Citizens petitioning for garage bond vote

Borough officials maintain project not subject to vote by public.

By: Jennifer Potash
   Opponents of the downtown Princeton Borough garage development took a step Thursday to put the project to a referendum.
   Jim Firestone, president of Concerned Citizens of Princeton, along with seven citizens and merchants, submitted a petition with 843 signatures from registered voters in the borough to Acting Princeton Borough Clerk Lea Quinty.
   "It gives the citizens a chance to express how they feel about the referendum and have a voice in deciding to build the largest project in the downtown since Palmer Square," Mr. Firestone said.
   The Princeton Borough Council approved a $13.5 million bond issue Dec. 17 for the 500-car parking garage and plaza on the Park & Shop lot off Spring Street. Nassau HKT Associates will build, at its cost, two mixed-use buildings with apartments and retail space on the Spring Street and Tulane Street parking lots.
   To challenge a bond ordinance, signatures are needed from a minimum of 15 percent of the registered voters in the last General Assembly election— or 765 signatures in this instance.
   But the petition and signatures may be moot because the development project is slated for a site designated as an area in need of redevelopment. That designation means the project is not subject to referendum according to a state statute.
   Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi said the borough will forward the petition to Borough Attorney Michael J. Herbert, bond counsel Ed McManimon and the garage special council Robert Goldsmith. All three attorneys advised the borough the project is not subject to bond referendum, Mr. Bruschi said.
   Linda Lamb, who gathered 156 signatures with her husband, George, said residents don’t believe the Borough Council’s argument that the garage project will not raise property taxes.
   Tina Clement, a Vandeventer Avenue resident and Concerned Citizens member, said every borough neighborhood is represented on the petition. Opponents also sought to convince the Borough Council at its meeting Tuesday that a smaller parking plan means a better bottom line for the municipality.
   Henry Landau, co-owner of Landau’s woolen goods store on Nassau Street, presented the council with a financial comparison of how a 375-space parking deck combined with the Tulane Street surface lot would compare to the borough plan.
   Mr. Landau said the borough garage plan, with the accompanying apartments, will provide too few spaces for the downtown. For that plan to work, Mr. Landau said, a garage of at least 600 spaces is needed.
   Tim Haas, the borough’s garage consultant, had earlier informed the council the parking deck plan proposed by Concerned Citizens could not produce 375 spaces but rather 119 spaces, with the possibility of adding levels of 78 cars each.
   Mr. Landau claims the less expensive parking deck would pay for itself and bring a higher rate of return on the borough’s investment.
   But the proposed parking shelf plan would not replace the $500,000 the existing two lots contribute to the borough’s annual operating budget, Mayor Marvin Reed said.
   Councilman David Goldfarb said the garage plan is largely decided — the council will vote on the developer’s agreement Jan. 21 — and while the garage won’t be the overall solution to downtown parking, it’s now time to focus on other issues such as stopping downtown employees from meter-feeding.
   Mayor Marvin Reed said the borough staff and consultants working on the project will examine Mr. Landau’s analysis.