Rules for overnight parking and the purchase of a controversial property on Lytle Street dominated a lengthy meeting of Princeton Council Monday night.

The governing body was evenly divided about how to proceed with harmonizing rules from the former borough and township on overnight parking, leading Mayor Liz Lempert to cast the deciding vote against introducing an ordinance that would have slightly modified or expanded the former borough’s overnight parking rules. “This issue needs more consensus before we move forward,” Ms. Lempert said.

At its previous meeting, Council discussed three options for overnight parking. One was to keep boundaries the same, another was to make some changes, and a third was to ban overnight parking throughout the town. While no one expressed support for the third option, there was considerable discussion about the other two.

Council member Jo Butler, who did extensive work with colleagues Jenny Crumiller and Bernie Miller on the issue, was especially disappointed with the decision. Along with Mr. Miller and Patrick Simon, she voted in favor of introducing the ordinance, which would have made some changes to boundaries. Heather Howard, Lance Liverman, and Ms. Crumiller voted against it. Ms. Crumiller said that though she had done a lot of work on the issue, she recently changed her mind about introducing the ordinance because it wouldn’t be fair to tell residents who have previously been allowed to park overnight that they would no longer be permitted to do so.

Ms. Howard agreed with Ms. Crumiller’s opinion. “We ought to protect what we have,” she said. “The equity is really cut in favor of keeping existing rules. Tweaking the edges has a real impact on the residents who live in the area that’s being affected.”

Ms. Butler commented that other rules have changed as a result of consolidation, including regular leaf and brush pickup that borough residents have had to give up.

According to existing rules, anyone can park on the street in much of the former township. But in the former borough, on-street parking is not allowed from 2 to 6 a.m. unless the resident has a permit. Residents who do not have driveways can currently buy a permit for one car, for $30 a quarter. This would continue, according to the ordinance. Since the borough and township were consolidated, there are streets where residents at one end can park overnight, while those at the other end cannot.

“What’s fair is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to parking,” Ms. Lempert said earlier in the day. At the meeting, she acknowledged that while a lot of time has been spent working on the issue, “We shouldn’t go ahead with it because of that.”

Andrea Ihnat, a resident of Green Street in the former borough, said she has spent $7,000 on parking in the 10 years since she moved from Brooklyn to Princeton. “Overnight and daytime parking is actually easier in Brooklyn,” she told Council. “Near the art museum in Philadelphia, you pay $356 a year to park. Princeton needs to function like a real city.”

Former Borough Council member David Goldfarb, who lives on Charlton Street, said overnight parking restrictions are necessary as a way to address overcrowding on downtown streets. “I would be very cautious about changing the status quo,” he said. “Do not relax restrictions.”

Lytle Street

Council voted unanimously to purchase the double lot at 31-33 Lytle Street after considering a proposal from a group of citizens who want to partner with Habitat for Humanity and hope to build affordable housing units on the site. Under that proposal, which came to Council last Friday, the house located on one part of the property would be demolished by current owner, developer Roman Barsky. The Mary Moss Park would be expanded to that site. Habitat for Humanity would undertake fundraising to build one or two new units of affordable housing on the other side of the lot.

Plans call for the removal of the porch and other historic features of the house, which was built around 1870 and is considered to be the oldest on the street. Those elements would be included in the new construction. The parcel is in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, which Princeton’s Historic Preservation Commission has recommended as a historic district.

The town has gone back and forth on the Lytle Street issue for the past few months, taking into consideration an outcry from citizens who were opposed to demolishing the existing house to turn the site into an expanded spray park rather than a site for affordable housing units. Council voted last March to buy the property for $600,000, with Mercer County agreeing to pay half if the house was razed. Mark Dashield, the town’s administrator, said that Princeton would have to pay back its open space account and the county’s portion if affordable housing was built there at a later date.

Construction would likely begin in 2017, said Tom Caruso of Habitat for Humanity in Trenton. Prospective buyers would be vetted before being approved, and would have to put in 300 hours of sweat equity. “We will not start the project until the fundraising is completed,” he said. “We wouldn’t put a shovel in the ground until we have all of the monies.”

Princeton resident Kip Cherry, who has been active in the efforts to partner with Habitat for Humanity, praised Council for approving the proposed plan. “We’re very excited,” she said. Porches such as the one being saved were key when the town “coped with being a segregated community.” John Heilner, who also worked in the plan, told Council the proposal was “a triple win for the community: additional affordable housing, expansion of Mary Moss Playground, and maintaining the scale and streetscape with replication of a key historical site in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood.”

Resident Hendricks Davis told Council he thought the plan was a step in the right direction, though “not the best solution.” He favors that both lots be developed for affordable housing, rather than just the one.

Before making a final decision, Mr. Simon said he wants to hear the recommendations of the Affordable Housing Board which had not yet weighed in on the issue. Ms. Lempert praised the citizens and municipal staff members who have worked on the issue. “We all sort of went up and down on a roller coaster to see if it would work,” she said. “I’m really happy we were able to get to this point. I had my moments of doubt.”