By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
Settlement discussions are ongoing between Princeton Township and citizens who sued over a zoning ordinance that would permit senior housing on the Princeton ridge, according to attorneys for both sides.
The lawsuit targets zoning that could enable developer J. Robert Hillier’s proposed age-restricted housing development, which envisions more than 140 housing units in a cluster of four-story buildings on the Lowe property off Bunn Drive. The development, which will be debated at a Feb. 19 Princeton Regional Planning Board hearing, is to be served by underground parking and other amenities. It would cause less disturbance of the ridge’s woodlands than previous plans, Mr. Hillier said last week.
Township Attorney Edwin Schmierer and plaintiffs’ attorney R. William Potter confirmed that there has been an exchange of written correspondence between the parties as well as several meetings. Settlement discussions have centered on setbacks, the destruction of trees on the property, and preservation of land, among other issues.
A schedule worked out by Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg calls for the filing of briefs in March or April, Mr. Schmierer said. An initial trial date has been set for May, barring a settlement between the township and plaintiffs, who call themselves People for Princeton Ridge.
”We’re using this opportunity to meet and discuss what will be contained in a settlement,” Mr. Schmierer said.
Mr. Potter said: "We have had settlement discussions and my clients are eager to continue those discussions. The township is treating this in a very positive fashion."
Because the ordinance remains in force, development plans adhering to the zoning could receive eventual Planning Board approval, although the approval process has yet to advance beyond a preliminary stage.
The latest iteration of the plan, which Mr. Hillier presented to the Joint Princeton Environmental Commission last week, boasts a smaller overall footprint than the original plan offered by developer K. Hovnanian, and an earlier concept authored by Mr. Hillier.
The latest plan would also result in less tree destruction than earlier schemes, according to a tree report commissioned by Mr. Hillier.
Occupancy at the complex remains at least two to three years away, Mr. Hillier said last week.
The Joint Environmental Commission, while signaling approval of some plan revisions, continued its general opposition to the development of the Princeton ridge area in a memorandum approved in a vote on Feb. 4. The Princeton Packet, citing New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act, obtained a copy of the memorandum from the Princeton Township Clerk on Wednesday after the commission failed to provide one, as promised, on Tuesday. A copy of the memorandum had been taken away from a Packet reporter at the Feb. 4 commission meeting.
Wendy Kaczerski, who chairs the commission, said Monday that despite the panel’s opposition, "We are recognizing the reality that this development will probably proceed."
A letter circulated this week by the plantiffs, People for Princeton Ridge, Inc. referred to " a settlement proposal” sent to the Princeton Township Committee in mid-December. The letter claimed that discussions with the group had led Mr. Hillier to produce “a new plan more environmentally acceptable than his first proposal” and outlined restrictions the group wanted to see in any eventual project plan approved by the township.
The letter stated that the group “hopes that a negotiated settlement will represent an intelligent compromise that grants some of Township’s stated need for age-restricted housing while simultaneously achieving permanent protection of considerable acreage through responsible environmental stewardship.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: The full text of the letter is posted below as a comment below.]
Mr. Potter and a spokesman for Mr. Hillier said Thursday that some revisions in the project plan, as presented by Mr. Hillier to the Environmental Commission last week, were the result of discussions between himself and People for Princeton Ridge.
