Jazz Proposal Set for Round Three; Parking Is Centerpiece of Debate

Matthew Hersh

Parking schemes and possible neighborhood disturbances resulting from a proposal to build a jazz club on the former Mikes Tavern site made an encore performance last week, as Township zoners continue to grapple with the logistics of putting a restaurant at that location.

Nothing was resolved at the May 3 hearing, however. Members of the Princeton Township Zoning Board of Adjustment are expected to complete their deliberations and could possibly vote on the application as early as the next hearing, scheduled for May 25.

The 10,750 square-foot, 159-seat restaurant and club proposal by Hageman Lane resident Stephen Distler would include two live performances nightly, with the possibility of three performances on weekends. The restaurant, Astons, was designed by Terence Smith, who is known for his design work on the Triumph Brewing Company, both in Princeton and in New Hope, Pa.

Last week's hearing focused primarily on site design, but touched on some aspects of the all-valet evening parking system the restaurant would include if plans go through. Initial plans to include off-site parking on the former Stefanelli's Garage location at the corner of Bayard Lane and Leigh Avenue were ultimately nixed to make way for the on-site parking.

As such, a variance would be needed to reduce the size of the on-site parking stalls. The valet system would allow for cars to be "parked in" to maximize space in the lot. The variance, according to Mr. Smith, would reduce the minimum parking space size to 8' by 17', down from the Township standard of 9' by 19'. Without the valet system in place, Mr. Smith said, the proposed lot could park 43 cars, and 59 cars when the valet system is mobilized.

Residents in attendance, who were generally opposed to the application, worried that the volume of activity generated by the presence of a restaurant on the corner of Bayard Lane and Birch Avenue would create a disturbance in the neighborhood.

Birch Avenue resident Dean Boyer asked the board to consider public safety and the possible "changing nature of the street.

"Imagine me moving next door to you and I have over 30 people that come to visit me every day," he said. "This is what's going to take place on Birch Avenue and that's a big concern for us in the community."

Mr. Boyer said that once the former Mike's Tavern began selling packaged goods, it "changed the whole nature of the street" because it generated increased pedestrian traffic.

The problem lies in zoning, however. Mr. Distler is proposing to build in a zone that allows for heavy commercial use, including trucking and bus transportation, gas stations, and retail stores, a point driven home by former Mike's Tavern proprietor Robert Leiggi, whose family sold the bar to Mr. Distler after being courted by numerous suitors. Until the property was sold to Mr. Distler last summer, the Leiggi family had owned the site for over 80 years.

Mr. Leiggi said that per the zoning allowances, the property might have been turned into something worse than a "nicely planned jazz club." He added that his family had offers from larger regional developers, but chose Mr. Distler because he holds "a stake" in the community.

And while Mr. Leiggi said his family chose not to expand on the site while under their ownership, it was an option he said they had considered. "This could have been a very developed site for quite a number of years already."