Letter: Avalon Bay Aggressively Pursues Tax Appeals

To the Editor:

I thought you might be interested in my statement and the materials I provided to Borough Council tonight, May 2. 

"Avalon Bay's Annual Report states that "we aggressively pursue real estate tax appeals" (p. 4). I found the corporate brochure on the web of the
national company they use for such purposes. 

Property Tax Assistance Company states in their brochure that "Since 1992, we have reduced their tax liability by nearly 30%." I thought our public officials should know about this. 

At a recent Planning Board meeting, Councilwoman Barbara Trelstad mentioned the number $1M in property taxes from the Avalon development and I would like to know where she got that number. Mayor Moore mentioned over $1M in costs to the town just for educating schoolchildren in a high-density development. This does not take into account other costs such as police, fire, sewer, and roads.

I request that a Fiscal Impact Analysis is done for high-density property development in Princeton."

I've attached the PTA brochure as well as taken a snapshot of the page where the PTA brochure directly discusses the tax work they do for Avalon, as well as the first page of the brochure.

Alexi Assmus

Princeton Borough

**Editor's Note: Borough Mayor Yina Moore told Alexi Assmus that the Borough cannot consider potential future tax appeals in its consideration of zoning amendments requested by Avalon Bay.