Princeton Approves Ordinance To Acquire Land For Affordable Housing

PRINCETON, NJ — Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance seeking to purchase land on 1-10 Franklin Avenue for affordable housing development.

The ordinance will pave the way for Princeton to acquire lots in Block 21.04.

While Princeton owns lots 26 and 27, lot 2 is owned by the Princeton Housing Authority, which has a history of owning, operating and managing twenty residential apartment units on Lots 2 and 26.

The site is the proposed location of new apartment units which Princeton will build in partnership with a developer.

During the public comment section, a resident told Council that the “recent rash of urbanization is continuing unabated” in the municipality.

“Purchase of the land on Franklin Avenue to build multiple units ties in with the over 700 units that are now going to go up on Harrison Street,” the resident said. He noted that the new development could have environmental and traffic impacts in town.

“I shudder to think what’s it going to be like with the quality of life when all these things are open. It contrasts heavily with the message we’ve received about sustainability,” the resident said.

Responding to the public comment, Councilwoman Mia Sacks noted that the purchase of the property was not about a new development. The Franklin site is part of a settlement that the previous council signed off on, Sacks said.

“Zoning on this site was approved by the council three years ago as part of the court-mandated affordable housing settlement. So, the place to take up the critique is not the council but the courts,” Sacks said.

“We abide by the law here in Princeton and there’s a system in place whereby we have to comply with affordable housing mandates.”

Councilwoman Eve Niedergang said that the new development will have a much small amount of stormwater runoff and environmental impact as it would sit on land that is already developed.

“We are committed morally to building affordable housing. That housing is more environmentally sustainable when it's put on land that’s already been developed,” Niedergang said.

Councilman David Cohen, who was a council member when the settlement was initially agreed upon, said officials looked for units to be placed at walkable distances thus reducing traffic impacts.

“We really worked hard to implement a solution within the framework of the state’s requirements that would have the least impact for the community,” Cohen said.

The proposed project on Franklin Avenue is expected to have 160 units with a mix of affordable and market-rate units.

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