Princeton ignores senior housing need

Keith Wheelock of Montgomery
    As a long-time Montgomery resident (and former member of Township Committee and the planning and zoning boards) I was bemused by a Princeton resident’s comment at the Princeton Township Committee’s discussion about a proposed senior housing ordinance: “The committee should hold off on the ordinance until a study is done to assess the township’s current senior housing needs.”
   I believe that The Packet could find similar statements in the archives of the past 40 years. Except for the two HUD-financed Elm Court senior housing facilities, my impression is that Princeton has done virtually nothing in the past to accommodate it’s burgeoning senior population.
   Montgomery is an appreciative beneficiary of Princeton’s senioritis. Stonebridge at Montgomery, a tax ratable to die for, has over 300 seniors (many from Princeton) who were forced to look outside of Princeton to remain in the Princeton area. The Cherry Valley residential development includes over 100 age-restricted houses to which Princetonians are attracted. The newly-opened Sharbel age-restricted housing most likely will draw on aging Princetonians. Current planning for Skillman Village (the former NPDC site) includes an age-restricted component.
   I find it sad that Princeton still refuses to find a way to accommodate the needs of it’s long-time senior residents. Fortunately these fine people continue to find comfortable refuge in Montgomery.
Keith Wheelock
Mountain View Road
Montgomery