By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
A representative of the owners of the former Wild Oats and West Coast Video sites appeared before Borough Council this week and demanded to know why their project had not been back before the council to discuss a zoning change, as promised by officials in mid-September.
Linda Fahmie, of Princeton-based ROI Renovations, is representing the owners of the site and wanted to know why a discussion of the zoning change in the east Nassau Street in the Gasoline Alley area was not put on the agenda with a package to include changing the zoning from a mix of neighborhood business and service business to all neighborhood business in October, as moved forward by the council on Sept. 13.
There are eight properties that are zoned service business in the Gasoline Alley area that would be affected by the zoning change. The properties would be rezoned to the neighborhood business zone, the same as the properties across the street.
”Now we are here to discuss it and everyone is on vacation and no one has been notified,”said Ms. Fahmie. “We only got notice at the end of last week and it’s two days before a holiday.”
Councilman David Goldfarb also wanted to know why the zoning proposal has not progressed.
”It’s not often the council takes official action on something like this where we voted to have this item on our agenda,” he said. “I would have understood if we were incapacitated or Derek (Bridger, zoning officer) couldn’t be here anytime we had a meeting scheduled that we might have put it off. But somebody somewhere made the decision to ignore the clearly expressed will of the council and I have very great concerns about that.”
”Not only did I expect this to happen because the council took that action, but so did everyone who was here that night expected that that action would be taken,” he added.
There has been no movement from the council until Tuesday night’s presentation from Princeton Future. Princeton Future initially gave the presentation of its vision for the area to the public at the Chestnut Street firehouse in August after more than a year of discussion with neighbors.
The buildings in question are located at 255 and 259 Nassau St. and are separated by a Princeton University owned driveway.
The Wild Oats, which closed in 2007, site is owned by the Carnevale family, who has had the property since 1983. The West Coast Video, which closed in 2005, site is owned by the Bratman family. Both were in attendance on Tuesday night.
After the Sept. 13 meeting, borough staff worked on an ordinance in addition to their fairly big workload, explained Robert Bruschi, borough administrator.
”We were trying to work with the neighbors,” he said. “The presentation tonight is a supplement to all of the dialogue we have had.”
He said the staff and council were reacting to one proposal that came in September.
”We understand there are two sides to every equation,” explained Mr. Bruschi. “It would be presumptive of us to come back with an ordinance, here it is, without having heard from a lot of people. This is a step in the process.”
Mr. Goldfarb said the council had wanted an ordinance presented and have Mr. Bridger and Lee Solow, the planning director, present at a council meeting to discuss it.
”Having had that discussion we may have decided not to move it or introduce it and send it to the Planning Board for their consideration,” said Mr. Goldfarb. “I’m disappointed the staff did not follow the clear direction of the mayor and council.”
Mr, Bruschi thought the staff was being as responsive as they could be.
”By not doing what we agreed to do in September, we have set back the development that these businesses have in mind by months,” said Councilwoman Jo Butler.
”That’s real money, money that could be invested in that property. We’ve set them back a long way because we can’t begin to look at this until … we’re going to have a lot on the agenda in January, it’s not like we are going to be a whole lot less busy next year and we haven’t even begun the conversation with the business owners. It’s unfortunate. We’ve cost them a lot of money I think,” she said.
”There is a significant cost,” agreed Ms. Fahmie on Wednesday afternoon. “I would like to get that back on the public schedule.”
She says there are a couple of “special interest” neighbors who are trying to hold the process up, and this type of delay is affording them that opportunity.
Ms. Fahmie said she has concerns with the way the Princeton Future presentation was listed on the agenda. The council agenda lists zoning next to Princeton Future under “discussion.”
”That was never discussed, and it looks like it was,” she said. “It looks like there was as discussion and there wasn’t. What I’m struggling with is we’ve lost this window of opportunity and we should have had a decision by now.”
If they are not put on the agenda in December and through the Planning Board next month, the property owners will have to start the process all over with a new governing body and Planning Board, said Ms. Fahmie.
She is requesting a special accommodation to expedite the Planning Board process to make up for the lost time. The Planning Board process usually takes more than 45 days, including coming back to the Borough Council for final zoning approval.
”Since we’ve been shorted, we would have had ample time had we been heard in October,” she said. “A special meeting would give us an opportunity to accomplish what we would have been able to do in early October.”
The regular process was disregarded and was a disservice to the property owners, she said.
