November 21, 2012

A special convening of the Princeton Regional Planning Board on November 12 had members of Borough Council, in their meeting the following evening, questioning whether proper protocol was followed because of an item added to the agenda.

The Board voted November 12 to recommend that the Council hire a private environmental consultant to evaluate documentation of the former site of the University Medical Center at Princeton, where developer AvalonBay is contracted to build an apartment complex. But in a split decision, members of Council voted not to hire the Trenton firm, Sovereign Consulting.

They cited the fact that AvalonBay was not informed of the meeting, and questioned whether the consultation was necessary. “What other applicant have we required this of?” asked Councilman Kevin Wilkes. “None.”

Sovereign Consulting was recommended at a cost of $2,990, which would be paid for through AvalonBay’s Borough escrow account. A separate, lesser amount would be paid by the Township, where a smaller portion of the site is located.

“What obligations do we have to enforce remediation strategies on the applicant?” asked Wilkes. “A whole state protocol is in place for these issues. Why do we need to create our own review process when the state statute covers this?” Questioning the timing of the addition of the item to the Planning Board’s agenda, he suggested “shady behavior.” “I don’t support it,” he said. “I don’t think it was properly noticed.”

The Planning Board made their recommendation after suggestions by the Princeton Environmental Commission that a consultant be hired. In addition, the Princeton Regional Health Commission had referred the issue to the Planning Board.

Before voting on the recommendation last Tuesday, the Council allowed for public comment. “The environmental impact studies had very serious errors,” said Dodds Lane resident Jane Buttars, who is part of the group Princeton Citizens for Sustainable Neighborhoods. “They need to be looked at by an independent consultant.” She added, “There are public health issues at stake. No one here has had experience in decommissioning a hospital, and guidance would be helpful.”

In a memo sent to Borough Council after the meeting, Matt Wasserman, chair of the Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC), requested that the Council reconsider its decision. He said that the PEC would make a financial contribution if the cost of hiring the consulting firm is at issue.

“We were very dismayed to learn that the Borough Council did not authorize an independent environmental consultant to review the voluminous amount of environmental documents associated with this application, and to consider whether additional sampling would be required, as requested by the Planning Board and the PEC. This review should include all documents submitted to the record of this application,” the memo reads. “The potential impact of this property is so important that to make a less than fully informed decision could risk the health and welfare of the future residents of this development and the surrounding community. We believe this review is vital to making a responsible decision on the application.”

Discussions of the AvalonBay proposal continued at the November 15 Planning Board meeting (see related story).

Mr. Wilkes was also critical, at the November 13 Council meeting, of a request to increase the budget for legal work by Hill Wallack, its regular law firm, and Stephen Barcan, a special attorney hired primarily to handle issues related to the issue of moving the Dinky terminus. “How did we exceed our legal budget with Hill Wallack by 40 percent this year?” Mr. Wilkes asked, referring to the request to raise the cap on the firm’s contract from $175,000 for 2012 to $245,000.

Council members were not clear as to whether the requests had to do with previous legal work, on issues related to the transition to consolidation, or were for work that has yet to be covered. Ultimately, the Council decided to put off acting on the two separate resolutions until the return of Borough Administrator Bob Bruschi, who was not present at the meeting.


May 2, 2012

Princeton University last week submitted documents to the Regional Planning Board detailing plans for its arts and transit neighborhood. Included are modified plans for the Lewis Center for the Arts, to be designed by architect Steven Holl, the new Dinky station and Wawa market to be designed by architect Rick Joy, and Mr. Joy’s plans for the existing Dinky station buildings, which the University intends to turn into a restaurant and cafe.

This is the University’s first official submission to the Planning Board for site plan approval. Concept discussions have been held in the past, but submissions could not be made until zoning was in place. “This set of plans is one generation beyond the ones that we described in February,” said Robert Durkee, University vice president and secretary.

One new aspect of the plan involves the University’s purchase of the house at 152 Alexander Street. The building will be demolished during the construction process, Mr. Durkee said. “This gives us a lot more flexibility. It works better,” he said.

The other changes have to do with the existing Dinky station buildings and the one to be designed 460 feet to the south. “What we’ve heard from people is that they like having the idea of having the Wawa in the station building, but don’t like the idea of the waiting area in the Wawa,” Mr Durkee said of the plans for the new building. “So the architect has said that we’ll connect the waiting area and the Wawa with a nice outdoor waiting area. You can get back and forth but they’re separate.”

The southernmost of the two existing station buildings will have an addition on its eastern side. An outdoor seating area will be framed by the original portion of the building and the addition. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking with restaurant operators and looking at the design of those two buildings to make them work,” Mr. Durkee said.

While he declined to name the restaurants being considered for the station buildings, Mr. Durkee did say they all are local. “Our goal was to end up with someone already in the Princeton area, who knows the area. And we’re very confident that will happen.”

 


At its public meeting tomorrow evening, May 3, Princeton Regional Planning Board will once again consider developer AvalonBay’s proposal to build a rental community at the Princeton Hospital site. A zoning ordinance put before Borough Council last week, which included concessions by the developer in response to concerns of neighborhood residents, has been sent back to the Planning Board. The ordinance is expected to come back before the Council for final approval on May 8.

At the Council’s meeting last Tuesday, AvalonBay senior vice president Ron Ladell withdrew the company’s request to increase the density of the complex by 44 units. But while some Council members expressed an interest in voting to approve the zoning that night, they took the advice of Assistant Borough Attorney Henry Chou and decided instead to reintroduce a revised zoning ordinance, which necessitates another look by the Planning Board. In addition to eliminating the density increase, the revised ordinance includes changes involving signage and a leasing office on site. By reintroducing, Mr. Chou said, the Borough avoids any potential legal challenges.

Mr. Ladell was hoping for approval that night. “This process has become way too complicated and it’s really not,” he said, adding that no one had issues with four of the seven items in question on the ordinance. “We are fully proposing to be in compliance. We will have 20 percent affordable units, including very low income, low income, and moderate income, and that is unprecedented in the state of New Jersey.”

Adding that AvalonBay would be happy to meet with a subcommittee about open space and any other issues in question, Mr. Ladell said time was of the essence. “We have to move quickly. The hospital is moving in less than a month,” he said. “It is asbestos-ridden and it is going to take some time to clean that up. To go back is a delay that is very, very difficult for us when we don’t even know that we can have a leasing office in this community.”

The University Medical Center at Princeton is moving May 22 to its new headquarters on Route 1 in Plainsboro. AvalonBay is under contract to purchase the site on Witherspoon Street. The company plans to demolish the existing building to make room for a newly constructed rental community of 280 units ranging from studios to three bedrooms.

AvalonBay originally wanted to add 44 units, which would add nine to the affordable housing component of the project while making it more profitable. The company’s concession to withdraw that request was not enough to placate those opposed to the developer’s plans. Environmental concerns over the company’s intention to use Energy Star rather than LEED green standards still figured in remarks by some members of the public at last week’s meeting.

Mr. Chou told Council that developers building affordable housing qualifying as COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) can not be forced to follow such standards.

Among those voicing support for much of AvalonBay’s plans was Kevin Walsh, an attorney with Fair Share Housing, which represents lower income New Jersey residents. “The 20 percent affordable is a good thing,” he said. “I regret that the developer has withdrawn the request for extra units. It would have resulted in more affordable housing in the community. But where do we go from here? I spend a lot of time fighting developers, but not here. This is a development that has gone above and beyond. For folks who want LEED, take your argument to Trenton.”

Resident Joe Barzilowski told Council he has concerns about trust. “They said they needed the extra units to make the project work, and now all of a sudden it is alright to go for 280 units,” he said. “Why didn’t they do that to begin with? I think we have been given clues about how much we should or shouldn’t trust the greedy corporation that wants to move into our town. I think we should learn from this experience and strengthen any ordinance that’s passed or proposed, even, so there’s little room for a developer’s interpretation. Because we want what we want, not what the developer wants and what they can benefit from.”

Also attending the meeting were several construction workers from the SEIU 32BJ union. Lisa McAllister, their spokesperson, told Council that AvalonBay contractors and subcontractors have violated OSHA safety standards on projects in Massachusetts and elsewhere. “AvalonBay is not the right developer for this project,” she said. In response, Mayor Yina Moore reminded Ms. McAllister that Borough Council’s purpose was not to select a developer, but to entertain a zoning change.

The Planning Board’s meeting will be held at the Township Municipal Complex tomorrow night, May 3, at 7:30 p.m.