West Windsor council finds consensus on redevelopment document

A vote expected soon on guidelines for train station area project

By: Greg Forester
   WEST WINDSOR — As early as next Monday, the Township Council may vote on a guiding resolution for redevelopment around the Princeton Junction train station, after reaching a consensus on the document earlier this week.
   Working off earlier documents created by various council members, the council spent several hours on Monday, going through the issues one by one and reaching general agreement on what is to be included as fundamental issues of the project.
   "This document is meant to be like a mission statement, and a mission statement never changes," said Councilman Charles Morgan. "It establishes the mission of the organization, and in this case, the issues that are so basically important to this community."
   Residents said they were pleased with the open meeting, which allowed them to watch the Township Council do its job in drafting guidelines for the township.
   "I think it’s great to have a meeting like this tonight, and it’s great to see how the process works," said resident Marshall Lerner.
   Some mandates in the finished document include a project with a tax-positive impact, housing consistent with the desire of the residents, positive impact on traffic, and the creation of a "sense of place" in the township.
   Councilwomen Heidi Kleinman and Linda Geevers both said the document should include the "sense of place" mandate.
   "This is what we lack in West Windsor," said Ms. Kleinman. "We’re trying to create these principles and people are always talking about no center of town."
   Resident David Siegel of Berrien Avenue said the words "sense of place" should have been left out of the resolution.
   "That slogan has been used in political campaigns, and I object to its inclusion," said Mr. Siegel. "It has acquired a partisan character."
   Other council members said they had spoken to residents who didn’t care for anything to be built around the train station or on Route 571.
   "Grovers Mill, Edinburgh, Penns Neck," said Mr. Morgan. "Some people feel we already have a sense of place."
   Another principle dealt with the residential units that could come to West Windsor with the project.
   Ms. Kleinman said the principle should include language dealing with the diversity of housing.
   "The last thing West Windsor needs is another four-bedroom colonial," Ms. Kleinman said.
   Resident Susan Conlon said the principle dealing with traffic circulation should have included additional wording detailing how the traffic should be improved in and near the redevelopment area.
   Ms. Conlon said the document should address the addition of traffic-calming measures.
   "You are trying to address traffic circulation without talking about traffic calming," Ms. Conlon said.
   Township officials cited earlier public workshops in including a principle dealing with the project’s tax impact, requiring the redevelopment to be tax-positive for the township.
   "We need to figure out if the community wants it to be tax-positive in five years, 20 years or now," said Council President Will Anklowitz.
   Mr. Morgan agreed, saying it was important to distinguish what kind of tax-positive the document actually meant, either breaking even on taxes on a yearly basis, or recouping all of the investment into the project in addition to breaking even each year.
   "We need to learn what the community wants with regard to the project being tax-positive," Mr. Morgan said.
   Although all five members of the Township Council met at the meeting Monday, the finished document will have to come up for vote at a regular Township Council meeting, possibly Monday’s session.