Opposed to WW redevelopment plan

Mike Baxter of West Windsor
    Five years ago there was near unanimous consensus in our town that we wanted to insure all residents in West Windsor that needed parking at the train station got parking at the train station. And, if it didn’t cost much, it sure would be nice to beautify Route 571 and create a downtown atmosphere in that area with some restaurants.
   What’s been ‘accomplished’ on those two basic objectives? Basically, nothing.
   We have a ‘transit village’ plan for 500 plus condos near the train station with an open ended increase clause above that amount. NJ transit was not adequately engaged on the project plan. They disagree with it and won’t use it in their plans to provide parking.
   Route 571’s appearance has improved marginally via the building of two new banks at no cost to the tax payers. And, this work was completely outside the ‘transit village’ planning.
   We’ve spent over two million dollars on planning and not met any of our objectives. All we really got out of this is more condos and future headaches. Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge had a two-word term for a bureaucratic snafu that I think perfectly describes the mayor’s ‘transit village’ planning process and leadership.
   Some questions you may want to ask the current mayor on his transit village leadership:
   • Why don’t we have parking yet for our residents? Hamilton had parking in 1.5 years from the time they made a decision they wanted it, why didn’t we do the same thing?
   • Why does he insist on leading us down his path to the urbanization of West Windsor? West Windsor is not a town dominated by condos, it is suburban, mostly houses and some picket fences. It has a nice neighborhood feel to it.
   • Why do our taxes keep going bone crushingly up, up, up?
   • Why does he keep using the euphemism ‘Smart Growth’? Does he understand that sometimes ‘No Growth’ is even smarter growth?
   The key question the mayor has never answered is why do we want to be a transit village?
   The answer is clear why developers and our neighboring communities want us to bear the cost in many ways to be a transit village, but why do the taxpayers of West Windsor want to be a transit village? Don’t we really just want parking for our citizens and some restaurants?
   The upside risk of the number of condos possible via the latest transit village/redevelopment plan should put any West Windsor taxpayer that reads it into cardiac arrest. Why do we want 500 to 2,000 more condos and a load of new parking spots and associated traffic for people from outside West Windsor?
   Outside of the mayor and developers, I can’t think of anyone that wants the tax, traffic and quality of life risks of a massive condo development.
   Based on experiences to date, the only way to deliver the message of what residents want will be at the ballot box in May.