To the Editor:

For the fourth time, the Board of Zoning Adjustment will consider a variance to allow a proposed coffee processing (roasting) facility at 300 Witherspoon.

The applicant wishes to roast and sell roasted bean coffee at multiple owned locations and wholesale to customers in the area. Current zoning prohibits food processing and/or manufacturing of any products for sale off-premise in the B1 “mixed residential/retail/office” zone and, in fact, all other sections of Princeton.

At the previous three hearings, the applicant has had unlimited time and presented its case in full, three separate times. Tonight, June 28, the Board has promised that community members will be heard first on the agenda, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom (only). The link is available at princetonnj.gov in the calendar section of the website.

At the May hearing two critical new developments made tonight’s hearing especially important. First, the applicant acknowledged that the large size of their proposed roaster is such that their operation will require an Air Quality Permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, due to the potential for CDC-identified hazardous, noxious emissions associated with coffee roasting.

Currently, NJDEP permits mandate a thermal oxidizer (afterburner) so that there are “no visible emissions” and “no odor beyond the property line.” A worthy goal for both the roaster and the cooling tray.

However, the applicant abandoned its previously stated intention to mitigate emissions with a thermal oxidizer-afterburner, instead, proposing a water-based system that, according to company testimony and sales literature, may be less (maybe much less) effective than the previously proposed afterburner in removing smoke, fumes, and odors capable of causing substantial detriment to air quality on site and beyond the property line. This sudden switch is greatly concerning to the close-in neighbors, of which I am one.

Remember that in March, the applicant testified that their retail coffee shop will be established whether or not the zoning variance is granted. 

For that reason, the concerned neighbors believe the variance is not necessary and should not be granted. “Coffee shop yes, roasting no” would seem to be a reasonable way for the Board to protect air quality in Witherspoon-Jackson/Community Park.

Earlier in June, all Princetonians experienced the physical and mental discomforts that come from breathing unclean air with no ability to control the situation. Can you not see why, to the close-in neighbors, our fresh air is a critical “quality of life” issue?

We hope every Princetonian concerned with air quality will make time to attend tonight’s meeting, hear the arguments from the public, and, if they wish, express an opinion on this matter.

Owen Leach
Witherspoon Street