The State Senate Wagering, Tourism and Historic Properties Committee was set to vote Monday on the so-called "Cottage Bill," but flooding in the statehouse building forced legislators to postpone the meeting until Thursday.
The proposed bill comes in response to repeated attempts by the Cottage Club to gain a property taxexemption based on historic status.
The "Cottage Bill" will ensure that no private organization classified as a historic site would be relieved of local property taxes unless it met strict qualifications regarding public accessibility.
When Cottage Club applied for tax-exempt status in July 2001, Princeton Borough stood to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if it was exempted and other eating clubs followed suit, former Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said in a November 2003 interview.
"We protested [the application quite vigorously and approached a number of legislators," Reed said. "Basically, I was assured that the recommendation would be dismissed when it got to higher authorities.
The Borough contacted Reed Gusciora, assemblyman for parts of Mercer County including Princeton Borough, to take the fight to the state level.
Cottage's application was denied in October 2003 by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell, citing the club's inaccessibility to the public as grounds for dismissal.
Cottage then filed an appeal of the state's decision in December.
On the heels of the club's decision, Gusciora annoucned that he planned to draft legislation to clarify the certification laws and present it to the Assembly in 2004.
State Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-12), vice-chair of the Senate Wagering, Tourism and Historic Properties Committee, said she thought the five-person group would begin its work on the bill as soon as work in the statehouse begins again.
Karcher said she believes the bill will make it through committee, but that she couldn't speculate on how it would fare on the Senate floor.
There is "always a delicate balance trying to maintain the integrity of a historic site [when] the tax benefits they're paying are crucial," she said.
If the bill — sponsored by Democrats in both houses — is decided by a partisan vote, it will pass the Senate, which Democrats control 22-18.
Gov. James McGreevey — also a Democrat — must sign the bill into law.
Sen. Shirley K. Turner (D-Lawrence) sponsored the Senate version, while Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton Borough), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-15) and Upendra Chivukula (D-17) sponsored it in the Assembly.
The bill passed the New Jersey Assembly on June 17, 2004, with a vote of 63-13, with one abstention.
In its original application, Cottage cited a 1999 resolution passed by its board of governors to open the club's doors to the public twelve times per year.
In 1999 the club was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and historic integrity as well as cultural contributions. It is also listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places; however, neither designation confers tax relief on the club.
The Cottage Club mansion on Prospect Avenue dates back to 1906, twenty years after the club was started. The building was designed by Charles Follem McKim, a New York City architect, in 1903.
Former member F. Scott Fitzgerald '17 is said to have begun his novel "This Side of Paradise" in the club's library.
Several of Princeton's most well-known alumni, including John Foster Dulles '08, James Forrestal '15, Senator Bill Bradley '65 and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist '74, were members of the club.
Tower Club is the only eating club to hold tax-exempt status, which it applied for in 1972 and won on the basis of hosting University precepts.
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