At its meeting Monday night, Princeton Council voted 4-2 to set aside $600,000 to acquire two lots at 31-33 Lytle Street, next to the Mary Moss Park, in the Witherspoon/Jackson neighborhood. Mercer County open space funding would finance part of the purchase.

While the original plan was to tear down the house that sits on the property and extend the adjacent, small park to include a “spray ground” and other improvements, Council has not decided the fate of the parcel because so many members of the community have spoken out against the plan.

Numerous residents of the neighborhood and other citizens, speaking at Monday’s meeting and at a separate meeting last week, have expressed a desire to see the house saved. Some urged that it be turned into units of affordable housing, while others have suggested different uses such as a type of museum of the neighborhood’s history. Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission passed a resolution earlier this month encouraging the town to spare the house, which dates from 1870 and is said to be the oldest house on the street.

Resident Kip Cherry told Council that Habitat for Humanity is interested in rehabilitating the house, raising money from private donors and having volunteers handle the labor. The plumbing and electrical work would be done by licensed professionals. Town administrator Marc Dashield said he had spoken to the executive director of Habitat for Humanity, who had some concerns about the financing. To renovate the house, which is in disrepair, it would cost at least $200,000, he said.

The property is currently owned by developer Roman Barsky, who has had a demolition permit since October but has held off on tearing down the house to allow the governing body time to decide whether to purchase the lots. While Mr. Barsky can tear down the house at any time, and build new houses, Princeton’s municipal attorney Trishka Cecil told the Council that voting to introduce the ordinance would likely send the developer a message that the town is serious about the acquisition.

According to Ms. Cecil, it is not clear whether the municipality can purchase the property with open space funds, preserve it, and then sell it or turn it into affordable housing. The county cannot contribute to the purchase if the house is still standing on the property, and that doubles the cost for the town, Mayor Liz Lempert said, adding, “From my perspective, if we’re buying it with open space money, I believe there is an expectation from the public that the building would be a public building and would be open to the public.”

Princeton resident Daniel Harris said local citizens will meet with Mr. Barsky this week to tell him of their hopes for the property. The Trenton-based community development organization Isles “has not been approached, but they are on our radar,” he said. Heidi Fichtenbaum, another local resident, said the issue is about more than just saving a building “Sustainability encompasses not only our natural environment, but our cultural environment,” she said.

Council member Jenny Crumiller introduced a motion to table the vote, but no other members seconded that motion. “I think we owe it to the people to table it and give them time to come up with a solution,” she said. “I made a radical shift in my thinking because I thought everybody would be happy about it. I’m definitely having second thoughts.”

Councilman Lance Liverman said that while he supports affordable housing, spending $600,000 for this property to turn it into affordable housing is not worth it. But he would be willing to listen to ideas for a partnership.

The governing body voted to table a vote on the issue earlier this month. Council president Bernie Miller stressed that by voting to introduce the ordinance, “we’re just putting the funds in place. Tabling it means we bring it up again, which probably defers action for another five or six weeks,” he said.

Councilman Patrick Simon said he was saddened by the situation because “we’ve been asked to deliver something we can’t deliver in a fiscally responsible way. The house is simply not worth it. The people who are pushing for this are going to have to come up with a solution,” he said. “Give us time,” yelled Mr. Harris.

Mr. Simon and Ms. Crumiller voted against the introduction, while the rest of the Council voted in favor.

Budget

The Council voted unanimously to introduce Princeton’s 2015 budget, which is $60.9 million and includes a tax rate increase of 1.6 cents. Homeowners with an average home assessed at $800,560 could expect to have their municipal tax bills raised by $147, said the town’s administrator Marc Dashield, who presented the budget to Council.

“It continues to maintain or increase services at financially sustainable levels,” he said. Different departments prepared their baseline budgets as part of the process, and help was provided by the volunteer Citizens Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC). Last year’s plan for spending was $59.2 million. If the proposed budget is passed, it will bring the municipal tax rate back to where it was in 2010, Mayor Lempert said.

A public hearing for the budget will take place at the April 27 Council meeting.