The Princeton Borough Council adopted a multimillion-dollar bond ordinance for the downtown redevelopment plan at its Dec. 17 meeting, as local residents waged an opposition campaign and threats of a court battle.
Despite protest from many residents, the redevelopment, which will cost $13.5 million, passed with a 5-to-1 vote.
Councilman Roger Martindell, the only council member to vote against the proposal, said he knew the project would go forward but that he could not endorse it as it stood.
Municipal leaders will put the final stamp on the plan Jan. 21, when they vote on the developer's agreement with the builder, Nassau HKT Associates.
The specified bond money includes materials, labor, designs and permits to build a parking structure, a public plaza, low-income and market-rate apartments, a small outdoor courtyard and retail space in addition to some selected offsite improvements. In addition, some money was set aside for environmental tests of the building site.
Opposition
More than 20 people spoke during the meeting's nearly four-hour public hearing. A majority of the people who took the floor argued against the plan.
Many Borough residents said the redevelopment plan is daunting and overbearing for Princeton's small town structure.
"The structure is too large and not accessible," said Jim Firestone, a resident who has led the opposition to the plan. "It will add too much traffic. People move here for the town, not for a city."
Resident and attorney Bill Potter '68 who spoke on behalf of the opposition group, Concerned Citizens of Princeton, echoed Firestone's remarks, citing a survey conducted last August. Potter said 72 percent of residents surveyed had said the plan should be abandoned or revised.
Potter asked the council to sit down with the residents and come to a low-risk compromise. The Borough has held several forums for public input including one at the Frist Campus Center at the end of November.
Henry Landau, owner of Landau's, the Nassau Street clothing store, said the large parking garage would attract more visitors, which would also attract chain stores and eliminate small businesses.
However, many other small business owners disagreed with Landau, saying the lack of parking has caused sales revenue to decline.
The council has recognized the fall in sales, and at certain times has annulled the two-hour parking limits that govern most of the downtown.
Allowing shoppers to park unrestrictedly has helped the struggling merchants, but is not a permanent solution, council members said. The building of the new parking structure will attract new life into the town, councilwoman Wendy Benchley said.
The University's role
Concerned Citizens has blamed the University for downtown parking problems and has urged it to contribute to the redevelopment plans.
"Princeton University sells this town to students and faculty," said Bob Zagoria '63, an attorney. "Princeton should be doing so much more than it is financially doing."
He said the University greatly adds to traffic, with more than 12,000 staff members, 5,000 students and 700 outside contractors on campus daily.
"Princeton needs to give more than just a symbolic drop in the bucket," Zagoria said.
Earlier this month, the Borough Council approved a five-year agreement with the University that will lead to a fourfold increase in the University's voluntary annual contribution to the Borough over the next four years.
Benchley defended the University, saying they work closely with the Borough, and that the University has donated a large amount of money to benefit the town.
"They have given over $1 million to renovate the Garden Theatre in addition to giving money to the local schools just to mention a few things," Benchley said.
Other challenges
Potter questioned the choice of developer, Nassau HKT, saying the company has not had experience with the type of project that the council is proposing.
He also said the Borough did not allow for competitive bidding and questioned whether the best price was obtained.
Former councilman Mark Freda noted that according to an itemized summary, the total cost of the project seemed to be around $13.7 million, not $13.5 million as the plans suggest.
Councilman David Goldfarb said the numbers provided were a "worst-case scenario" and that if needed, other bonds would be implemented.
Former University President Robert Goheen '40 related the aversion to the redevelopment plan to those who fought against coeducation of the University. Although some people opposed the development, he said, in the long run, it will benefit the Borough.
The overall plan calls for 77 rentable apartments, 500 parking places, more than 7,000 square feet of retail space, and room for a 8,000-square-foot food mart.
'The garage will be a self-sustaining entity, in an attempt not to affect the tax rate," said Robert Bruschi, Borough administrator.
The project will be completed in three phases. The first phase is scheduled to be completed in 2004, around the same time the new public library, which broke ground in early December, is set to be finished. Editor's Note: This breaking story was appended to the December 13st issue of The Daily Princetonian's online edition at 4:36 PM on December 21st.
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