Neighbors have fought with the Medical Center at Princeton for years over its use of the houses.
By: Jennifer Potash
The Medical Center at Princeton’s use of some houses along Harris Road is still unresolved.
Lawyers for a group of Harris Road residents, the Princeton Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, Princeton Township, Princeton Borough and the medical center presented their cases to the Appellate Division of Superior Court on Jan. 24.
Residents of Harris Road have fought the medical center for years over the uses of the houses for office space and any possible expansion.
The residents of Harris Road and adjacent residential streets claim the houses should not be considered an "inherently beneficial use" to the community, which would qualify the medical center for an exemption from local zoning.
The medical center contends the seven houses which are used by the hospital for accounting, purchasing, public relations and fund-raising offices are essential to the hospital’s operation.
The questions by the three-judge panel focused on the precedent that could be set by allowing a nonprofit entity to have its offices in residential zones, said Robert Casey, attorney for the Zoning Board.
For municipalities like the Princetons, which have a number of nonprofit organizations, if those groups are deemed to have an "inherently beneficial use" for the properties, then they could move in any residential neighborhood, said Township Attorney Edwin Schmierer.
Medical center attorney Christopher Tarr said the judges focused more on how the Princetons and the Zoning Board could distinguish between the hospital uses.
"The questions I heard were concerned with an MRI unit, or a surgical floor, does it make a difference where or what part of a hospital these functions are located in," Mr. Tarr said.
Mr. Tarr also said the medical center has been sensitive to the neighbors’ concerns and has placed low-impact uses in the buildings.
Walter Bliss, attorney for the residents, could not be reached for comment.
There are two houses owned by the medical center located on the Princeton Borough section of Harris Road so the borough filed a friend-of-the-court brief, said Borough Attorney Steven Goodell.
The Township Zoning Board ruled in December 1998 that the medical center’s operation of the offices violated the municipal zoning laws because the area is reserved for residential use only.
The medical center appealed the ruling in Mercer County Superior Court and, in June 1999, Judge Linda R. Feinberg ordered the Zoning Board to reconsider. In her decision, Judge Feinberg directed the Zoning Board to consider the balance of positive and negative impacts of the offices on the community.
In the appeal to Judge Feinberg, the medical center also named Princeton Township as a defendant, charging the township did not have the right to amend its Master Plan in 1996, making the medical center’s use of the Harris Road houses a violation of zoning laws. In her ruling, Judge Feinberg upheld the township’s right to amend the Master Plan.
Three months later, the Zoning Board decided to appeal Judge Feinberg’s decision.
Should the appellate court find in favor of the medical center, Mr. Tarr said he expects the matter would be sent back to the Zoning Board for review based on the criteria set by Judge Feinberg.
Mr. Casey said he expects a decision from the appellate court within a month.