To the Editor:

Several times over the past 30 years, a few homeowners on Madison Street, a one-block long tree-lined road of mostly small private residences in the center of what used to be Princeton Borough, have applied to the Borough zoning board for a variance that would permit them to park their cars in front of their porches — that is, on their front lawns. In each case, many neighbors on Madison Street turned out for the hearing to oppose these petitions, and each time the Borough zoning board decisively denied them. As a result, in the one instance in which a front lawn was already being used illegally for parking, the lawn is green again.

The most recent case, while there was still a Princeton Borough, occurred in July, 2012, and the zoning board voted unanimously to deny the homeowner’s petition. In this case, however, the homeowner saw an opportunity to try again after the vote for consolidation and the creation of a new, combined borough/township zoning board. The case was decided again on the evening of February 26, 2014, and this time, although none of the facts of the case had changed, it was decided in favor of the homeowner. We, her neighbors, can look forward to the loss of the tree, four rhododendron and several other bushes in her front yard, to be replaced by a car in a parking space taking up most of the small yard. The vote was four to three, and all the votes in favor came from former members of the Township Zoning Board. The two members of the board from the Borough voted against, as did one member from the Township. The overall current board membership consists of three residents of the former Borough and six residents of the former Township.

This, we fear, is a harbinger of other decisions to come under consolidation that will negatively affect the quality of life of those of us who live in what used to be Princeton Borough.

Steven Weiss, Martha Himmelfarb,

Tom Regan, Inge Regan, Daniel Freidan

Residents of Madison Street