The Lanwin Development Corp., which wants to subdivide a 90.6-acre parcel into 30 building lots, will be back in front of the Princeton Planning Board on Nov. 14 to continue the public hearing on the application.
The Lanwin application is the only item on the agenda for the 7:30 p.m. meeting, which will be held in the main meeting room at Witherspoon Hall at 400 Witherspoon St. This meeting is the sixth since the public hearings began in April.
At the last meeting on Oct. 10, the focus was on whether the proposed development at 725 and 823 Herrontown Rd. and 915 Mount Lucas Rd. impinged on two potentially historic sites – the former Mount Lucas asylum and orphanage, and the Princeton Township poor house.
Consultant Randy Kertes testified that his client’s proposed development is not located on those properties, based on his review of 1849 and 1875 historic maps. He also reviewed historic records, such as property deeds.
Attorney Bruce Afran, who represents objectors to the proposed development, disagreed. He said the development “potentially intrudes” into the orphanage and poor house properties.
The parcel is bordered by Herrontown Road, Herrontown Lane and Mount Lucas Road in Princeton, and by the Montgomery Walk townhouse development in Montgomery Township.
Lanwin Development Corp. is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval to subdivide the 90.6-acre parcel and to create 30 buildings lots of about a half-acre each. A three-acre lot will be set aside on Mount Lucas Road to be dedicated for affordable housing.
The houses would be built on about 18.5 acres of land that had been cleared for farming. The remainder of the tract – about 67.4 acres – would remain as open space.
The applicant could have applied for permission to develop 20 building lots that have minimum lot sizes of four acres each, but it would have consumed most of the 90.6-acre tract.
Instead, the applicant has chosen to use the cluster option. The cluster subdivision design avoids disturbing major portions of the environmentally sensitive areas, preserving them for open space.
Princeton’s zoning ordinance allows for density bonuses if more than 70% of a parcel is set aside for common open space; for providing more than 1,000 linear feet of walking paths; and for dedicating the three-acre parcel on Mount Lucas Road for affordable housing.
As a result, the developer can create 10 more building lots in addition to the 20 building lots that could have been created under a conventional subdivision plan.
