Controversial zoning changes proposed for AvalonBay, the developer of the apartment complex planned for the 5.6-acre site being vacated by the University Medical Center at Princeton, are on the agenda of tomorrow night’s public meeting of the Regional Planning Board. Following the Planning Board’s review, the zoning amendment will be sent back to Borough Council, which is expected to vote on it at a public hearing on April 24.

Currently under contract to purchase the hospital site on Witherspoon Street, AvalonBay wants zoning amended to allow for increased density of apartments to 324 units, up from the approved number of 280. But the developer does not want to increase the number of affordable housing units beyond the 56 that are already required. AvalonBay is not seeking to increase the allowable size of the complex, and is conforming to the height and setbacks originally established for the 280 units.

Weighing in on the issue this week, Councilman Kevin Wilkes, who is a candidate in the June 5 primary for the Democratic nomination for mayor, said he thinks AvalonBay should be allowed to add more units, but only if they include a 20 percent affordable housing threshold in their plans.

“The hospital is moving out in five weeks and we’ve discussed this eventuality for eight years,” Mr. Wilkes said in a printed statement. “Now the Princeton community is faced with the consequences of this departure. The first purchaser of the hospital main campus walked away from the deal they negotiated as local residential sales prices plummeted. When a new developer emerged, AvalonBay, they indicated they wanted to build new rental housing at the site and remove all but one of the existing institutional buildings on the site. They have put forth a proposal that is mostly in conformance with the zoning standards that we passed in 2006 for the redevelopment of the site except for two significant changes,” he said, referring to the request for more units and a reduction in affordable housing units.

Ronald S. Ladell, Senior Vice President of Development for AvalonBay, said this week that the company wants to build 324 units and 17.3 percent COAH -[Council on Affordable Housing] eligible units. “We’ve also offered nine additional workforce housing units, so they’re not COAH-eligible. And that’s what the ordinance says,” he said.

For the past several weeks, residents of the neighborhood surrounding the hospital have protested the increased density request as well as other aspects of AvalonBay’s proposal for the site. Many of them voiced their views at the April 10 meeting of Borough Council. More than 100 have signed an online petition opposing the plans.

Mr. Ladell said many of their claims are unfounded. Regarding comments about a lack of access to open space, he said the complex will have a park fronting it on Witherspoon Street. “We exceed the requirement for depth of open space into the site by over 100 percent.”

He also addressed complaints about the proposed complex’s “monolithic” appearance and uninspired architectural design. “Monolithic? Eyes of the beholder,” he said. “The entire streetscape is stoops and patios. The setbacks far exceed the requirements. There are three types of facade treatments. There are architectural elements. We’re eager to get to the point of talking about design standards, but we’re still at the ordinance point right now.”

To concerns that the rental complex will not adhere to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] rating system, using the system known as Energy Star instead, Mr. Ladell responded, “We’ve had great success with LEED in high-rises built in a non-combustible manner. But in New Jersey, nearly all of our communities are wood or stick-built, and Energy Star has been a tremendous success in sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint. We plan on using an environmentally sustainable program and our preference would be to use Energy Star.”

Mr. Ladell said assertions by neighborhood residents that the rental complex will house 1,000 people are “completely inaccurate.” He added that AvalonBay has submitted reports of a traffic study, concluding that the difference between having 280 and 324 units is one additional vehicle every three minutes during peak time. “That’s what we see the impact to be, which we view as not significant,” he said. “The increased density is very beneficial to the community in many ways, without any detriments.”

Touching on the issue of traffic volume in his statement, Mr. Wilkes said, “As long as the traffic studies indicate that the additional units will result in a negligible increase in traffic, we should support the variance for additional units but we should hold firm on our requirement for the 20 percent set aside of COAH marketable rental apartments.”

If AvalonBay were to conform to the 20 percent affordable housing standard, 65 new affordable rental apartments would be included in the complex. “Princeton can then elect to apply those 65 affordable apartments to its earlier affordable housing obligation under the state’s COAH, for which Princeton could potentially receive double bonus credits for a total of up to 130 credits,” Mr. Wilkes said. “Or, the town could apply those new units to COAH’s Third Round ‘growth share’ obligation, which would meet a very large percentage of that obligation.” Both scenarios represent “significant gains for our community and would be in line with Princeton’s longstanding tradition of progressive affordable housing policies.”

“Princeton has a long tradition of hospitality to the needs of those who rent and we should be accessible to those who are not sufficiently wealthy to be able to purchase in town,” he continued. “This community provided affordable housing to its residents long before other municipalities were talking about it. In addition, supporting our position requiring a 20 percent affordable share will embolden us to hold firm with future developers who come before us seeking to redevelop significant portions of our existing residential fabric with new replacement housing.”

Mr. Ladell said that no private developer has ever built 20 percent affordable housing, “or even 15 percent. Some have been as low as two percent affordable set aside.” His response to the 20 percent suggestion is that rental communities are only required to do 15 percent. “Our proposal is to exceed the 15 percent by nine units, then exceed it again by nine more for workforce housing, which is deed-restricted and income-limited for 30 years,” he said. “Some members of Borough Council are supportive of workforce housing. Five years ago when the ordinance was adopted, the governing bodies and staff wanted to write an option for workforce housing.”

The Planning Board meeting Thursday, April 19, will be held at the Municipal Building starting at 7:30 p.m.