All right, everybody to the immense crowd in the room. Um, it is February 23rd, 2026. This is a meeting of the mayor and council of Princeton, New Jersey. And just before we get going, um, there will be changes
to the agenda tonight just due to the fact that we have uh fewer people here and not everyone that was going to make presentations will be here. But as we get through the agenda, we'll call out those changes. Uh the first thing is the
meeting statement. I'll read that. Notice of this meeting was provided in accordance with the requirements of the open public meetings act and state regulations governing public meetings including the time, date, and location of the meeting and clear and concise instructions to the public for accessing
assessing accessing the meeting and making comments. In addition, the agenda and all related materials were posted electronically and made available to the public on Princeton's meeting portal in advance of the meeting. I'll also do the land acknowledgement. We gather today on
the land of the Lenny Lape. As members of the Princeton community, we aspire to show appreciation, respect, and concern for all peoples and our environment. We honor the Lapi and other indigenous caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who lived here before, the
indigenous today and the generations to come. >> Bernie, are you good to call the role? >> I am. Okay. All right. Uh, Mr. McDonald >> here. >> Mr. Cohen >> here. >> Miss Peron Lamrose >> here. >> Miss Saxs
>> here. >> Mr. Nulan >> here. >> Miss Frag is excused. Mayor Freda >> here. And I think we should just formally um announce and take a vote that Bernie is appointed to act in the clerk's um
placed this evening. Uh we convinced the clerk due to uh the blizzard, power outages, and other complications that she should not try to overcome all those challenges and be here tonight. So the governing body is going to appoint Bernie to act as the clerk for this
evening. So Brian's got the motion, Michelle's got the second. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Okay, that's formal. Uh, if you'd like to stand, we'll do the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. All right, we have two sets of minutes uh from regular meeting of October 8th
and a close session of October 21st, 2025. Thank you, Brian. Is there a second? Thank you, Leighton. Any questions or comments on those? All right, seeing none, all in favor, please say I for both. I
>> Thank you. Uh, police department report for January. Captain The police department successfully managed a second major sto snow snowstorm which ended today uh without any sign significant storm related calls of service. Uh but we felt was
beneficial was a pre-storm coordination meeting involving all relevant departments uh the Mr. administrator uh and so forth, the DPW, uh the Rex department, um and we felt that by
meeting together prior to the storm, we were able to cover all of our bases, make sure that uh the proper messaging was going out. Uh we felt that between ourselves uh myself, Chief Soliv uh and Craig Denwitty uh we were able to provide the
uh the public with consistent and timely information uh for the community. Uh with recent scheduling changes and the ability to have specialty units working on the weekends, uh with a storm like this in the past, it would
typically generate overtime uh with the amount of accidents and so forth that we would have. Uh but with these changes and having uh specialty units working on the weekends, uh we we were able to get
through with adequate staffing uh without having any uh overtime incurred due to the storm. our community relations bureau uh now that they're fully staffed this in the month of January completed 107
community engagement events during the month. The five assigned officers participated in activities at nearly every school within the district from handing out pizzas to singing and dancing with the other with the students in the cafeteria.
and they're looking to build upon the strong relationships uh between the police department as well as the Princeton public schools. Uh we continue to assist them in both lockdown drills and fire drills
uh giving what we believe is relevant uh information to them and ways that they can better do these drills. uh our community relations bureau also uh while conducting
uh foot patrols in our central business district in the month of January were able to actually stop two high-end shoplifting uh details from occurring. uh we were able to identify several of
the subjects that were involved in these high-end shopliftings uh and disseminate all that information. Uh so these these officers, these community relation officers uh because they're not having to respond to calls
all the time and they can be proactive and they can be in the community. Uh we're showing things such as this. Uh, our community relations bureau last month also responded to over 160 reports
of residents and businesses not properly shoveling their walkways over the first storm and followed up with each and every one of them after they were given warnings and provided with information about the local ordinance. Uh, our traffic bureau
conducted multiple traffic enforcement details specifically pertaining to the change in the speed restrictions on Route 27. These traffic details allowed for the officers to educate the public on the changes in the speed limit. Uh, the police department also used variable
message boards and social media as a way to get the messaging out to the public prior to enforcement. Uh the and the traffic bureau has also just secured a date for a second vulnerable road users training program which will be held right here in this
building on April 8th at 6:00. Uh that will be open to the public. Uh if they go to our website uh or through our social media they can sign up. Uh this will go over how traffic laws apply to people not only in motor vehicles but
for the vulnerable road users such as bicyclists, pedestrians. Uh and they will also be going over uh new regulations for all ebike users. That's it, sir. >> Thank you. Any questions on the report?
Michelle. Oh, sorry. >> Thank you. Uh, Captain, I just wanted one thing I'm not sure that you mentioned is that the police academy is now open for applications. Is that something you wanted to um mention? Uh,
I know that that's at the citizens academy for the police. >> Yes, the the citizens police academy. We're going to be having another class uh and it's open to any any residents. uh if it isn't filled by residents then it it could go out to others but uh such
as university students but uh we are looking to uh fill another class uh as well as we're looking to have members of past classes come together and we're looking to either have uh a breakfast or something where we can have all the past
members of these classes get together uh and talk about their experiences and see how we could actually better ourselves as a police department uh and enhancing the program. >> Thank you. And I mention it because it's on my calendar to sign up for this year. I every year I say, "Well, I'm going to
do that, but I'm really going to try." So, thank you for that. Um and I just wanted to mention two other things. One is that uh the business community is planning to uh invite the um the chief uh your departments and some health and
human services and do a forum and to just talk about some of these safety issues and the thefts and the the um the you know the the shoplifting and that type of thing has been um you know I think there's been some good um prevention and so I appreciate you're
bringing that up tonight and it's definitely something uh that we need to um to make the businesses aware of what what we're doing um to try and help and I see a lot more presence which I think is also helpful as a deterrent. >> All right. Thank you.
>> Thank you Michelle White >> Captain. I just I don't think I've had the opportunity to personally say congratulations uh for achieving the rank of captain number one. Number two, I just want to say uh no overtime due to the storm. Thank you for that, too.
That's that's good management. Number three, community relations department and the foot patrols. That is good news, and I hope that continues. And you know, just by virtue of foot patrols stopping a possible crime is one thing, but I think people really appreciate seeing
the officers, you know, and walking by him to say hello. And last, but not least, you mentioned about the shoveling of walkways. that is critically important and something I think that we probably want to take a deeper look at because I can tell you my neighborhood
is it's like a hopscotch. Like I can't believe how many people just simply did not clear their sidewalks and I can tell you at least two of the uh offenders are Airbnb people that don't live here but have Airbnbs here. So that's something
we'll be looking at too. But thank you captain and congratulations. So that that is something that we will be uh especially after a storm like this, we'll be taking a a firsthand approach. Our officers, we keep a a a
log of all the residents where we give warnings to. Uh our first storm, we gave out all warnings. Uh and then uh now if we go back and we see that there's you know second or third offenses uh then it's something it's not just education
and then that we might have to use enforcement. >> Thank you Brian. >> Uh sure. Uh let me add my congratulations to Leightton's. It's great to see you here and great to have you in a senior leadership position. Um I have two storm related questions and
then one related to the report. Um, with the storm, uh, it's my understanding, at least what I have been telling people, is if they see a sidewalk that has been neglected, they should report it using the C, click fix um, application and
that that gets to the police department. And the police department have been very good at following up on those calls. But I it's not my understanding that you you guys are sending out patrols specifically to look for uh unshoveled
sidewalk. So I just want to make sure the the public knows the best way to communicate with the police department um when they feel there's a dangerous situation because of an unshoveled sidewalk. >> Yes. Uh right right now uh our community
relations bureau is responding only uh to the uh the reports of unshoveled sidewalks and yes the the cclick fix uh is a good way. Uh we've responded like I said to to all of them. Uh if they don't
feel comfortable doing that they can call our regular police line as well. Uh, and we'll still follow up with the the uh the snow removal just as if we were following up with the cclick fix. >> Great. Uh, second question. Um, you mentioned the overtime and the careful
planning that went into uh, preparation for the storm and I just want to pause and thank uh, everybody um, who was involved in getting our streets uh, clear of snow. the public works department I know worked uh I think a
straight 24 hours and the uh crew from the recck department did the same. Um since they did such a a good and timely job with the streets and because of the good great communication from the police department and the municipality um I'm
just wondering if how we did with uh accidents during the storm. >> So I think we were on a couple ways. Uh we got somewhat lucky with the accidents as far as they started one was on completely on a weekend. Uh one started
yesterday and I think uh it was put out to the public that this was going to be a major storm. So the the roadways in themselves uh were somewhat quiet. Uh we had fewer motor vehicle accidents than we typically would on a on a regular
workday. um which helped us. Uh now we did have some issues with some power lines and things like that uh that have mostly been resolved. We still have one issue going on but um I think that our our messaging out to the public through
Nixl alerts through our website uh through directing everything that we have back to the municipalities website as well. I I think that was good uh messaging to them and you know I think I think overall we did a pretty decent
job. >> Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much. And my third question is uh from the report um I'm an enthusiastic reader of the monthly reports and I'm always looking for numbers that uh jump out a little bit either because they appear to be
high or low and they're almost always great explanations. One that caught my attention in uh the January or in the in the yes in the in the report we received was that the number of police reports for January of this year was uh
significantly higher than it has been over the past five Januaries. And I wondered whether that's because we're uh maybe it could be full staff, maybe uh it has to do with reporting. I was just curious if there was something you could say about that.
I think having the ability to be at at full strength as well as uh having a full manned traffic bureau as well as a community relations bureau. If you look at uh the the total breakdown, a lot of those reports are going to come from
those two bureaus. Um, in the past due to uh shortages in those bureaus and and the way that we staffed our regular patrol, um, we found that uh, you know, those bureaus were not generating the
same types of numbers. Um, we also found that based off of no matter how many people we would put onto a patrol, based off of uh, you know, officers ability to use PTO time basically or their their
compensation time, um, it would typically bring them down to, you know, lower manpower levels. With the redistribution of the traffic bureau and the community relations bureau, uh we
have more officers working basically every day. Uh and to include the weekends, which we never really did before. So, a lot of that is these reports are being generated from our community relations and and traffic bureau.
>> Thank you, Michelle. Just a tangential, not um directly related, but when we're talking about cleaning the sidewalks, I just as a PSA wanted to ask, you know, neighbors to check on your neighbors. You have elderly people that you know are not uh
able uh to shovel and just see if you can help. So, I know it's a 24 hours after the fact, but um it's really important to try and help each other. Um, and uh, I just wanted to also echo the sentiment that our public works,
police, fire, um, everyone has really chipped in to do a a tremendous job in town of cleaning the streets and and taking care of us and and keeping us safe. So, thank you. >> Well, how can I not thank the police department for all their good work? But
also, let me echo >> Well, I meant them, too. >> Yeah. Well, let me echo DPW obviously in recreation for doing all the the plowing and shoveling and everything else. And as Michelle mentioned, the fire department, the first aid squad that staffed up and had a lot of people on duty overnight for the storm. Uh, and
just to remind people, if you live anywhere near a fire hydrant, it's probably buried. So, it's in your self-interest if you have a shovel or snowblower, go out and clear around it just in case. Uh, could make a big difference. Hopefully, you don't have to worry about that. Anything else for the
police report? Okay. Thank you, Captain. The next uh item, there's two items under presentations that we're going to put off to a future meeting. The first two items. Uh and then the third item, presentation of a proposed open space
project improvements at Princeton Ridge East, 725 Herringtown Road for submitt of a Green Acres Stewardship Grant application. And Eningga, I believe you are going to take us through that. Okay. Yeah, that works.
Thank you very much. I'm just giving a brief overview of the project that um we will be applying for to Green Acres. The application is due this Friday on the February the 27th. The title of the project is um stewardship grant for uh forest restoration at Princeton Ridge
East. Um this the stewardship grant is for a duration of two years and green acres will provide 50% of match funding and we will apply for a total amount of 300,000 meaning that 150,000 will be provided by
green acres and 150,000 will be provided by us and a lot of the 150,000 provided by us will be as part of a match funding either um through the salaries of me and our arborist and the DPW or volunteer work. Um the volunteers will perform
work such as planting trees or help clearing invasive species. The project area where the project site is located is in the 19 acre preserve that was just um purchased over about a year ago located on Herrentown Road and
Mount Lucas Road up on the Princeton Ridge East. And while this the site in general, let me just go to this side. You can see the aerial view better. The site in general is dominated by deciduous forestry. And in blue outlined on the left hand side
of the map, you can also see some wetland areas. These have been determined to be of extraordinary value. So they come with um 150 ft buffer zones either side of the stream and of the wetlands. The project area is outlined in red on this map and is located fully
outside of any of the wetland areas or of the riperian buffer zones. So no permits will be required for the work that is to be carried out. Um also on the aerial you might not be able to determine but I've indicated it by the orange arrows are three structures. One
of them is an abandoned resident and residence and two of them are barn shed or shed buildings and um to ensure that the public will be safely able to access the site. These buildings will be demolished. Um likely it's going to be in the summer of 2026.
And because um the demolish of the buildings will obviously also result in sight disturbance, we wanted the project to be um a follow-up of the site disturbance already on the site and use the moment and time to um commence with
work for the stewardship project. So within the two years of the project, the f first phase will um commence in the late fall of 2026 where we will use um manual methods to clear the site of invasive species. I just skip forward briefly to give an overview of what the
site currently looks like. Um so you can see all the invasive shrubs mostly multifllora rose, we have private, we have a lot of Japanese honeysuckle that is growing over the shrubs. Um you can see some dead ash trees as well in the background. So um it's it's a very hard
site to walk through at the moment. There have been some paths cleared for um for accessing the site while they were doing environmental surveys for the planning application. Um
so the first phase will be clearing the site of the invasives using manual methods in the fall 2026 followed up by um herbicide treatments once the plants have leaved out again in the spring or summer of 2027.
And then for coming in the fall, um trees and shrubs will be planted and we'll also be seeding native um grass and flower seeds on the ground. All to encourage or to discourage invasive species to come back and to encourage the site to be covered and minimize um
regrowth of invasive species. And then in the following years we will obviously monitor the site to see if invasive species come back if they come back which they will likely um we will use again manual methods if possible or herbicide treatments as well to um stop
the growth of the invasive species so the native shrubs and trees can have a chance to grow up. We will use um a dens a relatively high density of shrubs and trees because it'll encourage faster tree growth and it will also provide a denser shade canopy making it harder for
the invasive species to flourish once the forest has grown up. Um you can see the shape is sort of elongated of the red area. So you have forest on either side of the two long ends. And one of the effects of planting
um of of yeah let's let's go with this side. Um one of the effects of of filling in the gap so to say is not just to improve the area of the site that is currently overgrown by the invasives but also to um decrease effects that winds might have on the on the remaining
forest on the on the outside of the patch. So in the long term the planting will um not only have a positive effect on the site in in question but also on the surrounding forest because it will increase edge effects on the forest habitat surrounding it.
Um so in a nutshell the project will clear approximately 5 acres of invasive species. We plant 4,200 native trees and 1,000 native shrubs. Um these will provide habitat as well as food sources for the local wildlife and um it will
also increase the site's resiliency to storm events and drought. And one thing I forgot to mention in the overview here and that's visible in the small inside picture is how close um located the site is to hertown Woods and to Autumn Hill. And while there's
currently no trails on the site um it is our vision to connect this site to trails in Autumn Hill. And you can see on the larger picture underneath there's a rideway to Mount Lucas Road. So um the trail will also continue along the ride ofway and we can actually connect this
side as well as Haron Woods and Autumn Hill to the sidewalks leading from Mount Lucas Road into Princeton. So this is not only a very ecologically important site but it's also a keystone and connecting the habitats to each other and to downtown Princeton.
Sorry. Okay. Um, a brief alternative analysis of if we wouldn't do this work now. So, this is an ideal u moment in time as I said before because we will access the site. We will disturb the site because of the building demolishments. Um, and if this project was not going to
go ahead, the invasive species that are already dominating the entire area will only get worse over time and controlling them um at a later stage will only cost more money and more effort. I brief environmental impact analysis as well. There are three main affected
resources. The first one is the vegetation. So obviously the invasive plant species we will remove and we will add native species in terms of native trees, native shrubs, native grasses. So um the habitat will change from currently it's categorized as a
coniferous shrub and scrub habitat and we will um hopefully return it to a deciduous forest habitat. Another resource that will be affected is the soils. The planting of trees obviously with the roots going down into the soil will improve the quality of the soil.
It'll improve the water uptake area of the soil. The site is on on one of the highest areas of the 90 acres and downstream or downhill from without the wetlands. So if the soil is stabilized, there's going to be less likely to be runoff of dirt affecting the wetlands
down slope. And it'll also the leaf litter of the trees will increase the fertility of the soil. Um yeah and and in congruence with the soil I already said water is also an affected resource.
There are some impacts on the site. Um removing invasive vegetation there will be wildlife will be using the vegetation as it is for shelter. I've seen turtles around in the area. They use this grow sometimes. So, um, we have timed the
manual invasive removal vegetation for late fall when there won't be any nesting birds on the site that might be using the area. Um, and I will also survey the site prior to the work to make sure that there aren't any turtles or other slower wildlife that can't
escape around before the removal of the vegetation will begin. Plus, um, we don't expect the manual removal to take more than a few weeks at most. So, it's going to be a short-term impact. Um there's obviously always a risk with soil disturbance particularly if the if
the soil is wet. So we won't allow any machinery in the site um when the soils are wet so not as not to disturb the soil and any machinery that will enter the site if it's necessary. You might be able to remove the invasive vegetation using hand tools only will be tracked.
Herbicide always has the obviously potential of impacting native species. Now in this area there are not very many invasive species um not very many native species that could be impacted but we will be using appropriate um licensed professionals who know which vegetation
they should spray and which ones they shouldn't spray and and obviously they would um only spray in spring or summer when everything is fully led out and identifiable. Other short-term impacts are construction of the fence which will cause some short-term disturbance in
terms of noise and vibrations in the area and there will be a slight increase at times of traffic along Harrentown Road entering the side of the driveway but the site is so far removed from many residences that noise or parking shouldn't be an issue because they can use the driveway that's currently there.
Um so these impacts should be ne negligible. The medium and long-term impacts we establish that uh we we hope that the establishing native vegetation can shade out some of the n of the invasive species. It will provide breeding and
foraging habitat for local wildlife. Soil structure and function will be improved. The resiliency and impacts from storm drought and heat wolves will be um lessened because of the shade canopy of the trees and the the buffer of the the shrubs shrub layer and trees
in itself. Um the trees will sequester carbon in the soil and as they mature the seeds of the trees can also dis disperse into neighboring areas and increase um native vegetation there. So, and last but not least, it'll look a
lot nicer once the site is open to visitors if we have a a flourishing um forest environment there rather than just a patch of of invasive shrubs. >> Yes. Thank you, >> David. And then Michelle,
>> yeah. um when you talked about um how the community's match of funding would occur, one of the things you mentioned was volunteer labor. And I'm curious whether you know any of our standing uh
groups that work on open space are interested have expressed an interest in working on this site. >> Um not particularly to to this um application. and I haven't confirmed it with her, but um Triciani said that the turtles would be interested in in making
the trails access of the site. Michelle and then Brian. >> Thank you. Thank you, Eningga, for um uh for bringing this grant opportunity to us. And um in terms of the matching uh part, the municipality would use some of
the open space funding. Um and then you said some maybe some donations or some donations of uh people helping as David just mentioned. And uh I just want to say, you know, this is the next phase. I mean, we've we've done acquisition of
open space through our open space fund and the next step is stewardship. So, I'm glad that you've identified the things that need to be done because I think it's the right direction for the town to go in. So, thank you. I don't have anything specific, but just if you
want to just confirm in terms of the 150 um the where else would we be looking to um to get to get those funds other than the open space? >> Yes, that was Yeah, can confirm. >> That's what it's for. Okay. Thank you.
>> Okay. Right. >> Uh Eningga, thanks so much for that very thorough presentation. Um you mentioned uh the possibility of developing trails and making the park uh accessible for visitors. Um is that something that we
um the municipality would undertake or would we seek a nonprofit partner to help do that? Yeah, as I said that was the part that Trish Shenley had said that the turtles would be happy to um to make the trails for the pres. >> Excellent. Thank you.
>> Any other questions at this point? >> Oh, wait. >> I just wanted to thank you for a very comprehensive report. uh you know this this is completely interesting to me and this is I think the first time we've really seen what
goes into management of open space and species and and making it better for uh you know people to enjoy. So I really appreciated that. My my one question is where does you you mentioned that this hooks up to autumn autumn hills pres
preservation. Does it go anywhere else? Um, I'm just going to go back to the map so it's easier to visualize. So, as you can see, it isn't even directly connected to Autumn Hill Park, but there is open space either on the
Montgomery side and as well just north of the HOA um on Herrentown Lane, which hopefully we will be able to get an ement to make an actual trail connection. Um, and sorry, what was your other question?
No, that that was good. Thank you. And and I just also wanted to note that in the narrative we received that it said much of the matching funds could and would come from, you know, our own um interest through DPW and the work that we would do from the municipality side,
not necessarily dollars, but uh effort sweat equity. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. I just want to say it's really appropriate that we have um twin items on the agenda tonight. one um
environmental space acquisition and stewardship and the other um the creation of affordable housing. And that has been a priority of the current council for a number of years now. And it reflects our smart growth approach, which is um producing housing in the
most environmentally responsible way, which is in our core and preserving the environmentally sensitive lands that still exist in um in our town. And this was um not easy uh the the acquisition
and preservation of this site, the two Landwin sites, this and the 180 acres. And I just want to take the opportunity again to thank our open space consortium partners who helped to raise a tre millions of dollars to acquire this to
help the town to acquire it. Um and through our the open space tax, the stewardship of that is what funds the stewardship of this um which is um you know I think the responsible path forward. Uh and I also on a personal
note want to say that um before I was on council I spent a few hours I was on the planning board uh walking through the scrub that you just pictured. Uh I got a lot of ticks in that and and uh we
looked to see what the implications of development on this site would be and it would have had far-reaching implications that would have destroyed the ecosystem. Um and I'm so glad that we were able to preserve it and that now we're taking the next step forward to not only
preserve but to responsibly steward it. And thank you Eningga so much for bringing this proposal. Okay. So, we are going to have a public hearing on the grant application. And again, the grant would be a Greenacres
grant for 150,000 and we would match the 150,000 for a total project cost of 300,000. Hey, Adam in the back, could you take the presentation down just so we could see people on Zoom? Um, there's nobody in the room from the
public, so I can't ask anybody in the public. Uh, >> in the room. Sorry. >> It's packed. >> It's packed. Yeah. But there's so many people. I didn't realize that. Um, so we'll go right to Zoom. I I see Lisa has a hand up. Lisa, I'm assuming your hands for this item here, the public hearing
on this grant application. Adam, can we bring Lisa in? >> Yes, it is. >> Okay, great. Uh let me just start with Lisa. You have three minutes and welcome and please tell us what's on your mind.
>> Okay. Thank you so much. So uh as a homeowner whose land is adjacent to Autumn Hill and Herrentown Woods, I'm super excited about this uh plan to kind of clean up the Landwind tract land. I've walked there many times and it is kind of a mess. Um, I just had a couple
minor things I wanted to add uh that maybe can help us make sure that we're really protecting the endangered and threatened and special concerned species that are in that area. So, there are a bunch actually. Um, one thing on the map of the wetlands that is uh missing is a
really critical pond that we know hosts one of the largest populations of the spotted salamanders which are a New Jersey species of special concern on the Princeton Ridge and maybe even one of the largest in the state. And that pond is outside the treatment area. So why
does it matter? Well, the the salamanders for two reasons actually. One is that it's directly downhill and downstream from where the herbicides will be sprayed. And one is that the salamanders migrate every season and we pay a lot of attention when they migrate across the road. But of course, they
also migrate into the woods. And um they spend most of their life underground. And so if we go in with tracked machines, uh they will not be probably far enough below the ground to avoid getting crushed by those machines. So I really I heard you know Enga you saying like as
much as we could do without machines. So I really reinforce that and bringing in as few machines as possible would really reduce the impact to those animals. Um the herbicides I know they have to be used. Um just using them as sparingly as possible and then the season of use. So
these animals and other herpana like reptiles and amphibians um they don't hibernate. That's a mammal thing. But they buminate and when they're above ground and really busy is usually right before in the late fall and right after in the early spring. And so as much as
possible to push the timing into the later spring, early summer um away from those shoulder seasons when those animals are going to be really exposed. um spraying in the even in the late spring could potentially send herbicide down into that pond and really just give
us uh kind of decimate an entire year's worth of uh eggs and larve that are going to be in that pond. I think those were my main points. Pond missing on the map uh season using uh wetland safe herbicides and trying to
avoid tracked machines. But thank you so much for this. I can't wait to see how it's going to look. >> Thank you, Lisa. All right, Adam, can we bring in Stephen next? >> Hello. >> Hey, Steve. Go ahead. >> Hey. Um, yeah, I just want to take this
opportunity to thank the town for uh acquiring the Landin the 90 acre Landwin tract. It's a fabulous property and uh it would have been tremendously degraded by development. Um, and of course it's right across the street from u
Harrentown Woods and uh and it's it's very close to where our friends of Herringtown Woods has been um helping uh the salamanders and woodf frogs uh get across the road during their spring migrations. And you know, we're very
happy that the town will be helping us um by closing the road uh helping hopefully we can coordinate to uh close the roads uh during those spring migrations. And of course, the Lenin tract uh like Lisa says uh probably has
quite a bit of uh u spotted salamander uh activity. And uh I would uh want to u reinforce what she said about limiting um use of heavy machinery. Of course, you know, I like buildings and uh the
two barns on the property. I don't know if you're referring to the uh um uh Terracotta barn and also the large very large uh and actually in quite good condition uh barn uh closer to the
project area. Um but uh you know I I think it's very unfortunate those were not being saved and and the uh demolition uh will bring in a lot of heavy machinery uh removal of rubble um and of course that could impact the
wildlife uh while that's happening. Um I um uh so you know it is what it is at this point. I do want to encourage uh the town in general to consider management of areas uh for more open uh
grassy habitat. I think there's a lot of pessimism about being able to control invasive species and I'd like you to uh you know I'd encourage you to take a look at uh my work in Smooyer Park uh where there's a detention basin uh
pretty sizable uh that was planted with native species um and u uh I've been basically the person managing it uh to to uh be very uh proactive in removing invasive species before they get
established. And um I believe uh grasslands and shrub habitats are an important habitat that uh given our most of our open space is trees uh and forest uh that don't really uh promote this kind of uh habitat. I I do believe we
need to u uh make an effort to uh establish those and maintain them in a very proactive way. uh at which point they actually become quite easy to take care of if one uh masters the uh uh invasive species. So uh thank you very
much and uh I it's a fabulous uh property. It's top of the world feeling there uh in that project area and um looking forward to uh it being habitable by people and not just invasives. >> Thanks Steve.
>> Anybody else on Zoom that wants to speak on this matter? All right, seeing no other hands up, we'll close the public hearing. Uh, and then, uh, if someone on the council wants to move resolution, uh, 260, which is a resolution of the mayor and council
of Princeton, approving the submittal of a grant application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres, for the proposed open space project improvements at Princeton Ridge, East 725. I'd like to move it, but I but I did just have >> I think your hand was up first. >> I have a question for
>> Oh, you have >> I still have a question based on the public comment. >> Okay. >> Foring. >> Yeah. I just I wanted to clarify for the public that the um demolition of the buildings was a condition of the funding from Green Acres. So, Steve, I hear what
you're saying, but I think we have our hands full with with the other buildings, the Vlin House. Um, and um, I also just want to say acknowledge confess that I'm a sucker for salamanders and I just wanted to hear Enga some reassurance about the
salamanders. >> Yes, we will definitely take these um, into account and I will also map that pool. So, I might get in contact with you and maybe you can show me where exactly the pool is on the side so we know where to avoid the areas. >> Great. Okay. Okay. Thank you. All right.
Who's moving the resolution? Thank you, Michelle. I'm sorry, Leighton. Leighton's got the motion. Michelle's got the second. Any questions on the uh resolution? I see none. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Okay. The work session we're putting
off, right? >> Yeah. So, um Jim is on Zoom. I don't think he made it in. Jim, are you prepared to do the work session and can we share it or do we need to wait?
There's a bit of time sensitivity >> because >> I was under the impression that I'm sorry I'm not sure you heard the first part. Um I was under the impression that we were postponing this to the next meeting. >> Yeah. >> Okay, that's fine. Okay, we're
postponing. All right. Thanks. >> Thanks, Jim. Okay, we're going to have a series of public ordinance public hearings. Michelle's going to handle the first five. And I'm going to step down while we do the first five and then I'll be back to
do the rest. >> Mayor, while you're stepping off, if I could just mention uh we under reports, we do have a delayed opening tomorrow for the municipality at 10:30 and the morning court session has been cancelled tomorrow. Uh if you're interested in the snow activities, you can go to the
website and all the information is there. Thank you. >> Thanks, Bernie. Thank you. Okay. So, the first um ordinance for public hearing is ordinance 26-01, an ordinance of the municipality of
Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 10 AH10 in furtherance of the fair housing act. Do we have a motion
David and second Mia? Okay, we have uh comments first from council and then we'll open the public hearing. >> Could we just have a brief description from our planner of what? Thank you. >> Yes, thank you. Uh ordinance 202601
establishes the AH10 zone as detailed in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan. The AH10 allows for a mixeduse inclusionary building on one lot at 245247 Nassau Street. The planning board reviewed this ordinance
and found it substantially consistent with the Princeton master plan uh and recommended approval with the following comments. Uh the board recommends protecting mature and healthy trees on the site and its edges to the extent possible. Uh the board also encouraged activating the street in front of the
required commercial space uh to create a more vibrant space than what currently exists today. Uh and what currently exists today uh is a lot with a lot of surface parking um and two uh uh underutilized office buildings.
>> Thank you, Justin. Do we have any questions or comments from council? Okay, man. Go ahead. >> I just want to say to the point about activating the the to the planning board recommendation, I believe that the the activation of the space is going to
include outdoor dining, which is exciting, which we have um Councilwoman Peron Lamrose to thank for championing that. >> Thank you. Music to my ears whenever we have outdoor dining. Thank you. Um okay,
so let's uh anything else? All right, we open up to public. Uh does anyone if anyone has any uh questions or comments, if you would raise your virtual hand on Zoom, please. Okay, seeing none, we'll close public
comment. And um uh Bernie, if you could do the roll call vote for us, please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lambro, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> And Mr. Nolan, >> yes.
Thank you. Okay. Second uh ordinance is ordinance 26-04, an ordinance of the municipality of Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the m
municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 8 AH8 in furtherance of the fair housing act. Do we have a motion to approve >> Leighton and second David? Thank you. Um
so it's Justin. Will you give us a brief please? >> Certainly. Uh ordinance 20264 establishes the AH8 zone as detailed in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan. The AH8 allows for a mixeduse inclusionary building on one
lot at 145 Witherspoon Street. The planning board reviewed this ordinance and found it substantially consistent with the Princeton master plan and recommended approval with no other comments or recommendations. >> Thank you. Do we have questions, comments from council?
>> Anyone? >> Okay. >> I just want to mention that some of the impacted neighbors are those who reside in the cemetery. I don't see them here tonight, but um they might be here. We just, you know, they might.
>> It's a pack. You said it's a pack. >> I hope that we I think we've tried to be careful not to disturb their repose. So, >> thank you. Um, okay, we'll open up for public comment. Anyone on Zoom? Seeing no virtual hands raised, we'll
close public comment. And may we have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan. Yes. >> Okay. The next hearing is ordinance 26-05,
an ordinance of the municipality of Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing overlay district 9 AH9 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act.
May I have a motion, please? David has the motion. Mia has the second. Uh questions, comment. Oh, first we'll go to Justin. Thank you. >> Uh ordinance 20265 establishes the AHO9 overlay zone as
detailed in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan. The AHO9 allows for a mixeduse inclusionary development on six lots between Nassau Street and North Harrison Street. The planning board reviewed the ordinance and found it substantially consistent
with the Princeton master plan and recommended approval with the following comment based on a comment from a member of the public. Uh the board recommends encouraging direct pedestrian connections to surrounding areas especially Queenston Commons to the north to the maximum extent possible.
>> Great. Thank you Justin. Now questions or comments from council? Mia. Yeah, I just want to say, you know, we know that this is a very sensitive site. It's right in the center of the Jugtown Historic District and um the um
developers of the site and um the uh planning committee, the redevelopment committee that was involved with this got input, significant input from um the the Jugtown uh advocates in making sure
that this was planned sensitively and um I just want to reassure the public on that. >> Thank you. Thank you. Anything else? Okay, we'll open it up to public comment. So, please raise your virtual hand.
And seeing no virtual hands raised, we'll close public comment and uh go to a roll call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes.
>> Okay. The next ordinance 26-06, an ordinance of the MU municipality of Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable
housing overlay district 11 AH1 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. Can we have a motion, please? David. David has a motion. Leighton has a second. Okay, Justin, you want to take
it away? >> Yep. Uh, ordinance 2026 establishes the AH11 overlay district as detailed in our fourthround housing plan element and fair share plan. The AHO1 allows for a mixeduse inclusionary development on two
lots on the corner of Spring Street and North to Lane Street. The planning board reviewed the ordinance and found it substantially consistent with the Princeton master plan and recommended approval with no comments or other recommendations. Thank you. Uh any questions or comments
from council? Okay, seeing none, um open the public hearing. Anyone on Zoom that would like to make a comment? Seeing no virtual hands raised, we'll close that and go to a roll call vote, please. Mr. McDonald, >> yes.
>> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nulan, >> yes. >> Thank you. Next up, uh, ordinance 26-07, an ordinance of the municipality of
Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 12 AH12 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. And may I have a motion, please?
David has the motion, Mia has the second, and um, Justin. >> Yes, thank you. Uh, ordinance 20267 establishes the AH12 district as detailed in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan. The
AH12 allows for an inclusionary development on two lots at 8688 and 9294 Spruce Street alongside existing residential buildings. The planning board reviewed and found the ordinance uh substantially consistent with the Princeton master
plan and recommended approval with no comments or other recommendations. >> Thank you. Any comments, man? Yeah, I just want to highlight for the public that this site um will include supportive housing. Um and it
will also the developer has also agreed to uh convey to the town uh a a multi-use bike and pedestrian path that will go through the site from the center of town to the Westminster Core College
where um as many people know the town is involved in um facilitating educational um you know working with our school district to um uh create educational opportunities there. Uh we also have uh
bike and pedestrian infrastructure that has been long in the works in that area. And so we really appreciate the willingness of the developer to convey that to the town to create that throughway. Um and the developer here is
also doing in addition to supportive housing doing uh slightly more than the 20% set aside which we appreciate. And I also just want to note that the front of the site will include town houses um
that will um be appropriate, contextually appropriate and that they uh will enable the streetscape to continue the pattern of development um that is adjacent with the former burough
uh affordable housing town houses. um and the the new town houses there will um be similar similarly situ situated and um with the bulk standards and um their relationship to the street. So um
this was a late inclusion to the fourth round and I think it it's a real gem in the former burrow. uh was it was formerly a an uh just a underutilized uh surface parking lot and we're so
pleased to have it uh be walkable residential infill density. >> Thank you. Any other comments or questions from council Leighton? >> Yeah, I just want to say, you know, and
congratulate uh my colleagues who have, you know, helped put this affordable housing plan together. It is great to see uh new affordability and new affordable housing, new people in old neighborhoods. You know, it is great to
have uh buildings that are going to be built where we already have buildings that's close in proximity to transportation where we can build community without a bunch of new construction. And uh hats off to the job
that you guys have done. Well done. Thank you so much, Leighton. Any other questions, comments? Okay, we'll open the public hearing to anyone to raise their virtual hand. Seeing none, we'll close public comment
and uh go to a roll call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nulan, >> yes. Turn that off. Thanks. My bad. Next up, ordinance 2603, an ordinance of the
municipality of Princeton amending chapter T10B entitled land use of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 15 AH15 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. Is there a motion on this? Thank you,
David. Mia's got the second. Comments, questions? Why don't you go first and then we'll get questions up here. >> Certainly. Thank you. Ordinance 20263 establishes the AH15 district as detailed in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan. The
AH15 allows for an inclusionary multifamily development on one lot at 457 North Harrison Street. The planning board reviewed this ordinance and found it substantially consistent with the Princeton master plan and recommended approval with no comments or other recommendations other than general
enthusiasm for pedestrian and circulation pedestrian circulation, excuse me, and uh connections to other developments in the area as envisioned in the ordinance. Thank you. >> Thanks, Justin. Questions or comments from the council?
>> Yep. >> Oh, sorry. Um, I wanted to say that this um site represents uh use of a stranded asset, an empty office building that's converted that's being converted to
residential development. Um, which is an excellent example of what the state as a whole should be doing with stranded assets. Um, but also we appreciate the developers willingness again on this site to do more than a 20% set aside. And I also want to note that in the
ordinance is the ability of and the willingness of the developer to create um a uh a a an egress means of egress out the back. Um which this is a culdeac
on the Thanet site which has a great deal of additional residential density which all funnels out onto Tur Road. the circulation would be improved immensely if this um easement could uh be
effectuated. It is being held up because the owner of uh Princeton Senior Living at present is not willing to uh grant the town the ability to move
forward with this. uh which is unfortunate because uh it doesn't uh encumber their situation in any uh way that is uh uh that is
disadvantageous to them. So we we hope that they will work with the developer of this site to allow that means of egress to go through which would significantly enhance the circulation and the traffic flow in this in this
area. Any other comments up here? Anybody on Zoom? Anyone from the public have a comment or question? All right. Seeing no one on Zoom that has a hand up, we'll close the public hearing and a roll call vote, please.
>> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lambro, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. Next up, ordinance 2608, an ordinance of the Municipality of Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and
zoning of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 16 AH16 and furtherance of the Fair Housing Act, introduction of amendments uh public hearing on ordinance as amended carried to March 9th, 2026.
Okay. So, I guess >> do do we want to run down what the why we're what the amendments? I guess it doesn't matter. No, we don't want to. Maybe we'll have a public hearing on March 9th. Never mind. Okay. You're making the motion. David's making the second. Roll
call vote. >> U >> David. >> David was sorry. >> No, Michelle made the motion. David's got the second. Uh, number seven 2608. >> We're pushing the public hearing to March 9th. >> All right. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen,
>> yes. >> Miss Pon Lamrose. >> Yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> Thank you. Ordinance 2609, an ordinance of the municipality of Princeton amending T10B-272.146, affordable housing overlay 4, AHO-4,
site development regulations of the Code of Princeton, New Jersey, 2013. Uh, is there a motion on that? David's got the motion. Michelle's got the second. Council questions, comments. >> Justin, >> can we get a summary from Justin?
>> Justin. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Justin, go ahead. My bad. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, ordinance 202609 is a little different from the, uh, other half dozen that you saw. Um, this one amends the existing AHO4 overlay district. Um, but it was also
detailed for this to happen in our fourth round housing plan element and fair share plan as well as in the master plan's land use section. The AHO4 overlay is comprised of 26 lots along 206 North or Harrentown Road near the
Montgomery border. Uh the ordinance before you um amends the existing AHO4 to raise the maximum permitted height of a building from 45 to 50 feet. It also removes an existing requirement for 300
square ft of storage for each residential unit in a common area uh that is required to either be on the first floor or below it. The planning board reviewed this ordinance and found it substantially consistent with the Princeton master plan uh and recommended
approval with no comment or other recommendations. >> Thanks, Justin. Okay, now comments. >> David, do you want to give a little explanation? Yeah, I just wanted to um comment that removing the requirement
for the storage area makes this uh ordinance consistent with the rest of our affordable housing ordinances throughout the town. None of which require this um storage um area outside of the actual uh dwelling units
themselves. Uh and then you know we put this in place uh in the third round to encourage mixeduse development down in this service district. it's um on 206 as you're heading into Montgomery and we
really haven't seen um uh developers utilizing the overlay and there's a hope that um both the removal of the storage and the slight increase in building height will um incentivize more develop owners to take advantage of
the the overlay provisions. Thanks, David. Other comments, questions? >> Yeah, >> Michelle. >> I mean, yeah, this is this is really essential to I mean, we have the RPM, the new Harrentown um development with
uh 64, I think, units of affordable, and it's just it's it's nice. I I I think we have these v various centers of commerce, centers of energy I think uh David had mentioned many times and uh we really need to find ways to incentivize
this and so I think this change although may maybe seemingly small uh hopefully will be significant to um to to make some changes there because North 206 is I don't want to say it's forgotten but there's there's a lot of possibilities
there a lot of availability of land um and it's really underutilized. So hopefully this this will help. So thank you. >> Thanks Michelle. Mia, >> I just want to say at least four of us
here remember that strip for Mary's >> convenience store. >> Mary watch. >> Um and not much has happened since then. >> No. >> Um and she's no longer there. And uh I we'd like to see
>> her spirit her spirit lives on. >> Her spirit is there and we hope that that uh there will be development there that channels her her spirit. >> Thank you, >> Brian. Oh, sorry. Okay. Any other any other comments up here?
>> All right. We have a hand up from the uh from the public. Uh and just a reminder, just state your name and watch the timer. Tom, welcome. Tom, you're muted. >> How's that? >> There you go. >> Better.
>> Okay. Uh Tom Pino, 33 Van Deventor Avenue. Um while this um comment pertains to this ordinance, it can also uh be uh viewed as relating to the previous seven. Um Mia beat me to it. Um, but it's fitting that this hearing
follows the presentation of the proposed open space project. Um, as I've said before, we're building at the intersection of a housing crisis and a climate crisis. Uh, and I'm here to add my voice to the chorus, though they're not present here tonight, uh, of support
over the last months for the work of the planning board, the council, and our amazing staff. Um these ordinances uh give shape to the plan uh uh that was enthusiastically adopted last year. They're consistent with the master plan
uh and the principles of smart growth and I support it. Great work. Thank you. >> Thanks, Tom. Anyone else from the public? >> All right, we'll close the public hearing and a roll call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes.
>> Mr. Cowen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> Next up is ordinance 2610, an ordinance of the municipality of Princeton amending the code of the burrow of Princeton, New Jersey, 1974 to add there
to a new chapter entitled filming introduction of amendments public hearing on ordinance as amended carried to March 9th, 2026. So that's a Oh, somebody needs to move it. Thank you, Michelle. Is there a second? Thank you, Leighton. Since we're moving the public
hearing, could we have a roll call vote, please? >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Pon Lamro, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> All right. Next up are ordinance introductions. Ordinance 2611, an ordinance of the municipality of
Princeton amending chapter T10B entitled land use of the municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 13 AH13 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. Public hearing will be March 9th, 2026. And would someone Thank you. David moves
it. Michelle seconds. Roll call vote. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lambro, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. Next up, ordinance 2612, an ordinance of the Municipality of Princeton amending
chapter B17A entitled Land Use and Zoning of the Municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 17 AH17 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. The public hearing will be March 9th, 2026. David has the motion, Mia has the
second. Roll call vote. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan. >> Yes. >> Ordinance 2613, an ordinance of the municipality of Princeton amending chapter T10B entitled land use of the
municipality of Princeton to create the affordable housing district 18. AH18 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act public hearing will be March 9th, 2026. And would someone move that please? Thank you. Michelle Leighton has the second and a roll call vote.
>> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> Ordinance 2614, an ordinance of the Municipality of Princeton amending chapter B17A entitled land use and zoning of the municipality of Princeton
to create the affordable housing overlay district 19 AH19 in furtherance of the Fair Housing Act. The public hearing will be March 9th, 2026. Mia has the motion, David has the second, and that is a roll call vote. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes.
>> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. Yes. Miss Peron Lamrose. >> Yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> Ordinance 2615, an ordinance of the Municipality of Princeton amending chapter T10B entitled land use of the municipality of Princeton to address the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and
the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls regarding compliance with the municipality's affordable housing obligations. Public hearing March 9th, 2026. David has the motion. Michelle has the second. Uh, roll call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald,
>> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamro, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Mr. Nolan, >> yes. >> Next up is resolution 26061, resolution of the mayor and council of the municipality of Princeton formally requesting amendments to its recreation
and open space inventory pursuant to NJAC7 36-25.3. If Brian has the motion, Leighton has the second. >> I believe this is Ed to discuss this. We're just >> putting things on the roster that should
be there. >> I think they sort of have a gun to our head. >> Yeah. >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. Resolution 26062, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing the award of professional services agreement with McManamin
Scotland and Bowman LLC for bond council and redevelopment council services in 2026 for an amount not to exceed $100,000. Thank you, Michelle. David's got the second. Questions or comments? Right. All in favor say I.
>> I. I. Resolution 26063, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing execution of interlocal services agreement with Montgomery Township, Franklin Township, South Brunswick Township, Manville Burough, Hopewell Township, Hopewell Burough, and Rocky Hillboro for the development of a watershed improvement plan for the lower
Milstone River wershed pursuant to NJSA 4865-1 so forth. Uh, Leightton's got the motion, Brian's got the second. Questions or comments? David? Yeah, I just want to make my uh usual pitch. This is uh an agreement. The the latest
uh D requirements require all municipalities to generate regional uh water improvement plans, watershed improvement plans, but wersheds do not respect municipal boundaries. And so
it's something that is almost nonsensical unless you do it in collaboration with neighboring municipalities. We have already engaged in one where a lot much larger percentage of Princeton is part of the
um Stonybrook wershed. This is um only a small corner of Princeton that is in this watershed. I'm glad to see that we're um working with the towns that are impacted on in this watershed as well. >> Thank you, David. Any >> I just want to add that the reason for
this is to reduce pollution that's coming into our waterways from the Milstone River. Thanks. >> Thank you. Any other comments or questions? All right. Uh I'm sorry. Did we have a >> We didn't vote. Yes. >> Did we have a motion? >> We did move.
>> We did have a motion. Sorry. Lost track. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> Resolution 26064, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton supporting the state house commission pre-application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
for the after-the-act disposal- diversion of a 3.044 plus or minus acre portion of Princeton Community Park South, block 6902, lot 2 on the Princeton tax map. Is there Thank you, Mia. Is there a
second? Thank you, Michelle. Does somebody want to translate what that means so the public knows what we're about to do? >> Uh, so well, I was going to ask if my understanding is correct, which is basically when this building was constructed, um, and I'm not quite sure how, but
somehow it was there was no permission requested from the state. Um, and this building was built over uh point as it 3.044
plus or minus acres of um CP South, which was supposed to be preserved. I guess that was um I don't know how whoever was uh mining the store then got away with it, but it it uh caught up with us uh not too long ago. And so now
we are paying our uh we're we're in trouble if we don't do this. Um so the law will catch up with you eventually. >> Paying the piper. >> We're paying the piper. We're doing the needed diversion. >> Yeah. So whoever was involved with
constructing this building, we are now uh paying our dues. >> There we go. >> Long after the fact. So is that correct? >> Yes. >> Yeah. Yeah. You got it. >> Okay. Okay. Any questions or comments up here? All right. Seeing none, all in favor say I. I.
>> I. I. >> Resolution 26065, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing release of a performance guarantee in the amount of $29,769 and reduction in inspection fees to Princeton SC Residential Urban Development LLC for the preliminary and
final major site plan and minor subdivision plan, residential development, and Walgreens pharmacy relocation. Thank you, David, for moving that. Leighton's got the second. Questions or comments? Seeing none, all in favor, please say, "I." >> I.
>> Resolution 26 066, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing an increase of $18,386 to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with I always pronounced this one wrong. Scarini, I don't know. >> Scari, >> say that again. >> Scari.
>> Skarinsi. Thank you very much. Skarinci Hollandbeck LLC for special environmental legal services in 2024 for a new not to exceed amount of $283,3862. Would someone like to move that? Thank you, David. And Leighton has the
second. Any questions or comments other than how to pronounce the name? I can pronounce scarring, but I cannot understand why we are still paying so much. And every time this comes up, I
ask if we can have an update. And it just goes on and on. And I understand that the River Road situation um was an unfortunate one. Uh but I I I just I wonder is there at what point do
we um reach that point where we we are paying so much in in um legal fees to try to get the insurance company to pay up that
we we we just decide um to throw in the towel. And I don't know if anyone has an answer to that, but I feel like every time this comes up, I ask. And >> I'll just say I wrote re reached out to Mr. Skagnelli, who's the attorney that's handling that on behalf of the firm. Uh
he was on vacation last week, so he has not gotten back to me yet, but I've asked him that exact question. So we will see what he comes back with and I'll report back to council. >> Right. Because we should as as a group at some point we should have this discussion and decide what our what our cutoff is at some point. spending. We're
going to spend so much money that the amount of money we're going to get back isn't going to be worth it. I don't think we're there right yet, but we're >> I think close. >> We're probably close. >> Yeah, very good question. Any other comments or questions? All in favor, please say I. >> I.
>> All right. Resolution deja vu. Resolution 26067, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton, authorizing an increase of $105,817.3 to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with Scari Hollandbeck LLC for special
environmental legal services in 2025 for a new not to exceed amount of $25,817.3. So we're quickly approaching the $500,000 mark >> to get a million. David's got the motion. Was there a second?
Sorry. Thank you, Leon. Leighton has the second. Okay. Same comments as we just made for the prior one. >> Any other questions or comments? >> All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Resolution 26068, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton renewing
lease agreement between Princeton and Princeton Tennis Program in connection with the Community Park South tennis facility for an additional one-year term. Thank you. Michelle's got the motion and David has the second. Any questions or comments? >> Michelle,
>> just a comment that Princeton Tennis is a great partner for us, uh, essential partner for our rec department, and it's great for the community. So, um I hope that sometime in the near future uh we can enter in a a more uh longer term uh
agreement as part of what they'd like to do with helping us with uh CB South and re um rebuilding those tennis courts. So hopefully, fingers crossed. >> Thank you. Any other questions or comments? >> All right. All in favor, please say I. I. >> I.
>> Two items on the consent agenda. Does somebody want to move the two of them together? Thank you, Michelle. Brian's got the second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> All right. Next up is public comments for not on the agenda. I just want to point out to everybody that we've kind of expanded the explanation that comes
under this. Um saying that we'll take comments from members of the public attending the meeting in person, then on Zoom, the threeminut limit, and that this uh comment period is an opportunity for us to listen to resident concerns, but that we're not going to debate issues or engage in a question and
answer session. uh and issues raised by members of the public may require review andor further investigation before we're able to respond. So, I just want people to see that we did that, expanded that. Having said that, is there anybody on Zoom that has a comment for items not on
the agenda? All right, seeing no hands up, I'll close that portion of the meeting and ask for a motion to >> to David. >> I move to adjourn. >> Thank you, David. Michelle's got the second. All in favor say I. >> I. >> We're done. Good night. Goodbye. >> Good night.
>> Thank you.