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Offer to Submit Garage Project to Arbitration Was Effort to Resolve Ongoing Legal Dispute
R. WILLIAM
POTTER
Attorney for Concerned Citizens of Princeton, Inc.
Princeton
Noise Reduction Is Essential Consideration For Neighborliness and Healthy Community
WILLIAM J. HINSHILLWOOD
Health
Officer
Princeton Regional Health Commission
Offer
to Submit Garage Project to Arbitration Was Effort to Resolve
Ongoing Legal Dispute
To the Editor:
Recently Town Topics reported Princeton Borough Council's rejection of the offer by the Concerned Citizens of Princeton to submit the legal dispute over the Borough's $13.7 million construction project – the five-and-one-half story parking garage and surrounding development – to a mediation and arbitration process. Speaking for Council, attorney Michael Herbert called it a "public relations" ploy, and not a serious offer. This is a reminder that Borough Council is behaving recklessly.
The settlement offer was a good faith effort to resolve this legal dispute as quickly and amicably as possible, thereby to end costly uncertainty over whether this project is illegally being constructed in a rush to completion before an appeals court can rule.
Council is running away from this question: What will it do if an appeals court rules that the development site was not legally "blighted," and, therefore, both the bond sale and the project it is financing are illegal?
For several years a multi-story parking garage stood vacant near the corner of Harrison and Nassau streets. A developer had "gambled" and lost that it would win in court on a zoning board challenge. To avoid a similar result, Concerned Citizens offered to withdraw its legal challenge and to accept the outcome of a mediation and arbitration effort if the Borough would agree to do so as well.
Now comes the Council's rejection. Council prefers to gamble on winning the appeal or completing the project before a court rules against – hoping that the court will not dare to enforce the law against the Borough as it would against a private developer.
The recklessness of this attitude is heightened by recent history. Last December the same judge who ruled in favor of the Borough in the first round of the Concerned Citizens lawsuit was reversed by an appeals court for doing what she did again in this case. As a result, it is obvious that the risk of this judge getting reversed again is high – later if not sooner.
While private sector developers may choose to run these risks with their own money – but seldom do – the real stakeholders here are the taxpayers and residents of Princeton Borough.
To repeat: What will Borough Council do if the appeals court rules against it? Does Council believe that if it loses, but the garage is built, the court will allow it to operate an illegal facility? In short, does Council assume that it is above the law? If not, then why did it reject the Citizens' offer to an out-of-court resolution that would avoid these risks?
R. WILLIAM POTTER
Attorney for Concerned Citizens of Princeton, Inc.
Princeton
Noise Reduction Is Essential Consideration For Neighborliness and Healthy Community
To the Editor:
Among the various
matters addressed by the Princeton Regional
Health Department
are those relating to excessive noise. Aside from its
nuisance
factor, excessive noise can have negative health effects.
As we become increasingly mechanized in lawn maintenance with
more
powerful mowers and leaf blowers, etc., Princeton and
other suburban
communities have become much noisier. This noise
and air pollution affects
the quality of life for many, as
well as curtailing more healthy outdoor
exercise associated
with yard work. This is especially so in the fall during
leaf
collection. That is why our local ordinances require mufflers
on
blowers and exhaust machines. That is also why the use of
noisy machines is
prohibited before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
Consideration for neighbors and common sense are essential to
maintaining
a community which is healthy and enjoyable for all.
Excessive
noise complaints may be addressed to the Princeton
Regional
Health Department at (609) 497-7608 or P.O. Box 390, Princeton
08542.
WILLIAM
J. HINSHILLWOOD
Health Officer
Princeton Regional Health
Commission
For
information on how to submit Letters to the Editor, click
here.
