Despite neighbors’ objections at a lengthy public hearing last week, Princeton Council approved an ordinance that would rezone the former SAVE animal shelter site on Mount Lucas Road to accommodate affordable housing.
The ordinance, which was approved at the council’s April 8 meeting, calls for a 100-percent affordable housing rental development of up to 65 apartments. One of the apartments would be set aside for the on-site building superintendent.
The 3-acre property is bordered by Mount Lucas Road, Herrontown Road and Old Orchard Lane. SAVE had occupied the property until it moved to its new location on route 601/The Great Road in Montgomery Township in 2015.
A concept plan for the site shows a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in three- and four-story buildings – and that is what triggered much of the opposition from neighbors.
The neighbors objected to the number of units that they claimed would be crammed onto the 3-acre property. They said there is no place for three- and four-story buildings on Mount Lucas Road, which still retains its rural “feel.” While they do not oppose affordable housing, this is not the site for it, they said.
Marge D’Amico, who lives on Old Orchard Lane, said that in the 36 years that she and her husband have lived there, the neighborhood has absorbed the Acorn Glen assisted living facility, the Princeton House mental health facility and now it is faced with the proposed 65-unit affordable housing development.
“There will be a wall of high-rise buildings on our side,” said D’Amico, whose home backs up to the former SAVE property. The new development “will not comport well” with the Old Orchard Lane and Mount Lucas Road neighborhood, she said.
There has been an increase in traffic on Mount Lucas Road, and the new development will add to the traffic congestion, the residents reported.
One woman said she conducted an informal traffic study and counted more than 140 cars traveling north on Mount Lucas Road between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and 45 cars traveling south.
Planner Carl Peters, who was retained by some of the objectors, said the former SAVE site is in a remote part of Princeton and it is too far away from stores and businesses. It is about two miles from the Princeton Shopping Center, and about two miles from Princeton High School and the Community Park School and recreation area, he said.
While it is close to the NJ Transit bus line on Route 206, the buses are in operation only certain hours of the day, Peters said. A development on this site will isolate the new residents from the rest of the community, and also negatively impact the neighborhood, he said.
In response, Joseph Burgis, the planning consultant hired by Princeton, compared the 21.6 units per acre to the 20 units per acre in the Merwick/Stanworth site, off Bayard Lane, and the densely developed Avalon Bay apartment complex on Witherspoon Street.
Burgis said one benefit to having a development that is 100 % affordable is the ability to escape the 5-to-1 ratio of market rate units to affordable units – the subsidy that a builder would seek. This would mean building several hundred apartments to provide 65 affordable housing units to meet the town’s as-yet-unspecified affordable housing obligation.
Although many neighbors objected to the rezoning, there were others in the audience who applauded it and threw their weight behind the proposed affordable housing development.
Steve Gilbert, who lives on Madison Street and whose background is in city planning, said there is a scarcity of developable land and some tough decisions have to be made. He encouraged Princeton Council to do what it thinks should be done.
Carol Golden, who chairs the board of directors for Housing Initiatives of Princeton, also urged Princeton Council to adopt the ordinance. There are many families that work in Princeton and want to move to Princeton so they can become part of the community, she said.
“It is so needed. This excites me. I am in favor of it,” Golden said.
Scott Sillars, who lives on Patton Avenue, agreed with Golden. There is a developer who has expressed interest in the property and who is not asking for any subsidies from the town, he said.
Kate Bech, who is the chief executive officer of the Princeton YMCA, also threw her support behind the proposed ordinance. The YMCA works with many families that want a safe and secure home, she said.
Children are affected by not having a safe and secure place to live, Bech said, adding that “the needs are very real.”
Before casting their votes, Princeton Council members acknowledged the public’s comments, but said the town does not have many options. It is under Mercer County Superior Court orders to provide affordable housing.
Princeton Council member David Cohen said this is the first of many sites for affordable housing that have “gone public.” He said there will be other sites, and they will be “well distributed” throughout the town.
The Princeton Council is not trying to relegate its affordable housing obligation to the periphery of the town, Cohen said.
Princeton Council member Tim Quinn said he sympathized with the neighbors and that it is a “big change” for their neighborhood, but the town is growing and it is running out of land. If it feels like this neighborhood is being “picked on,” it is not, Quinn said.
“This has been a very difficult and painful process for us,” Princeton Council member Eve Niedergang said. Princeton will look very different in 20 or 25 years, and there are “some things that are out of our control,” she said.
There will be other neighborhoods that will be affected in the same way, Niedergang said, adding that “change is coming for all of us. It’s not that we are not listening to you.”
