Sara Hollister of Princeton
I was encouraged to learn at the Princeton Regional Planning Board meeting on April 8 that the Westerly Road Church has agreed to surface its parking lot spaces with pervious material. This is a step forward in the direction of environmental responsibility to the delicate habitat of the Princeton Ridge.
But that agreement is not enough to put the developer in compliance with the goals of the Princeton Community Master Plan of 1996, nor with the Master Plan’s updates of 2001 and 2007. All of these documents insist on the environmentally sensitive nature of the Princeton Ridge and urge “guiding growth away” from the Ridge (2001 PCMP) and, if that proves impossible, urging builders to “cluster” their developments as much as possible.
The concept of the “cluster,” present in Princeton community municipal documents as early as 1983, means shrinking the building footprint as much as possible; it also means building up, not building out.
Unfortunately, the proposed developer still intends to spread out (as the sprawl of the parking lot shows), and the developer’s architect — when Planning Board members questioned him about “stacking” — exhibited only begrudging interest in building up. This recalcitrance will have to change.
The Planning Board has an obligation to honor its own Community Master Plan — and to do so by directing the developer to revise his plans to come into conformity with the goals of environmental preservation for the Princeton Ridge set forth in so many public documents.
I am sure that Princeton’s planners and proponents on the Planning Board did not intend the Master Plan to be treated hypocritically through permitted violations. It is the Planning Board’s responsibility — at the upcoming hearing on May 20 — to ensure that the developer respects his obligation to Princeton’s communal goals by presenting new designs that follow principles set forth over a quarter-century ago.
Sara Hollister
Princeton
