By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton officials and real estate mogul W. Bryce Thompson IV were talking privately five years ago about how 90.6 acres his family owned on the Princeton Ridge was going to be developed and preserved, in ways that mirror the considerations that officials are having today, a review of municipal records found.
Then and now officials wanted an outcome that resulted in as less of the natural land disturbed and as much of the property preserved as possible. The land, bordered to the north by the Montgomery Township line and to the south by Herrontown Road, is home to woods, wetlands, steep slopes and two streams.
Representatives of the then-township, municipal attorney Edwin W. Schmierer and planning director Lee O. Solow, had met with Mr. Thompson and encouraged a cluster residential development, according to a November 2011 confidential memo Mr. Schmierer wrote to the Township Committee..
Mr. Schmierer explained that they had urged an “alternate development scheme” for his property. The aim behind urging a cluster, he wrote, was “to preserve as much of the environmentally sensitive property as possible.”
A company controlled by Mr. Thompson’s son and namesake Bryce Thompson V and other family members, Lanwin Development Corp., had filed a planning board application two months earlier, in September 2011, for a development project calling for 19 new homes of varying sized lots. Under a cluster development, taking up fewer acres, the project could consist of 27 lots.
At the time, Mr. Thompson suggested a change in an ordinance to permit 50 ½ acre lots and preserve 60 acres as open space, according to the Schmierer memo. “Candidly, Lee and I were somewhat relieved to receive this cluster proposal,” Mr. Schmierer wrote then.
He added that “we do think encouraging Thompson to develop the parcel as a cluster subdivision is the appropriate way to proceed in order to preserve as much of this land on the Princeton Ridge as possible.” The proposal for 50 lots went nowhere, however.
Fast forward five years later, Lanwin is looking for permission to have a 30-lot cluster development, with 29 roughly half-acre lots in the southeast corner of the property, dedicate three acres to the town for future affordable housing and leave the remaining 64.2 acres as permanent open space.
At the moment, two homes already are on the property, but it is unclear if those will remain or eventually be torn down. If the town approves, up to 30 new single-family homes could be built on the site.
The Princeton Council will need to decide whether to change the zoning in the way that Lanwin is seeking, a decision that has no publicly stated timeline. The Princeton Planning Board had a hearing on the subject Thursday, although no action was taken.
At the planning board meeting, Mr. Solow said the site is “fairly wooded.” He said the land being given for affordable housing is “buildable.”
Lanwin attorney Thomas M. Letizia told planning board members that with this proposal, Lanwin would provide a “parcel that will help the town meet its affordable housing obligations.”
During public comment, residents whose properties abut the border of the development want a bigger setback than the 100 feet that has been proposed. “Basically, we think that a 100-foot-setback is not enough, considering how much land is available there,” said Stephen Jardin, who has lived on Herrontown Lane since 1992.
Fellow resident William Howarth said the setback should be at least 300 feet.
Another concern the planning board heard is of water runoff from the development and the resulting flooding that would cause.
