Board Approves Institute Housing, Opponents Vow Fight

The Institute for Advanced Study on Thursday received the go-ahead to build its faculty housing.

Approval came during the fourth and final hearing on the application before the Princeton Regional Planning Board and incorporates suggestions from James McPherson, an emeritus professor of history at Princeton University and fellow historian David Hackett Fischer.

The proposal includes the following modifications:

• Moving the tree line away from the edge of Battlefield Park and putting it directly behind the proposed homes, shielding homes from view but maintaining open space.
• Installing a path through the Institute property with interpretive signage to commemorate the Battle of Princeton.
• Providing public access to the buffer zone
• Reducing the size of one house lot to preserve more space 

The Institute's 15 faculty homes will sit on 6 acres, permanently preserving 60 percent of the tract as public open space.

The Planning Board's vote was unanimous in favor of the project, despite vigorous and passionate objections from those who claim the land in question was the site of Gen. George Washington’s counterattack and first victory against the British during the Battle of Princeton in 1777.

Board members praised the passion of the objectors and their knowledge of American history and preservation. But they also agreed with planning staff’s assessment that the Institute’s plan complies with existing zoning ordinances and has no environmental constraints. 

“Given that the Institute does own this land and that it does have the legal right to build and given that it’s almost antithetical to a battle what the Institute does, I think I would support the application,” Planning Board member Janet Stern said.

Many have wondered why the Institute needs to build the housing. According to Institute Director Peter Goddard, it was once affordable to buy neighborhood homes as they became available, but real estate prices have become prohibitive. 

Goddard said there is no other available tract upon which to build faculty homes. 

Founded in 1930, the Institute for Advanced Study fosters research into fundamental problems in the sciences and humanities. Some of its renowned faculty members have included Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer.

Stern said commemoration can happen in different ways and need not always focus on battles.

“You can also say this should perhaps be a commemoration of an institute that brings people together from all over the world,” she said.

Despite Thursday's decision, the case is far from over, said Bruce Afran, the attorney who represents members of the Princeton Battlefield Society and other objectors. 

“We haven’t done all this to drop it, this will be appealed without question," Afran said after the hearing.

He plans to:

• Immediately file an administrative action with the state Department of Environmental Protection, claiming DEP approval was based on the Institute’s misrepresentation of its wetlands.
• File legal action with the state’s Chancery Division, claiming the Institute gave up its right to build on the land per a 1992 agreement claiming it would only build “academic support structures” on the property, not “residences."
• File a court appeal within 45 days of the Planning Board finalizing, voting on and signing its approval resolution (which typically takes two-three months). 

Several objectors--along with supporters--spoke during Thursday's public input session. 

"The idea that a walking trail with signs through a built-up area can somehow do justice to what happened on this land or the participants in that struggle is in my opinion, ridiculous,” said William P. Tatum, III, Sol Feinstone Scholar at the David Library of the American Revolution in Washington Crossing, Pa.

“Maxwell Field is an irreplaceable witness to one of the most seminal events in American history,” he told the board before the vote. “Tonight all of you have an opportunity to strike a blow for preservation that will be remembered for a long time to come. Every vote in favor of the Institute’s plan is a vote against American history."