PRINCETON: Planning board considers university plans

By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
   An amendment to the Princeton Community Master Plan, addressing Princeton University’s long-term development plans, was debated Wednesday at a meeting of the Princeton Regional Planning Board.
   The university Campus Plan is designed to carry the school through 2016 and add an additional 1.5 million square feet of space. It includes new structures to accommodate new students and staff, an arts and transit neighborhood on the western side of campus, and a plan to relocate the N.J. Transit station served by the Dinky.
   Princeton University Vice President Robert Durkee said Wednesday that he was surprised at the length, 16 pages, and detail of the draft amendment. He singled out the inclusion of parking statistics and elements of the university’s Traffic Demand Management program, which seeks to mitigate much of the new traffic stemming from new development.
   Board member Marvin Reed, who led Wednesday’s discussions, said the parking and traffic statistics were included in lieu of additional parking guidelines. Normally the Planning Board would be required to account for the parking needs of new development, so the data were included instead, according to Mr. Reed.
   Officials from both sides noted that traffic and parking statistics in the amendment already have changed, as the university implements a new transit system and other elements of its traffic mitigation efforts.
   In light of that, Mr. Durkee called for language in the amendment noting that traffic plans were evolving and had not been fully implemented, and that any data represented a snapshot in time.
   Board members, along with Planning Director Lee Solow, are considering the use of over-arching principles listed in the amendment as general principles for application to all major institutions in Princeton, such as the Princeton Theological Seminary and the Westminster Choir College.
   Doing so would be more acceptable to some institutions after the university accepted them, Mr. Reed said.
   Some board members expressed a need for an independent look at the university’s overall impact on the community prior to making final decisions on the amendment.
   Princeton Borough resident Martin Schneiderman, who lives near the eastern portions of campus and has been vocal about the university’s plans, said the Master Plan amendment should include specific benchmarks and requirements for the university to meet, not ambiguous guidelines.
   Throughout the discussion Planning Board attorney Allen Porter stressed that some of the issues being discussed fell outside of the proper scope of a Master Plan.
   There was also a lengthy discussion on a principle listed in the amendment, which called for the university to concentrate development to the south of campus and away from Nassau Street. Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman said repeatedly that keeping the university on the south side of Nassau Street was important to maintaining the vitality of the downtown area. Further development across Nassau Street changes the face of downtown, Mayor Trotman said.
   Again, Mr. Porter said that language determining acceptable uses in downtown structures was outside the scope of the Master Plan and the draft amendment. Such language would have to come in the form of a zoning proposal made to Princeton Borough or Princeton Township, he said.
   Mr. Durkee said the university would appreciate guidance on its presence along Nassau Street. He noted, however, that the Labyrinth Books store, which some board members pointed to as evidence of the university’s encroachment on downtown, is not university-owned. He also pointed out some successful downtown elements of the university’s presence, such as the immensely popular and tax-paying Garden Theatre at the corner of Vandeventer Avenue and Nassau Street.
   Another amendment principle that raised concerns among university officials was one that seemed to call on Princeton University to balance traffic between Alexander Street, Washington Road and Harrison Street.
   However, Mr. Reed said it only meant that with parking changes on campus, such as the construction of a new east campus parking facility, planners expected a shift in campus-related traffic on the three roadways, called gateways to Princeton in the amendment.
   While appreciating the university’s efforts to provide statistical data on its economic impact, board member Audrey Chen said she felt uncomfortable basing decisions on documents produced and funded by Princeton University. In response, Mr. Durkee said the university commissioned its recent report on such impacts specifically for use by the community.
   Planners and university officials will meet again for more discussions in late February.