By Stephanie Vaccaro, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY Recent clearing work along Burnt Hill Road and near the Lower Middle School entrance is being done to tie the Orchard Hill, Lower Middle School, Kid Connection and Upper Middle School into the upgraded North Princeton Developmental Center (NPDC) wastewater treatment plant.
The two small older sewage treatment plants located along Back Brook, which currently serve the schools, are at the end of their service life. It would be extremely costly to upgrade or replace these two small plants and it has been the township’s plan to eliminate the plants since its acquisition of the NPDC Wastewater Treatment Plant from the state of New Jersey. The cost for connection of the schools to the NPDC plant is being covered by a developer through an agreement with the township, according to a township notice.
The clearing on the school properties is necessary to construct the piping from the schools to the NPDC plant. Tree clearing work has also been necessary to make room for a small pump station across Burnt Hill Road from Kid Connection. Sewer lines to the NPDC sewage treatment plant will be run along Burnt Hill Road within the road right-of-way, according to a township notice.
Preliminary work is being done on a development approved many years ago. In 1988 East Country Development Associates received approval for a residential development on 82 acres of land along Burnt Hill Road and Sunset Road. The developer has had all necessary permits in place for some time and has now decided to move forward with the project, Westwinds Farm, which consists of 54 single family homes. Each home will range in size from 3,600 to 4,300 square feet, according to a township notice.
The construction entrance for the project will be located on Sunset Road. The final project will have two road accesses one on Burnt Hill Road and one on Sunset Road. The developer will incur the cost of some off-site improvements including limited pavement overlay on Burnt Hill Road, work to reduce standing water/icing that occurs on Sunset Road, and sewer plant tie-in. The site plan includes trails and 46 acres of open space, which will be 57 percent of the property, including detention basins and wetlands, according to a township notice.

