PRINCETON: Proposed zoning could change east Nassau St.

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Borough Council is poised to introduce a revised version of a service business zoning district later this month that could result in a change in the makeup of businesses on the eastern end of Nassau Street.
   The service business district is located between Olden Street and Murray Place, on the south — or university — side of the street. It is opposite the neighborhood business zoning district on the north side of Nassau Street, between Moran Avenue and Linden Lane.
   Borough Council asked planner Lee Solow to address some issues that were raised during its meeting on Tuesday — including the possibility of including a boutique hotel as a permitted use to put the finishing touches to the ordinance for tentative introduction at its July 24 meeting.
   Among the proposed new uses that would be permitted in the zone are banks, parking garages or parking lots, kiosks, retail stores, bakeries, restaurants, bars, barber shops and beauty salons.
   Also, tailors, dressmakers and millinery shops, photographic studios, shoe repair and shoeshine businesses, studios for dancing and music instruction, art galleries and museums, and dry-cleaning and laundromat facilities would be permitted uses.
   Radio and television repair shops, locksmiths, watch, clock and jewelry repair businesses, upholstery and furniture repair shops and similar service businesses would be allowed in the service business zone, under the proposed revisions.
   But it was the issue of banks and hotels that drew most of the attention — from Borough Council and from the dozen or so audience members, including property owner Lou Carnevale, who owns 255 Nassau St. The two-story building has housed car dealerships and a series of grocery stores over the years, but it is now vacant.
   Mr. Solow said he was concerned about imposing a limit on the number of banks that would be permitted in the zone. There is a limit on financial institutions in the central business district because of the concern over the loss of retail stores, he said, adding that he is not certain if there is the same issue in the service business zone.
   The possibility of limiting the frontage or width of a bank or financial institution to 25 feet drew opposition from Councilman Kevin Wilkes, who pointed out that it would affect the design of the bank. He suggested imposing a minimum separation between banks, such as 500 feet.
   The service business zone still maintains the “authentic Princeton character,” Mr. Wilkes said, adding “we need more pedestrian activity (on the eastern end of Nassau Street). Let’s try to help that neighborhood to be a local neighborhood.”
   When Council President Barbara Trelstad asked whether a hotel would be a possibility, Mr. Solow replied that it would create a “big impact” on the neighborhood. There would be additional traffic and deliveries, he said.
   A boutique hotel would have fewer rooms — perhaps 20 — than a conventional hotel, but he said he would need to do more research.
   When Mayor Yina Moore asked for public comment, Linda Fahmie, who represents the Carnevale family, said a hotel could be considered as a conditional use in the zone. This means it must meet certain standards to be allowed.
   Murray Place resident Andrea Stine expressed concern about a boutique hotel, noting that hotels attract tourists. She said her concern is that it would be “very transient,” and it would be undesirable.
   But businessman Jack Morrison said the tourists who visit Princeton are “well-heeled” and that a boutique hotel would not be a “flop house.” He said the Peacock Inn on Bayard Lane has 16 rooms.
   Mr. Morrison said that offering more opportunities for entrepreneurs would result in a more eclectic area, adding that “we won’t see 10 banks” on the eastern end of Nassau Street. He suggested letting the market forces work.
   Nevertheless, some audience members expressed concern about a proliferation of banks.
   David Kinsey, who lives on Aiken Avenue, said there are eight banks on Nassau Street, between Bank Street and Scott Lane — all on the north side of Nassau Street. But there are no banks on the south side of the street, part of which is in the service business zone.
   It would be a major flaw to open the service business zone to include banks, Mr. Kinsey said, adding that “the deadening effects of banks” on street life are well known.
   Ms. Fahmie, meanwhile, noted that there are a dozen restaurants or food service businesses on Nassau Street in the neighborhood business zone, between Moran Avenue and Linden Lane.
   But there are no banks on the eastern end of Nassau Street, Ms. Fahmie said.
   Ms. Fahmie’s client, Lou Carnevale, spoke up and said that he, too, wants to see the eastern end of Nassau Street — and the service business zone — to be lively both day and night. He would like to rent space in the building he owns 255 Nassau to TD Bank.
   ”We have been above board,” Mr. Carnevale told Borough Council. He said he wants to lease space to a bank because he needs an anchor tenant. A mom-and-pop business or a coffee shop won’t work, he said, adding that he needs a “triple A” tenant to anchor the building.
   Mr. Carnevale said there has been too much emphasis on the issue of allowing banks in the neighborhood. The neighborhood business zone allows banks, and yet there are none, he said. If banks are allowed in the service business zone, there might be one or two — but to think that the area would become a miniature Wall Street is unrealistic, he said.
   After the meeting, Ms. Fahmie wrote in an email that revisions to the service business zoning district would add the same uses that are permitted across the street in the neighborhood business zone.
   ”It is imperative that both sides of (eastern) Nassau Street have the same opportunities to attract ‘AAA’ tenants, such as banks. Securing tenants that will enable a property owner to secure financing for redevelopment is a reality in today’s market,” she wrote.
   In other business, Borough Council approved an amendment to the ordinance governing the election of captains and lieutenants and that also reduces the number of officers in the all-volunteer Princeton Fire Department.
   The amended ordinance reduces the number of captains from three to two, and cuts in half the number of lieutenants — from six to three. The officers’ term would be doubled, from one year to two years.
   Volunteer firefighters who meet training requirements would be nominated by their company — Princeton Hook & Ladder Co., Princeton Engine Co. No. 1, and Mercer Engine Co. No. 3 — and interviewed by the respective captains and lieutenant interview committees. The captains would be chosen through a department-wide vote, and the lieutenants by their respective companies.
   Also, Borough Council introduced an ordinance that restricts parking on the south side of Westcott Road — between Bayard Lane and Wilson Road — to two hours. The restriction would be in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.