Panel begins discussions on how to ensure that houses are built in balance with those around them.
By: David Campbell
Princeton officials are taking aim at "McMansions," those huge expansions and tear-down-and-rebuilds on small lots that can be the bane of neighbors.
On Wednesday, the Zoning Amendment Review Committee of the Princeton Regional Planning Board began discussions on how to ensure that houses that are built are in balance with those around them, and how to prevent monster houses from sprouting up in modest-sized neighborhoods.
As a first step, the committee agreed to examine possible zoning changes that would impose greater constraints on McMansion-minded property owners.
Currently, zoning rules in Princeton are such that architects and builders are able to design huge houses that nevertheless conform to regulations and so do not have to appear before the zoning board.
As Borough Zoning Officer Frank Slimak put it Wednesday, they "wiggle" the design to fit the zoning.
William Wolfe, chairman of the Site Plan Review Advisory Board who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said existing zoning rules are "ill-fitted" to the actual contexts of the neighborhoods they are meant to regulate.
"There’s no easy fix other than to look at the ordinances and try to match them to the character of the neighborhood," Mr. Wolfe said.
Planning Board Attorney Allen Porter said a stricter floor-area ratio is needed to combat "monster houses" and would bring more house additions and tear-downs and rebuilds before the zoning board for review.
"What we have now is anarchy," Mr. Porter said. "It’s permitted. You don’t have to find loopholes, they’re there."
On Wednesday night, the Princeton Environmental Commission unanimously approved a motion endorsing a proposal by the Princeton Township Engineering Department to limit impervious surfaces from new construction, including not only the footprint of a house but also driveways, pools, tennis courts and the like.
The commission also agreed to support a case study by the engineering department of surface-water issues as they relate to impervious surfaces and their impacts on streams and waterways.
"The point is that as additional construction is implemented, houses with larger footprints have impacts all over town, whether it’s flooding or ruining back yards," said Commission Chairman David Breithaupt.
Random Road resident Olivia Applegate and a neighbor appeared before the commission to describe flooding conditions in her neighborhood that will be exacerbated by the McMansions she said developers are planning to build nearby.