To the Editor:
Princeton’s fundamental commitment to 20 percent affordable housing — our identity and our citizens’ values — has been law and public policy since 1986. Our commitment is now threatened by a recent proposal from the New Jersey State Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), which states that Princeton’s obligation to build any affordable housing units before 2024 is zero, zilch, none (Appendix C, p. 123).
As Councilman Lance Liverman remarked, “This is ludicrous.” Princeton’s need for socio-economic justice in our housing is greater than ever. Our town must not become an enclave for those with (more than) adequate financial means — or cramped quarters for those without, those who struggle to manage.
The COAH proposal is already subject to a lawsuit filed by the NJ Fair Share Housing Center, which charges both the Christie administration and Rutgers University (whose faculty helped formulate the proposal) with failing to provide the raw data behind the COAH recommendations.
Princeton’s 20 percent affordable housing ordinance is particularly important now because Princeton University has pledged to donate to the municipality two lots along Franklin Street, adjacent to the old hospital site. (COAH’s proposal doesn’t take this donation into account.) These lots, zoned for single-family, two-family, attached dwellings and multi-family dwellings, require a 20 percent set-aside for affordable housing.
Homes constructed here may well include the largest batch of affordable units that Princeton may gain in the foreseeable future. The municipal government, as the property’s owner, must sell to a buyer committed to 20 percent affordable housing and should reject all noncompliant offers. Indeed, some people have suggested that the Princeton “cachet” should allow our officials to negotiate a higher percentage.
These lots are part of what’s been called “the new downtown,” within walking distance of Nassau Street — where, 75 years ago, Edgar Palmer broached his plan for what would become Palmer Square. The Historical Society of Princeton website states, “The project, delayed until 1936 due to the Depression, included the removal of many of the homes of Princeton’s poor and minority families.”
The waiting list for affordable housing proves the community’s need (well over 200); the need for units at the “very low income” level remains undisputed. Princeton must commit to fostering socio-economic help for this entire neighborhood (as well as others, including the Thompson tract and the acreage adjoining the Princeton Shopping Center) by defending the 20 percent commitment. We want those who work in Princeton to live in Princeton, not suffer exclusion.
No state agency should have the power to curtail Princeton’s explicit desire for a diverse community.
No government can maintain its credibility that does not seek to redress the needs of its citizens. Princeton Council must take the offensive against the COAH report and boldly embrace all legal measures to confirm and defend our community’s historical commitment to 20 percent affordable housing. Council should file an Open Public Records Request for the raw data for the “buildable limit capacity” on which the COAH report rests, as soon as possible.
Citizens: please convey your views to Princeton Council immediately; COAH wishes official comments by August 1.
Daniel A. Harris
Dodds Lane