. Present zoning calls for 20 percent affordable housing on 280 units; I understand that AvalonBay will seek a variance to build 40 additional units WITHOUT affordable-housing constraints. AvalonBay’s likely request for such a variance should be scrutinized carefully.

Third: AvalonBay must “build green” to the fullest extent possible. AvalonBay’s website advertises that its headquarters is LEED-certified at the Silver level — no mean achievement. The developer should feel equally responsible for making comparable commitments to meeting these or similar standards (e.g., Energy Star) in the development project itself. Building green includes managing storm water, developing an integrated approach to optimizing energy and water use, installing renewable energy sources including solar panels, using non-toxic materials, and installing the most advanced infrastructure for managing construction waste and the waste produced by occupants. (AvalonBay will then of course be able to advertise itself as a “green developer” when it seeks to develop projects elsewhere: Princeton can be their first exemplar of the green intelligence in city planning that we all need.)

Finally, AvalonBay should be invited to present one or more public information sessions for all proposals, and the Princeton community should be welcomed by AvalonBay to provide feedback. While the public may provide input at Borough Council and Planning Board meetings when AvalonBay’s proposal is on the agenda, less formal information sessions would be a more community-friendly way for Avalon to learn about and address community and neighborhood concerns. Such sessions might be sponsored and organized by either Sustainable Princeton or Princeton Future (as both bodies are non-partisan). Mayoral candidates should also be asked publicly to state their views of the AvalonBay proposals.

Daniel A. Harris

Dodds Lane