One of three high-density housing sites has been eliminated.
By: David Campbell
The Princeton Township Committee on Monday night approved a resolution authorizing the settlement of a lawsuit that sought to overturn zoning changes made about two years ago that encourage high-density senior housing on the Princeton Ridge.
The suit contended the zoning changes violated environmental policies in the Princeton Community Master Plan as well as a 1995 regional-center designation under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan that seek to prevent sprawl and protect the sensitive Princeton Ridge.
Friends of Princeton Ridge, a group of about 19 nearby residents, filed the lawsuit against the township and the Princeton Regional Planning Board in late January 2002.
In December 2001, the committee approved two overlay-zoning ordinances to permit high-density housing for seniors on a 30-acre site off Mount Lucas Road and Route 206; a roughly 20-acre parcel off Mount Lucas Road near Herrontown Road; and a 20-acre site off Bunn Drive near McComb Road.
The ordinances drew some controversy from neighbors and environmentalists with the Sierra Club. Last February, at the recommendation of state Office of Smart Growth, the committee moved to delete one of the contested sites the parcel off Mount Lucas Road near Herrontown Road, which is outside the township’s center-designation area.
Tom White, spokesman for Friends of Princeton Ridge, said Tuesday that he has mixed feelings about the settlement, which needs to be approved by the Planning Board and neighbors in the suit.
"I think that, as opposed to what was originally offered, we have gotten a better solution for the neighborhood," Mr. White said, adding however, "We didn’t get everything we wanted."
Based on preliminary designs, senior housing built there now will have residential-sized units more compatible with the scale of the neighborhood, and there has been some reduction in the number of units in relation to environmental characteristics and constraints of the land, he said.
Developer K. Hovnanian has prepared preliminary designs for 140 condominium flats for seniors on the Bunn Drive site, and Intell New Jersey has a concept plan for 63 to 73 townhomes on the remaining Mount Lucas site depending on environmental constraints, Township Attorney Edwin Schmierer said Wednesday.
"Concerns residents had about crowding the properties and environmental infringement have been addressed in the settlement," the attorney said. "I think this is a good result for both sides."