Princeton planners are set to review the continuing-care retirement community ordinance Thursday, hoping to send it to the Township Committee on May 8.
By Jane Karlicek
The Princeton Regional Planning Board plans to review a controversial ordinance governing continuing-care retirement communities at its Thursday meeting with the hope of sending it to the Princeton Township Committee.
And, members of the public will have the chance to be heard, according to Planning Board Chairwoman Wanda Gunning.
The ordinance came under review after an application for Regent’s Mead, a 301-unit facility at the former Our Lady of Princeton site on the corner of Drakes Corner Road and The Great Road, was denied by the Planning Board in December.
The majority of Planning Board members said they felt they lacked jurisdiction over the application because of the type of variance required. Those who voted to deny the application felt the underlying floor-area ratio of the residential neighborhood, which is 7.5 percent, applied to the application since the ordinance does not specify a floor-area ratio for continuing-care facilities.
Board members unanimously voted in December to send the ordinance to the Zoning Amendment Review Committee, a subcommittee of the Planning Board, for its review.
After numerous meetings, the committee has proposed setting the floor-area ratio at 25 percent of the site. It has also recommended an average height of 45 feet and a maximum height of 55 feet. The newly proposed ordinance keeps the maximum number of independent-living units at 5 per acre or a total of 240, whichever is less.
The ordinance was discussed at an April 18 meeting of the Planning Board, at which time public comment was not accepted. The ordinance was expected to be introduced by the Township Committee on April 24 but was delayed for further discussion.
At the April 28 meeting of the Planning Board, Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand said the Township Committee would like to have an ordinance in place for introduction May 8.
Neither neighbors of the proposed continuing-care retirement facility nor representatives of the developer like the proposed ordinance. Neighbors feel it allows for too much construction in the residential neighborhood where Regent’s Mead has been proposed. Regent’s Mead representatives, who have filed a lawsuit over the rejection, also say the proposed floor-area ratio is inconsistent with other bulk criteria, such as the number of independent-living units. They say if they were to construct the 5 units per acre at the maximum size of such a unit, there would be no space left for community space, which includes the facility’s amenities, such as dining space and a gymnasium.
Planning Board member and Township Committeeman Bill Enslin previously said that the ordinance introduction was delayed because of the developer’s concerns over the so-called inconsistencies. Nonetheless, Princeton Planning Director Lee Solow said Monday that no changes have been made to the ordinance since the review committee submitted its recommendations.