Some Kingston residents not happy with development plans
By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
Mayor Frank Gambatese and other township officials met with about 20 residents in Kingston Wednesday night to discuss concerns regarding the eventual development of 150 acres by Princeton University and Public Service Electric & Gas.
"You have to let the process play out," Mr. Gambatese told the residents about an application in front of the Planning Board that would build an electric substation on a three-acre parcel of land on Ridge Road.
Mr. Gambatese said that PSE&G approached him three years ago about possibly putting the substation on Ridge Road because the power would be needed for the eventual development of that area in the township by Princeton University.
The University gave the township some 200 acres of open space that used to be owned by Princeton Nurseries, one of the largest tree farms in the nation, in 2002.
That agreement with the township also included that South Brunswick would provide different zoning for the rest of the land, about 150 acres, for office and commercial use.
Township Planner Brian Bidlack said the development could mean about 1.8 million square feet of offices, hotels, restaurants and other businesses along Route 1 if the university builds it out to the maximum.
Another 1.1 million square feet could be built on the Plainsboro side, making a total build out of 2.9 million square feet, he said.
He said that the plans are only conceptual at this point and no applications are currently in front of the board at this time.
The university also agreed to run a public water line down Ridge Road, he said.
Because of the potential build out, PSE&G told Mr. Gambatese that the substation was needed to ensure power and without it, other areas of the township could end up being limited in development, Mr. Gambatese said.
After being notified of the utility’s plan, Mr. Gambatese notified the Kingston Village Advisory Committee to see if there were any objections.
Two years ago, PSE&G put out a plan for building the substation, Mr. Gambatese said.
He said that plan did generate concerns from residents and KVAC about the traffic it would bring to Ridge Road and the use of the land next to residences there.
He said that he found another larger parcel on Mapleton Road that he felt would be a better place for the substation, but that PSE&G ended up expanding its plan to a seven-acre facility if that parcel was used.
"It would cost them about $5 million more to build there," he said.
In the meantime, PSE&G submitted an application to the planning board two weeks ago.
Residents on Ridge Road that attended the meeting voiced several concerns about the possibility of the substation going on the smaller property.
Mark Smith said that he was concerned that the site could be a potential terrorist target and also said he would rather keep his well water than tie into the public water line put in by the university.
Other homeowners in the area had moved into Kingston after 2003 and said they were not made aware of the impending development in the area.
Several said their real estate agents did not tell them that this was a possibility.
The information, however, was publicly available at the municipal building, Mr. Gambatese said.
Mr. Gambatese said that PSE&G is scheduled to continue its hearing before the planning board on Sept. 3, and that "they have a lot of work to do" to answer board members questions before an approval could be given to the project.
He said he would continue to try and find a better solution to the issue that would be agreeable to both the residents and the utility.

