What Can Princeton Do About Missing Middle Housing? Master Plan Survey Seeks Input

PRINCETON, NJ – Have you taken the Municipality’s second Master Plan survey yet? This is another reminder to do so. The Community Visioning Survey that went live at the end of May puts residents at the front and center of its planning.

The survey kicks off the final phase of community input into Princeton’s Master Plan process, which has been underway for more than a year now.

Municipal staff and members of the Master Plan Steering Committee will be hosting listening sessions over the summer to gather input and solicit feedback from community members.

“Throughout the process, we’ve prioritized public input into the Master Plan,” Louise Wilson, Princeton Planning Board Chair and a Steering Committee member said in a statement.

“While the Planning Board has ultimate responsibility for the Master Plan, the eventual document should be informed by a wide variety of voices in the community. This latest survey builds on previous public input and on the work of our consultants. The Board wants to hear from everyone about the direction of Princeton.”

Two previous surveys were held in 2022 and the Municipality collected nearly 5,000 responses. More than 300 people attended a three-hour Open House in November last year, at Princeton Public Library.

A second Open House will be held in September.

One important issue the survey hopes to address is how best to fix the problem of missing middle housing. The survey provides residents with five options on how the Municipality can tackle the issue.

Suggestions include subdividing a single-family home into multiple units, making it easier to subdivide larger residential lots and easing restrictions on where accessory dwelling units (ADUs) can be located.

The new survey also asks residents about four distinct parcels in the municipality that are either large, underutilized or undeveloped.

While the municipality neither owns nor operates any of the sites, a change in status of any of those properties could have a significant impact on Princeton.

The four sites are Westminster Choir College, Valley Road School, the Butler Tract, and Jasna Polana Golf Course.

Since the current master plan has been in effect for almost 30 years, the new survey aims to explore the public’s thoughts on those parcels in case there are future changes in operation or use.

If changes are proposed for these sites, the municipality would be better guided by the input received through the survey results.

The survey also asks residents if the Municipality should build an indoor recreation facility and if it were to develop a community center, what sort of services should it provide.

According to the timeline, the final Master Plan will go to the Planning Board for adoption after hearing public comments in at least two meetings in the winter.

Responses will be collected through mid-June. The survey is 5 minutes long.

Residents can learn more about the Master Plan timeline and other details at

https://engage.princetonmasterplan.org/.

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