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Children’s enrichment center proposed for Clifftown shopping strip

By Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
   Whether an enrichment and play center is an appropriate use at the Clifftown Shopping Center on Route 206 is the issue before the Princeton Township Zoning Board of Adjustment on Oct. 22.
   The proposed facility, which would be located at the strip shopping center, located just north of the Cherry Hill Road intersection with Route 206, would primarily offer programs for 18-month to seven- or eight-year-olds, with parents or caregivers of all participating children required to remain at the center while their children are using it.
   Olayinka Akinlawon, who would own and run the center, is scheduled to present details about her business including its mission at the session.
   The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday of this week, but was postponed at the request of attorney Kim Otis during the zoning board meeting. Mr. Otis represents the owner of the Clifftown Shopping Center — Xanadu Associates LLC.
   During a phone interview Thursday, Mr. Otis said providing services directly to a person was one of the permitted uses in the B-2 zoning district where the shopping center is located and that he thinks Ms. Akinlawon’s business falls under that use.
   ”The zoning officer said he felt it wasn’t clear to him that the center was a permissible use within the B-2 district and they (the zoning board) have to say it an establishment providing services directly to a person,” Mr. Otis said. “Then they have to look at those activities which are prohibited and it’s not even close to any of those.
   ”We will not be seeking any variances,” said Mr. Otis, who is of the Princeton law firm Haveson and Otis.
   The township’s zoning staff deferred questions on the center to the zoning board’s attorney, Robert Casey, who said the application is before the zoning board because Township Zoning Officer Peter Kneski questioned if it was a permitted use for the area.
   The center, which would likely be titled “Tiger Hall: Play Zone and Activity Center” would occupy a two-story space, which was most recently occupied by an architectural firm.
   ”Parents would be encouraged to participate,” Ms. Akinlawon said. “For the most part it is a parent-child facility. The idea is to have the parents in the room with the children, but there will be at least one waiting room and two lounges for parents to use while they’re children are at the center.”
   The bulk of the business would be based on the 2,200-square-foot second floor, Ms. Akinlawon said.
   There, she plans to create five classrooms and a play area that is likely to include a chest full of costumes, a story-time area, a small ball pit, ride-on toys, small toys and games.
   The center would offer a variety of programs including an after-school science club and children’s yoga, as well as opportunities to play.
   Ms. Akinlawon said she also plans to offer classes for parents and their babies focused on socialization, baby sign language and music.
   It would be an all-day operation, opening around 9 a.m. and closing around 7 p.m., she said. Parents and caregivers would have the opportunity to sign children up for memberships at the center or pay per visit.
   Ms. Akinlawon said she has been working on creating the center for years and that she became more involved with planning the center over the past six months.
   ”For the most part, it’s always been my goal to work with children and do something geared toward childhood development,” she said.
   Ms. Akinlawon, 24, is a 2007 graduate of Princeton University and a mother. As a student at the university, she majored in anthropology and also focused on development psychology and language acquisition. She currently works on a contract basis for a supplemental education service for the Trenton Public School District. Ms. Akinlawon also runs a day-care center in her Princeton home and teaches yoga and music to local mothers.
   Ms. Akinlawon said she would work at the center all day, every day.
   Xanadu Associates is also seeking to bring a Domino’s Pizza to the Clifftown Center. The board rejected the application on May 28.The company has since filed a lawsuit against the zoning board challenging the decision.
   The lawsuit appeals the board’s ruling that Domino’s would violate a provision of the zoning ordinance prohibiting a “restaurant” or “drive-in restaurant” in the zone where the shopping center is located.
   The appeal was filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey’s law division on June 24.
   Mr. Otis said he expects Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg to issue a ruling Oct. 24.
   Xanadu is seeking to lease 53 Route 206 to Ms. Akinlawon and 61 Route 206 to Domino’s.