PRINCETON, NJ — Two long-running applications come up for formal action when the Princeton Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Thursday, via Zoom: a shopping center EV charging project and a Witherspoon Street housing development.
The board is set to vote on Ionna LLC's application to install eight EV charging stalls at the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 North Harrison Street, first heard by the board in July.
The proposal would remove 10 existing parking stalls for four dual-port chargers, a transformer and a switchgear cabinet. Because charging stations count as a credit of two spaces each, the shopping center's total stall count would drop only slightly, from 960 to 958 — still above the 912 required under zoning.
The application needs variances because Ionna's proposed "iONNA" logo signage exceeds sign code limits — roughly 524 square inches versus the 255 allowed, according to a July 10 staff memo. The plan also calls for relocating a light pole, reshaping a planting island, adding a crosswalk, and replacing four removed trees with four native trees.
Staff found the application generally consistent with the Princeton Master Plan's call for accessible, equitably distributed EV infrastructure. The Environmental Commission also backed the proposal, though it flagged light pollution concerns near Grover Park and recommended dimmed, DarkSky-compliant lighting after 10:30 p.m. Staff separately raised questions about charger visibility from Harrison Street, bollard protection, and off-site electric connections, and floated relocating the chargers a block north to add a solar canopy as a costlier alternative outside the current application's scope.
The board will also vote on a resolution memorializing its July 16 decision to grant a second extension of vesting rights for 217 Witherspoon LLC's four-unit residential project behind the office and retail building at 217 Witherspoon Street.
The project was approved April 13, 2023, for a three-story building with four four-bedroom units, 23 parking spaces and 15 bicycle spaces. Under state law, the approval carries two years of protection from zoning changes, extendable up to three times. The board granted a first extension in July 2025, running through June 15, 2026.
In a May 22 letter, the applicant's attorney, Ryan P. Kennedy, said the project had brought in new investors and completed compliance work, but that "current economic uncertainty surrounding costs and funding have made the project challenging." At a July 16 hearing, Kennedy said the foundation would be poured and permits were in place. The board voted 9-0 to extend the protection period through June 15, 2027, with all 12 previously granted variances remaining in effect. Board member Schwimmer was absent.
The meeting will be held via Zoom, with login details posted on Princeton's website. Formal action may be taken on both resolutions.
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