By Anne Levin

At a meeting Monday evening, July 8, Princeton Council introduced an ordinance to adopt the redevelopment plan for properties at Princeton Theological Seminary. A public hearing on the plan, which calls for construction of 238 apartments, 20 percent of which would be designated affordable, is scheduled for the next meeting of Council on July 22.

As outlined in the 41-page proposal prepared by Kyle McManus Associates of Hopewell, the plan’s aims include utilizing smart growth principles “to achieve better planning outcomes for the community,” providing “higher density, compact development in close proximity to downtown and transit to reduce auto dependence and support greenhouse gas reductions consistent with the Princeton Climate Action Plan,” establishing a multi-family development within walking distance of downtown, providing better on-site stormwater management, and improved safety for drivers, among additional goals.

Since owner Jamie Herring of Herring Properties presented a concept plan at a public meeting last fall, there has been some opposition from a group called the Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development based on density, traffic, and other issues. A full reading of the redevelopment plan is available in the agenda packet from Monday’s meeting at princetonnj.gov.

In additional actions at the meeting, Council voted to adopt a budget of $454,163 for Experience Princeton, the town’s Special Improvement District. The budget, which is for the fiscal year 2024-25, was adopted by the Princeton Business Partnership, the legal entity for Experience Princeton, on June 4. Following a presentation by Executive Director Isaac Kremer, Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros, the liaison to the Princeton Business Partnership, noted that the organization has reached the two-year mark.

“We have accomplished a great deal that is on the work plan, but there’s more to come,” she said. Councilmember Leighton Newlin said he would like to see more women-owned and minority-owned businesses in town. Councilwoman Eve Niedergang asked Kremer whether businesses that leave Princeton are given exit interviews about why they have closed. Kremer said that generally speaking, there are more businesses opening than closing.

Council approved a resolution awarding contracts to Ciel Power, LLC and Green Home Solutions, for home energy assessment services in residential units.

“These kinds of programs are the absolute easiest ways for us as a community to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Councilman David Cohen. “It’s been difficult to get people to take advantage of the programs. This idea of having a couple of approved providers has been shown to have more uptake in the community, and it makes perfect sense to me that it would do that. I’m really pleased to see us moving in this direction.”

Niedergang agreed. “There are so many sketchy providers in this realm,” she said. “To have Princeton saying this is a legitimate provider, is really important.”

Christine Symington, executive director of Sustainable Princeton, thanked Council and Municipal Engineer/Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton for working with the organization on the initiative. Plans are underway for outreach efforts to encourage the public to sign up for the audits.

“As David said, it is one of the most proven ways to get people to follow through with energy efficiency upgrades to their homes,” Symington said. “The built environment is the greatest source of emissions, so the more we can do to have our homeowners make their homes more energy efficient, the more we will be able to meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

Council voted in favor of an ordinance for a revised Green Development Checklist and Information Statement. The ordinance was created after a year of work between municipal staff and the Princeton Environmental Commission. It is a required component of an application for major site plan or major subdivision approval.

“This is hopefully a big improvement over the last one, and hopefully it will lead to improved results as developers think about the environmental consequences of acts they’re taking,” said Niedergang. Newlin called it “a tour de force checklist that any developer has to go through and check off the boxes.”

Cohen added, “As someone who has served on the Planning Board for quite a while, this checklist is really valuable. It helps us to separate the developers who are greenwashing from those who are really sincere and knowledgeable about what they’re doing.”