PRINCETON: Online petition opposes zoning change for hospital site

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   An online petition opposing any zoning changes being sought by the company that wants to redevelop the site of the University Medical Center at Princeton is gathering steam and signatures.
   Organized by Princeton resident Joe Bardzilowski, it had been virtually signed by 81 people as of late Tuesday afternoon.
   ”The reason for the petition is pretty obvious and what the developer is proposing to put 1,000 new neighbors across the street from my house,” he said. “They are bullying the Borough Council and Planning Board. This is what this company does, they come in and try and push through zoning to get whatever they want.”
   Mr. Bardzilowski said he has reached out to other communities for their experience with the developer.
   ”They have had a really horrible time with AvalonBay,” he said. “They use non-union labor and really disrupt the community.”
   ”I do not believe that the AvalonBay development corporation has the best interest of our town in mind,” Mr. Bardzilowski wrote in the comment section of the website.
   The Packet was attempting to reach a spokesman from AvalonBay for reaction on Tuesday afternoon.
   He also said he was concerned about families renting an apartment for the sole purpose of having their children in the Princeton Regional Schools, and he worries the taxes won’t cover the number of children the proposed units could bring.
   ”Why wouldn’t a family want to live in an apartment for a few years, take advantage of the school system and then leave?” said Mr. Bardzilowski. “(Rental units) doesn’t seem to blend with what the current neighborhood is all about.”
   The density AvalonBay is requesting is higher than anywhere else in Princeton and more intense than some urban areas, said Mr. Bardzilowski.
   ”The number of people in one small location is more like an urban area than a small community like Princeton,” he added.
   The proposed density is 32 to 40 units per acre; other AvalonBay communities are seven to 12 units per acre, said Mr. Bardzilowski after doing some research on the company and reading their Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
   AvalonBay Communities wants to build 324 rental apartments in five-story buildings. Fifty-six units would be allotted for affordable housing.
   Only 280 units are allowed under the zoning currently in place, with 56 set aside for affordable housing. AvalonBay is requesting a variance to build the additional 44 units and lower the affordable ratio from 20 to 17 percent. The parking garage would remain intact, but it is not clear if parking would be included in the proposed rents of $1,600 to $3,200 per month for the studio to three-bedroom apartments.
   A zoning change — to increase the density of the project — will be discussed Tuesday at the Borough Council meeting in Borough Hall at 7:30 p.m.
   AvalonBay recently said the company would like to build nine workforce units that could have a Princeton preference to them.
   The deal to buy the hospital site is contingent on the zoning change.
   In the explanation of why the petition is important, parking, additional children in the schools, and overpowering the neighborhood are given as reasons to sign.
   ”The property in question was already re-zoned to the agreement of the community five years ago and the only people who are not pleased with the decision made by the Borough of Princeton is the developer who is attempting to write their own policies for the future of Princeton in the 11th hour,” is written in the petition letter that citizens are being asked to electronically sign.
   Signers are leaving comments agreeing with this thought.
   ”It is wrong to change zoning to hurt existing residents in order to enrich a developer and overload neighborhood with residents expecting luxury amenities,” wrote one signer. “Make development right sized for the existing neighborhood is best but don’t change the rules again for the developer and outsiders and against taxpaying residents.”
   Signers wrote that the developer knew what it was buying and the existing zoning and urged local officials to stand by the zoning they put in place.
   The petition can be viewed by logging onto change.org and entering UMCP into the browse petitions box.