Residents Comment On Princeton Master Plan, Public Hearing To Continue Nov. 30

PRINCETON, NJ – The much-awaited Planning Board meeting to discuss the draft of Princeton’s new draft Master Plan was held last Thursday, Nov. 9.

Chair Louise Wilson clarified that formal action will “not be taken unless we finish our work.” She said the Planning Board will not rush through the public hearing or take any action.

The meeting which went on for around 4 hours saw around 165 residents in attendance over Zoom.

The meeting began with Planning Director Justin Lesko giving an overview of the draft master plan. He said the new land use recommendations include developing middle income housing, providing housing diversity and choice and informs the community's zoning.

He also confirmed that there are no upzonings in the plan.

“The land use map that we included in that is to be used to provide guidance that will take further analysis on the whole public ordinance process. The plan certainly does not recommend allowing four units on lots across the board, as some have interpreted it as,” Lesko said.

“There are jurisdictions that call for upzoning like that, but we didn’t find an appetite for it from the community here and we haven’t recommended it in the plan.”

The takeaway, Lesko said, that the community wanted a balanced plan that respects and improves upon all the great make Princeton unique. “Sometimes finding that balance means compromise for those with strong interests in one area or another,” he said.

But resident speaking during the public portion section still expressed some reservations over the land use map and plan.

“In principle I agree with everything in the document,” one resident said. “Even if our goal is to increase the stock of affordable housing I have my doubts changing from allowing one to four units is going to do that. Those resulting dwellings are going to be expensive anyway.”

Resident Dosier Hammond said he agreed with most of the plan but had some concerns. “My main focus is to make Princeton affordable for a substantial number of working class and middle-class residents. I think Princeton should grow and smart and measured growth has diverse benefits t the town but with the current enormous costs of homes and rentals in Princeton... we should do everything we can to make large proportions of new housing affordable.”

A few residents represented groups across the Municipality and showed their support for the draft master plan.

Evan Anderson spoke on behalf of Princeton Future and praised the draft plan saying it would welcome new responsible growth, increase diversity and make Princeton more walkable.

“We believe this Master Plan leans in the smart and sustainable growth direction,” Anderson said. “This is based on the consensus the municipality heard in its own public outreach effort and it matches what we heard at our events.”

Experience Princeton too expressed their support for the draft master plan.

“We look forward to working with the municipal staff and any future committee charged with implementing the various aspects of the Master Plan to bring about positive changes which will encourage innovation, experiential retail, expanded outdoor dining, affordable housing for the employees of local businesses, new parking opportunities including the utilization of underused lots and preservation of the unique character of Princeton,” Aubrey Haines, President

Experience Princeton said in a statement.

“We would like to note that on page 24 of the plan, recommendations #69 and #70 encourage economic development goals of expanding Princeton’s role as a regional destination. We would ask for the prioritization of more specific initiatives. There is a need for the infrastructure to accommodate workforce housing, reasonable traffic grids which facilitate smooth in and out automobile movement, wayfinding, and informational signage.”

The next meeting will take place on Nov. 30 where the public hearing will continue. If corrections need to be made they will be made ahead of the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, Lesko will tell the public what recommendations he received from Board members and if there are any changes made to the draft.

“I don’t want to invite things that end up changing the direction of the plan and therefore mute voices we heard say things again and again that weren’t necessarily said tonight,” Wilson said.

"I just want to make sure we uphold the integrity of the process and not make directional changes, but do make important corrections and clarifications that are needed."

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