Litigation that caused years of delay appears largely resolved.
By: Jennifer Potash
An addition to Elm Court, an affordable senior housing complex straddling Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, may be about to take a giant step on its long, winding road toward construction.
"There’s some great news about Elm Court II," said David Kinsey, a trustee of Princeton Community Housing, which operates the senior housing units.
Mr. Kinsey will give the Princeton Borough Council a status report on the project at the council’s 7:30 p.m. meeting at Borough Hall.
First, all outstanding litigation associated with the project is largely resolved, he said.
Both the Princeton Borough Council and the Princeton Township Committee are expected to introduce a zoning amendment ordinance that makes the existing Elm Court units and the proposed expansion permitted uses, Mr. Kinsey said.
Mayor Marvin Reed said the borough needs to work out a financial agreement with Princeton Township on how much money each municipality will contribute from its affordable-housing trust fund.
In the next few months, the expansion plans will be submitted to the Princeton Regional Planning Board for site plan approval, Mr. Kinsey said.
If all outstanding issues are resolved and the project gains approval from the Planning Board and receives some funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, construction on the 68-unit expansion could begin by mid-2005, Mr. Kinsey said.
With an eight- to 10-month construction period, the units could be available by early 2006, he said.
The Planning Board, in adopting the Princeton Community Master Plan in 1996, paved the way for the housing expansion by suggesting the need for senior housing overlay districts in Princeton Township, Mr. Kinsey said.
Princeton Community Housing began exploring the possibly and acquiring the requisite land for the expansion, all of which were concluded in 1998.
But residents of an adjacent neighborhood raised concerns about the project and filed lawsuits, which essentially halted the development for a few years.
In late 2001, Princeton Community Housing, the borough and township, the Planning Board and the Mountain Brook Homeowners Association reached a settlement reducing the number of new housing units to 68 from 74. The development would be built on 14 acres of Princeton Borough-owned land along Elm Road in Princeton Township. Elm Court now has 88 units. Expansion of Elm Court beyond the current proposal is prohibited under the settlement, which also preserves objectors’ rights to challenge any future municipal actions on the proposed expansion.
One outstanding issue needs to be resolved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Some opponents of the Elm Court proposal, including the Sierra Club of New Jersey, argued Princeton Borough and Princeton Township illegally used public open space bought with state Green Acres money as an easement for the project.
Princeton Borough claims the 3.2-acre parcel in question was incorrectly registered as Green Acres land on its Recreation and Open Space Inventory. The DEP is reviewing the borough’s request to have it removed from the inventory.

