Princeton faces major challenges in revising Master Plan

A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.

By: David Campbell
   Traffic and circulation, shortages of developable land for competing interests such as open space and senior housing and prohibitively high real estate prices are among the challenges facing Princeton planners, according to a report released last week.
   A draft copy of the Princeton Community Master Plan Re-examination report was released to The Regional Planning Board of Princeton on Sept. 20. A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 18.
   Approval of the final report is expected by the end of November, and will initiate a series of public forums in the spring held by the board’s Master Plan Subcommittee to consider revisions to specific elements of the 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan.
   Board Chairwoman Victoria Bergman said this week she encourages the public to attend the Oct. 18 hearing on the re-examination report, as well as the upcoming Master Plan meetings yet to be scheduled.
   "Princeton has a long history of having innovative ideas," Ms. Bergman said. "I think we have an opportunity in Princeton, and there’s a great deal of talent, interest and support in being in the forefront of innovative planning."
   According to the draft report, Princeton continues to face a shortage of vacant developable land, a conclusion first drawn in the 1995 re-examination and 1996 revision of the Master Plan. The shortage is evident in increased competition for remaining land among advocates of senior and affordable housing and open-space preservation.
   The report shows that since the 1996 Master Plan, housing values have continued to rise in the borough and township and far exceed county and statewide averages.
   The average residential property in Princeton Township was $366,500 in 1995 and $425,600 in 2000.
   According to Marvin Reed, Princeton Borough mayor and Planning Board member, the high cost of living in Princeton is the biggest challenge facing the borough.
   "What you would think of as your middle market is simply being priced out of Princeton," Mayor Reed said. "Both the desire of people to live in Princeton and the absence of space for new housing is affecting the real estate market so tremendously so that all but a very high price level are being boxed out of Princeton."
   Planning Board member Gail Ullman, who chairs the Master Plan subcommittee, agreed that housing will be a major issue.
   "The issues go well beyond senior housing in my view," Ms. Ullman said. "I think that what Princeton appears to lack is market-rate rental apartments, which could be either for seniors or young people with children."
   She said diversity in housing "is going to be at the top of the list, and I don’t know that there is a consensus in the community about what it wants."
   The re-examination report cites the need to address how best to maintain affordable housing in Princeton and to meet the needs of a growing senior population.
   It highlights the need to ensure adequate recreation and open space, and for the continued economic growth of the downtown and the Princeton Shopping Center.
   The re-examination report emphasizes the need to limit impacts from regional traffic, and to balance the needs of institutions such as Princeton University and The Medical Center at Princeton with neighborhood protection.
   Other issues include the creation of historic buffer zones; the re-evaluation of regulations for home-based businesses; review of the pedestrian and bicycle section of the Master Plan’s circulation element, and the need for a community center for seniors, young people and the community at large.
   The report recommends a review of zoning for the Princeton Shopping Center to permit age-restricted and affordable housing as well as non-residential development. It also recommends an examination of the impact a 400- to 500-space parking garage will have on downtown Princeton.
   Ms. Bergman said she sees traffic circulation and regionalism as the biggest challenges facing the community.
   "How do we cooperate where our boundaries intersect?" she asked. "If you look at the zoning on both sides of municipal boundaries, you may see the zoning is quite different."
   Redevelopment and mixed-use zoning may be something the Princetons might want to consider as they review revisions to the Master Plan, Ms. Bergman said.
   "I think mixed use is something that brings people together," she said, citing the plazas and squares of Europe — and, closer to home, downtown Princeton and the Princeton Shopping Center — as examples. "But how do you bring it into conformity with suburbia?" she asked.
   Ms. Bergman said the Master Plan revisions may require a re-examination of Princeton’s self-image as a "small university town" in light of growth in central New Jersey.
   "Princeton has become the cultural, economic and social center for surrounding communities, which also have their own centers," she said. "I think that’s something that has to be talked about."