By Anne Levin

At an upcoming meeting of Princeton Council on Monday, February 28, a public hearing will be held for an ordinance creating a Special Improvement District (SID) in Princeton.

The proposal for a SID, in place in such New Jersey municipalities as Morristown, Montclair, and Jersey City, is the work of a steering committee organized in October 2020 to consider how to best address the town’s commercial and residential future. The ordinance was introduced at the January 24 meeting of the Council. Under the terms of the SID, which would be run by a nonprofit, businesses would be assessed according to where they are located and the services that would be provided to them.

Last Thursday, the SID was the topic of a presentation by members of the steering committee at a public meeting of the Princeton Merchants Association (PMA). There wasn’t much time for questions at the one-hour meeting, and one participant requested an additional session with the steering committee before the February 28 Council meeting.  A meeting is due to be scheduled for next week, at a date and time to be announced, according to Councilmember Michelle Pirone Lambros, who is on the steering committee.

Steering committee member Aubrey Haines, the CEO of Mercer Oak Realty and a property owner in town, began the presentation by saying that at the beginning of the process, many were skeptical about the SID idea but have come to support it after studying its costs and benefits. “Money spent by a SID will be an investment in the success of our businesses and must return more than money being spent,” he said. “We’re so confident that we think it should have a sunset clause. If it doesn’t work, shut it down.”

The mission of the SID for the first year would be to tackle problems with parking, bureaucracy, and the streetscape. Also key is promotion of the town, “which the PMA has been doing,” Haines said. “But this is something that if we have funds consistently to do this, it will make the effort better.” A full-time paid manager would be hired to advocate and coordinate efforts. “We would also rely on volunteers,” Haines said.

Architect and steering committee member Bob Hillier [a Town Topics shareholder] said the SID could promote Princeton more aggressively. “I picked up a copy of the magazine Edible New Jersey, and I was stunned by the number of towns advertising in that magazine,” he said, adding that Princeton is not one of them. “The SID can change all of this,” he said. “I think we should market Princeton as the cultural center of New Jersey. We need to get the word out, and the SID is what will do it for us. Make this town really the lively place it can be, because it has the stuff to be one.”

Steering committee member Jamie Herring, who owns numerous properties in Princeton, said the SID can be a central point of contact for landlords and businesses, potentially shortening the process of obtaining zoning changes and permits. “We really need a central group to track this and support it,” he said, citing difficulties his tenants, restaurants Elite 5 and The Meetinghouse, have experienced. “Elite 5 wanted to add some more tables and The Meetinghouse wanted to add an awning, and they both had to go through a long and expensive process. We need an advocate to help professionals make quicker decisions.”

Attorney and property owner John Bleimaier questioned the value of the SID and its assessments, saying he doesn’t need his office to be advertised as a destination. He questioned the value of “hiring a bureaucrat to interact with other bureaucrats.” Creating the SID won’t make the process any easier he said. “What we need is an active merchants’ association and chamber of commerce directing the interests of individuals who actively participate.”

Architect and former PMA board member Joshua Zinder said the SID has been a necessity for years. “It is not a tax on property owners, it is an investment in our future,” he said. “But I don’t believe it’s a magic pill. Ongoing zoning issues exist. I would be careful about setting it up for failure by promising a panacea for issues. A SID can help but it is not the be all and end all.”

The draft ordinance for the SID provides for a five-year sunset clause, which would allow Council to vote on whether to renew it or not.