By Anne Levin

The task force that has been working on the Franklin Avenue mixed income housing project presented a report at a special meeting of Princeton Council on June 30. Three subcommittees focused on sustainability and landscaping; access, streetscape, and infrastructure; and the site plan gave an overview of their work so far.

The project, which is on Franklin Avenue across from the AvalonBay apartment complex, is part of Princeton’s court-ordered affordable housing obligation.

Following the presentations, some residents of streets near the development expressed concerns over the direction of the design process, saying their privacy could be compromised by the height of the buildings. Resident Harold Heft complained about transparency, saying the process has not been as open as promised. “No interviews were done with residents living in an adjacent community,” he said.

Heidi Fichtenbaum, chair of the Sustainability and Landscape Committee, stressed the importance of sustainability, environmental justice, and energy efficiency. The committee developed two tiers of recommendations, ranking things like electrification rather than gas and stormwater mitigation as most important.

“We really feel that passive house design is the gold standard for getting the best energy-efficient product,” she said. “This is cash flow positive on day one. Architects [who design the project] need to have experience with high energy efficiency buildings.”

Outdoor space, roof gardens, ease of composting, and avoiding toxic materials were in the second tier, but still highly recommended by the committee, she said.

Joel Schwartz of the Access, Streetscape, and Infrastructure Committee used examples of design strategies used on Chambers Street in Princeton, and on Route 27 in Metuchen, to demonstrate what could work best. He also showed pictures of an existing apartment complex built in 1928 on the corner of Prospect Avenue at Murray Place, using it as an example of a project done right. “One hundred years ago people faced the same issues, and came up with a solution that works so well,” he said. “The plantings are well designed. It shows you can do something that’s quite different from its surroundings, and yet can fit in so well that no one gives it a second thought.”

Street tree plantings and the width of sidewalks are key, Schwartz said. “The single most important improvement on the visual quality of the streetscape is the wide and proper design of street tree plantings,” he said. “And it is the single most cost effective thing if it is done right.”

Schwartz also recommended relocating overhead power lines to an underground location, and focusing on social spaces both inside and out. “Think about this early on, in size and proportion, in order to make this a true community,” he said.

Carlos Rodrigues, from the Site Planning Committee, noted some common threads with the two other committees. Access to the Princeton Cemetery to provide a link to downtown other than Witherspoon Street, linear parks or “mews” between buildings, and scaled down heights of buildings toward Jefferson and Harris roads were among the recommendations.

Resident Joshua Zinder, who is an architect, said the process was very similar to what was discussed at a presentation sponsored by Princeton Future nearly a year ago. “It does feel like much of this had been previously discussed,” he said, adding that the design and process “need to be more innovative to address issues of the Jefferson community and the current residents of the Witherspoon-Jackson community. Some of the issues were addressed back then, and were beginning to think outside the box. My real question is what is the next step, and how does this move forward? Instead of spending two more years of panels, what is going to take to get this built?”

Council members Mia Sacks, David Cohen, and Michelle Pirone Lambros, who are on the Affordable Housing Committee, will review the reports with the Princeton Housing Authority and Community Investment Strategies. No action was taken at the meeting.