At its public meeting tomorrow evening, May 3, Princeton Regional Planning Board will once again consider developer AvalonBay’s proposal to build a rental community at the Princeton Hospital site. A zoning ordinance put before Borough Council last week, which included concessions by the developer in response to concerns of neighborhood residents, has been sent back to the Planning Board. The ordinance is expected to come back before the Council for final approval on May 8.

At the Council’s meeting last Tuesday, AvalonBay senior vice president Ron Ladell withdrew the company’s request to increase the density of the complex by 44 units. But while some Council members expressed an interest in voting to approve the zoning that night, they took the advice of Assistant Borough Attorney Henry Chou and decided instead to reintroduce a revised zoning ordinance, which necessitates another look by the Planning Board. In addition to eliminating the density increase, the revised ordinance includes changes involving signage and a leasing office on site. By reintroducing, Mr. Chou said, the Borough avoids any potential legal challenges.

Mr. Ladell was hoping for approval that night. “This process has become way too complicated and it’s really not,” he said, adding that no one had issues with four of the seven items in question on the ordinance. “We are fully proposing to be in compliance. We will have 20 percent affordable units, including very low income, low income, and moderate income, and that is unprecedented in the state of New Jersey.”

Adding that AvalonBay would be happy to meet with a subcommittee about open space and any other issues in question, Mr. Ladell said time was of the essence. “We have to move quickly. The hospital is moving in less than a month,” he said. “It is asbestos-ridden and it is going to take some time to clean that up. To go back is a delay that is very, very difficult for us when we don’t even know that we can have a leasing office in this community.”

The University Medical Center at Princeton is moving May 22 to its new headquarters on Route 1 in Plainsboro. AvalonBay is under contract to purchase the site on Witherspoon Street. The company plans to demolish the existing building to make room for a newly constructed rental community of 280 units ranging from studios to three bedrooms.

AvalonBay originally wanted to add 44 units, which would add nine to the affordable housing component of the project while making it more profitable. The company’s concession to withdraw that request was not enough to placate those opposed to the developer’s plans. Environmental concerns over the company’s intention to use Energy Star rather than LEED green standards still figured in remarks by some members of the public at last week’s meeting.

Mr. Chou told Council that developers building affordable housing qualifying as COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) can not be forced to follow such standards.

Among those voicing support for much of AvalonBay’s plans was Kevin Walsh, an attorney with Fair Share Housing, which represents lower income New Jersey residents. “The 20 percent affordable is a good thing,” he said. “I regret that the developer has withdrawn the request for extra units. It would have resulted in more affordable housing in the community. But where do we go from here? I spend a lot of time fighting developers, but not here. This is a development that has gone above and beyond. For folks who want LEED, take your argument to Trenton.”

Resident Joe Barzilowski told Council he has concerns about trust. “They said they needed the extra units to make the project work, and now all of a sudden it is alright to go for 280 units,” he said. “Why didn’t they do that to begin with? I think we have been given clues about how much we should or shouldn’t trust the greedy corporation that wants to move into our town. I think we should learn from this experience and strengthen any ordinance that’s passed or proposed, even, so there’s little room for a developer’s interpretation. Because we want what we want, not what the developer wants and what they can benefit from.”

Also attending the meeting were several construction workers from the SEIU 32BJ union. Lisa McAllister, their spokesperson, told Council that AvalonBay contractors and subcontractors have violated OSHA safety standards on projects in Massachusetts and elsewhere. “AvalonBay is not the right developer for this project,” she said. In response, Mayor Yina Moore reminded Ms. McAllister that Borough Council’s purpose was not to select a developer, but to entertain a zoning change.

The Planning Board’s meeting will be held at the Township Municipal Complex tomorrow night, May 3, at 7:30 p.m.