Good evening everybody. Thanks for being here. Oh, thanks for being here. It is October 27th, 2025. This is a meeting of the mayor and council of Princeton, New Jersey. And uh can we have the meeting statement, please?
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 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. >> Thank you. I'm going to do the land acknowledgement tonight. 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 Lape and other indigenous caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who lived here before, the indigenous today and the generations to come. We have roll call,
please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> here. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> here. >> Mr. Cohen, >> here. >> Miss Saxs, >> here. Miss Frogga >> here. >> Mr. Nulan >> here. >> Mayor Frereda >> here. [Music]
Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music]
If you're able and willing, please join us by standing for the pledge of >> 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. Please be seated. I'd like to thank all the officers of our police department for being here tonight. I'd like to thank all the guests, families, friends of the department and of the chief. Let me just read a little bit about the chief before
we swear him in. Chief Ma Chief Matthew Soliv began his law enforcement career with the Princeton Township Police Department in January 2005. He initially served in the patrol bureau before being assigned to the traffic safety bureau in 2010.
The following year, he was promoted to the rank of corporal and returned to the patrol bureau where he demonstrated strong leadership and dedication to community safety. In 2014, following the consolidation of Princeton Township and the Burrow of
Princeton, Chief Salv played an instrumental role in establishing the department's police K9 program and became its first K9 handler. He was selected as the class speaker at his graduation from the New Jersey State Police K9 Academy. Alongside his K-9
partner Harris, he served the Princeton community in a variety of operational capacities and as part of the New Jersey Detect and Render Safe Task Force. Chief Salv was promoted to sergeant in January 2016, serving for five years as a supervisor
within the patrol bureau. In 2020, he rose to the rank of lieutenant, later commanding both the operations division and the investigative division. During this time, he also served as the department's field training and evaluation commander, training
coordinator, accreditation manager, and head of policy development and management. In September 2024, he was promoted to captain and served as the executive officer of the Princeton Police Department. He holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Satan
Hall University, a graduate certificate in criminal justice education from the University of Virginia, and a master's degree in administrative science from Fairley Dickinson University. He is also a graduate of the 294th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National
Academy. He resides in Chesterfield, North New Jersey, sorry, with his wife Katherine and their two sons, Charlie and Cameron. This is the official oath of public office. If you'll please repeat after me. I
state your name. I, Matthew Sullivan, >> do solemnly swear >> do solemnly swear >> that I will support >> that I will support >> the Constitution of the United States >> the Constitution of the United States >> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey
>> and the Constitution of the State of New Jersey >> that I will bear true faith >> that I will bear true faith >> and allegiance to the same >> and allegiance to the same >> and to the government established in the United States >> and to the government established in the
United States >> and in the state >> and in the state >> under the authority of the people >> under the authority of the people >> and that I will faithfully >> and that I will faithfully >> impartially >> impartially >> and justly >> and justly >> perform all the duties
>> perform all the duties >> of the office of chief of police >> of the office of chief of police >> according to the best of my ability >> according to the best of my ability. So help me God. >> Congratulations.
This is the first time I don't know what to say. I am fighting a cold, so if you see me getting a little choked up, ditch the sinuses. Thank you to Mayor Freda, Princeton Council, Administrator Hedovic for this incredible honor. I am deeply grateful
and truly humbled to be entrusted with this great responsibility. I recently asked the internet what it considered to be the greatest experiences in life. The very first answer was falling in love.
I met my wife Katie when I first became a police officer. She has not only watched my career unfold, she helped shape it. She constantly inspires me to not only be a better police officer, but to be a better person. Like me, Katie loves
Princeton. She's a beloved third grade teacher at Riverside Elementary. And together, we share a genuine love for this community and this town. She's been with me every step of a 21-year journey, and I absolutely could
not have done it without her unwavering support and her strength. The second experience on that list was becoming a parent. God has blessed me with two amazing sons, Charlie and Cameron. Being the child of a police officer isn't always
easy. There are birthdays, holidays, and many family moments that I missed. But my two boys have always shown understanding, patience, and pride from this chosen profession. They know that the sacrifices this job demands, and
they've met them with love and grace. Their support means more to me than words can ever express. And that third great experience that I saw on the internet was achieving a dream. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of becoming the chief of police.
It's something I've worked toward every single day of my career with determination, integrity, and an unwavering belief in the people that I've have the privilege of working with. Standing here tonight, that dream is realized.
But this position isn't the finish line. It's new beginning. As hard as I worked to get here, I absolutely promise to work even harder now that I am here. I know many people came here tonight to support me, but the truth is
I wouldn't be standing here without all of you and your support. To my parents, my grandmother, all my family, and my friends, thank you for your love and belief in me. To the people of Princeton, thank you for
trusting us, for challenging us, and for standing with us as partners. To the former chiefs, Christopher Tash and John Berry here today, thank you for guiding me and showing me and paving that road to success. To our retirees
for building this foundation that is the Princeton Police Department. And last, but certainly absolutely not least, to the incredible women and men of the Princeton Police Department.
Thank you. Your professionalism, your compassion, and your dedication to this community make this job truly meaningful. I'll close with something very special. A very special young girl taught me.
It's something very simple, but yet very powerful. Be you. That's what I will tell every officer who joins our department. We hired you because of who you are, your heart, your
character, and your humanity. Be you, and we will be successful. And as I begin this new chapter, that's exactly what I intend to do. Just be me. Thank you again for this
tremendous honor. Very, very, very much appreciated. Heat. Heat. [Applause] Just before all our officers leave the room, I just want to remind everybody in our community and everybody here tonight
that this town is blessed with an police department that has got to be one of the best in the entire state of New Jersey. Probably one of the best in the entire country. This is a very professional This is a very professional, well-trained police department. This is
a police department that knows how to care for the community and do what's best for the community. So, I want to say to all of you, thank you very much for what you do for us every day. It is deeply appreciated and I don't want you to ever forget that. Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you.
[Applause] Thank you. >> Thank you. Okay, next up we have uh announcements and reports. We have council David. >> Yeah. Um I just wanted to give a brief
report. The um short-term rental working group um which has been meeting pretty much all this year and you heard the um uh the work session that we had last meeting to discuss uh implementation.
We met again last Thursday um having received a number of emails from constituents asking us to sort of revisit um the decision about uh
having the primary residence requirement and uh while some of the emails were advocating for option four which I'll remind people was to just allow non-resident oper operators. Um the working group only really considered
option three uh which to remind my colleagues the the idea was to uh option two was to allow non-resident operators a 12 or 24month
period to uh transition away from operating their STRs in town. Uh option three was to grandfather in any uh short-term rentals that exist at the at
the time of adoption of the or ordinance. So there are these two two options out there. Um the emails that we received pointed out some benefits of allowing the non uh resident operators
to continue um in a grandfathered fashion. One of them is that these short-term rentals do fill a niche that both traditional hotels but also owner occupied
short-term rentals do not uh fill. And that's basically when a family has a need for a short-term rental. And there are a couple of uh cases that were mentioned in the emails. For instance, if you're remodeling your house and you
need to vacate for a month because they're redoing the kitchen, or if you're um moving to town and you want to check out a couple of different neighborhoods, it allows you to, you know, bring your family, live in a neighborhood, and sort of get the flavor
of it. So, um that was one of the benefits. Uh, another is that the people that we heard from were really small operators. They're family businesses. They actually do live in Princeton, but they've invested in additional
properties to rent as short-term rentals. So, the idea was to um enable them to continue to sort of fulfill their dream, their dream job. And um the third reason has to do with the
occupancy taxes that would be received. And this is the reason that I personally find most compelling. And basically the the numbers seem to show although we don't we haven't gathered really definitive
information, but we think we have about 150 short-term rentals in Princeton total. Um, our guess is that about a hundred of them may be operated by non-resident uh owners. And
um that means that about 1% of our housing stock in Princeton may be uh falling into that category. Um the revenues that staff is estimating could come from those hundred units is between
70 and $100,000 a year in terms of the occupancy uh taxes that they would be subject to. And we think that that's a disproportionate amount of the total occupancy tax revenue because when you're renting a whole house, you're
charging more than if you're renting a couple of rooms. Um, which in the case of people who are renting their primary residence, they're probably not renting the whole thing. Or if they are, it's only for a couple of weeks a year, which again would not generate that much
revenue. So >> David, could you just I'm sorry. Just explain what you just explain. I didn't understand what that was. >> So basically these two categories, owner occupied versus
uh operated by a non-resident uh owner. And in the case of a non-resident, usually it's a it's an entire house that's being rented. Whereas when it's owner occupied either it could be the whole house but only if
they're away on vacation for a few weeks. It's not going to be a whole house that's rented for the whole year if it's the primary residence. Or it could be a couple of rooms or it could be an ADU that would be rented by the uh
owner the of the primary residence. In each of those scenarios where it's owner occupied, it's likely to bring in significantly less annually, you know, on a weekly basis than if it were actually
um operated by somebody who doesn't live there who can rent the whole house essentially year round. So that's that's what I was trying to say. >> So that I understood, but like you were mentioning the occupancy tax. I mean, what are the tax implications? And I I
mean I think you know one of the most important things from my perspective for us to embark on this was to make sure that people who are operating a business in Princeton are paying their fair share of taxes. So I just wanted to sort of understand you
there were seem to be two different tax implications that you >> Yeah. So the tax is 3% of the revenue, right? So, if you're renting your whole house, I'm just going to throw out a number for $5,000 a week, which probably
you can't get all year round, but you could get it reunion time. It depends on the house. You could. So, you're renting it for $5,000 a week. If it's not your primary residence, you can rent that for
50 weeks a year, which would come out to 250,000. Or is is my math right? I think $250,000 and 3% of that would be, you know, 7 $7,500. However, if it's
uh owner occupied and you're only renting it for, say you go to the Cape for the summer, you rent it for four weeks, that's $20,000 and the tax receipts instead of being $7,500
would be 3% of 20,000, which is um >> whatever it is on the spot. Yeah. So that's the that's the order of magnitude difference between the occupancy taxes that I would expect
from >> So you're basically saying the town would get less. So that was what you were >> correct. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Okay. There's no tax charge now. So we can't get any less than the current situation. So it's a hypothetical less
than something >> no matter what we will get more or we will get something because we get nothing now. >> Right. >> So >> which is good. So >> right. So let me just >> Leighton was on this group. I was on this group. Jeff really headed the group. Leighton I just want to get
Leighton and Jeff a chance to make any comments and then we just go around the the table. Leighton did you have anything you wanted to add? I do, mayor, and I want to thank you for the opportunity and my good shalom, brother. We we we started and you and I,
mayor, and him on this journey together, and we spent a lot of time with Jeff Bandandy this about. And David and I fortunately or unfortunately have landed in a different place as we have both
bandied this about and discussed this over over over over a few hours. Uh but yeah, I have something I want to share with where I'm at on our STR situation to you mayor and colleagues. When we
began this conversation, the central question wasn't about dollars, data, or deadlines. It was about direction. Do we want Princeton's housing market to serve investors, or do we want it to
serve people, families, teachers, and workers who want to call this community home? We all recognize the short-term rentals have had an impact. Yes, they've generated some tax revenue,
but they've also churned dollars in ways that have taken housing off the market, altered neighborhood character, and moved us further from our affordability goals. Option two, the 24-month phase out
remains the clearest, most enforcable, and most equitable path to restoring that balance. It gives current operators time to adjust while providing the community with a concrete horizon, a point at which housing units return to
the long-term market and neighborhoods regain their footing. That said, I also recognize that there are in a moment where every dollar matters. That we are in a moment where every
dollar matters. If we can find a hybrid approach, one that draws from option three but still delivers measurable housing returns and does not entrench privilege, then we owe it to the
community to explore it. But let's be careful. Option three, as written, creates a system of permanent grandfathering. It risk turning STRs into private monopolies where existing operators hold
lifetime licenses that no one else and certainly no new family can can access. The question we must ask is this. Why would anyone ever sell a guaranteed grandfathered business that can operate
indefinitely? That's not a pathway to neighborhood restoration. That's a way to freeze inequity in place. So yes, let's remain open, but let's also try to stay true to our principles.
Whatever version we land on must move us toward more housing, more fairness, and more livable neighborhoods, not less. We have an opportunity opportunity to do what Princeton does best to think deeply, act responsibly, and make
decisions that reflect both our fiscal reality and our moral compass. Option two is the way to go. Thank you. >> Thanks, Leon. Jeff, did you have anything you wanted to add?
>> Thanks, Mayor. Um, no. Yeah, I mean I just want to make sure it's known that the group has been really kind of bringing this home uh trying to cross the finish line at this point. Uh these are the kind of the final two primary approaches to implement um or at least
get the ordinance introduced. And the priorities that we're looking at, we're balancing housing availability, tax revenue, and administrative feasibility. Um we've spoken with other municipalities that have uh deployed both techniques. uh the 24-month phase
out option too. Uh we spoke with Jersey City last week who um went through this process, talked about the benefits uh you know and the downsides and their main u motivation behind uh that strategy was trying to bring
neighborhoods back um to you know restoring the neighborhood character while still offering SDR capabilities. And obviously we know Jersey City and you know the number of of um housing availability that's out there for uh lodging and things like that. Um so a
lot of time and efforts been into this. Uh last Friday an email went out to council with both options pros cons. Uh it's just something to look at. I would make sure you send your comments to uh you know Mayor Freda, Councilman New and Councilman Cohen and then we can
consider them within the work group. The ordinance has not been introduced yet. So, this is the time to think this thing through. Uh, but the the group has kind of brought this thing to a point where this is really the final decision for the ordinance. >> Thanks, Jeff.
>> Yeah, and I I would just add that in our discussions going through the different options. I'm still pretty comfortable that option two is probably the best option and maybe there is some tweaking that can be done which is easy enough to do. So, I think for tonight, we're not looking to replicate the discussion we
already had at a previous meeting about this, but if there are some questions, you know, we could keep it brief, but I think the main thing is, as Jeff just asked, please read the email with all the different detail and just fire questions or comments back so we can just move this along in a hopefully
somewhat timely manner. >> So, go ahead. Go ahead, Michelle. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Um, I just want to say I'm, you know, I I do have questions, uh, like, you know, how long, and I asked this before, like how long we're
expecting an owner to occupy a property, and I'd like to see a breakdown of what we think we have today. I am concerned about unintended consequences of oftentimes we go down a road and we haven't looked at something. sometimes
you mean I don't know if the has if the committee considered a twostep step process first putting into place the you know the regulation and the taxing and then looking like maybe 6 months a year down the road to put the owner occupancy
uh criteria in so that we have a better idea of exactly what we're dealing with but maybe that data is there and I can look at that um and you can share that again but those those are my concerns I short-term rentals uh are very high
maintenance. Uh you know, having done short-term rentals myself, you know, Airbnb um is it's very it's very stringent in the requirements. So, it's not always the best thing for speculative investor may consider just making a long-term rental and there's
nothing, you know, regulate, you know, that's going to stop that. So, in terms of speculation and investment properties, um, you're still going to have that. So, anyway, I just kind of look like to look at the data and just see if it's been considered maybe to do
a two-step process. So, but, you know, that's those are my >> Yeah, I think if reads the email again, option two really gives you a two-year period for people to to deal with this looming change. Option three pretty much says that upon the sale or transfer of
the title or the deed to someone else, then it would take place, which means for an undefined period of time, staff would have to try to figure out how to track those grandfathered properties. So, it's it's it's more of a choice between here's a here's a deadline versus who knows how long it's going to
happen. But any other general Yes. >> Yeah. So just procedurally, you know, this is really more of a work session like and these are substantive issues. So I, you know, to have this as a report when there's, you know, um, obviously a lot of questions and comments, it seems
odd, but since we've we're sort of having a faux work session, I'm going to go ahead and chime in. Um, one in terms of, and I really could be persuaded either way on this, um, uh, and I appreciate the work of the committee and, you know, we'll follow sort of your
lead. Um, but in terms of the taxes, I just want to say like, you know, that could cut both ways. The the flip side of um not having um a family there and it just being um which would be my preference, but the flip side of just having it be an Airbnb is that you you
are not paying for school children in the school district, which you know is not so I I don't know if that was factored in in the in the overall amount. Um which is not insignificant. Um, and the other thing I just I want I do want to make sure that as you said,
Leighton, it's about people. Um, and we did, you know, uh, Mayor Freda, uh, uh, forwarded to us an email today that he had received from someone who, um, that I found it very moving, you know, someone who, you know, was, uh,
immigrated um, and started from scratch and built up a business and, you know, was able to buy one house and and then another house and that is their business is, you know, the this, uh, short-term rentals. Um, so, um, you know, I just I
just want to make sure that we're not hurting people. Um, and, um, yeah, so that that's and I I really appreciate all your all your research and Yeah. But I go >> Yeah, Brian. Sorry.
>> Um, so I have a couple of uh thoughts and questions which I will share with the working group and Jeff. Um but just to be clear on process, it is uh is it fair to expect that an ordinance will be introduced in the reasonably this year
or early next year and then at the second uh uh consideration of the ordinance, we would have full discussion and be able to know that the public would be here and able to comment. Well, I I don't think we've discussed this in
a lot of detail, but I would hope that we get more into the practice of here's an ordinance, here's the draft of an ordinance. Let's talk about that draft because the problem is when we do the introduction where there's no discussion at the introduction. And then the second thing is the public hearing. If you have
a significant change, you got to rewrite the ordinance anyway. So, to me, it makes more sense. Here's the draft ordinance. Let's have another work session type meeting. Discuss it. Are there any other questions, comments? We missed something and then hopefully we could finalize the ordinance and then by
the time we get to the public hearing, hopefully most of us would be content with it, but you never know. Someone from the public might come up and say, "Hey, you never thought of blah blah blah and we hadn't." And then we still might need to change it. But I think it's a cleaner process if we have another discussion prior to the
introduction of the ordinance. >> I think that would be great. >> Thank you. Other questions, Laticia? Since everyone was weighing in, I feel like I must as well. No, I just uh I did read through everything including the email. Thank
you for forwarding that and which I know like you said it was a compelling story. However, uh you know, as one of the purposes for me from uh in considering uh this uh ordinance
uh for regulating Airbnbs, one of the main for me that that is most compelling is these uh homes that are being taken off the market for families
here in Princeton. I understand uh yes uh for some it's uh investment opportunity for them and but it's there's a big difference between having uh a home that when you're not using it
you you can profit from it or if you have an ADU or apartment or a room that you want to use that is for many I imagine that are having a difficult time being a able to stay in Princeton that this is an option to consider. However,
I I do am concerned about if we were not to uh to regulate it in a way that would encourage that would allow for uh including for option two where it would
require uh the uh be of uh set residence of what do we call it first primary residence. So that's why for me that's something that is I I'm more uh unless I'm convinced otherwise that I'm I'm
leaning towards that option. >> Yeah, sure. I >> just want to say David that um to your point about people who are looking to remodel or do home home repairs um and might have this as a temporary solution. I I did actually look into that when I had a flood in my house and there was
nothing that was even remotely affordable. It would have blown my uh repair budget. So, there's that. >> Okay. Um, other announcements or reports? I would just like to say there's two
changes to the agenda tonight. Uh, both involving two different resolutions. Resolution 25359 um is something that we actually already did, so we're not going to do it again, but we didn't pull it off because it would have messed up the whole numbering
system. But uh 25359 is removed from the agenda. And then under the consent agenda, resolution 25366 is actually part of resolution 25361.
So that's just to say 25 359 and 25366 do should not be on the agenda. So just so you know when we get there and I skip over them, it's not because I uh don't like those two. Michelle, did you have something else? I'm sorry.
>> Okay. All right. We're done with council reports or announcements. >> All right. >> I'm sorry. >> Okay. What I said was, "Are we done with with council announcements and reports?" Okay. Um Evan, I hear that you have
something under staff reports. >> Yeah. whatever you need. >> Yes. Uh thank you, Mayor and Council. I'm just here uh at the request of Councilwoman uh Peron Lamros to give a brief, very brief, uh summary of the recreation department's uh summer financial assistance program. Uh, I've
heard here already tonight a couple folks say this about the people in different contexts. And there's nothing more about the people than, excuse me, than what we uh do in the recreation department in the summertime in terms of making sure that families in need in this community have access to uh
affordable recreation opportunities, to much needed critical uh child care uh opportunities and other enrichment programs. And so uh and we recognize that uh that while our programs are affordable to many, they are are are not necessarily there
are some who still are in need and need assistance in order to uh participate in those programs. So through a network of community partnerships, financial assistance uh for the summer that just ended was provided for 160 Princeton youth, 50 Princeton families, uh 30
adults and seniors, and the total uh amount of subsidy provided by Princeton Recreation uh department in partnership with those other local agencies was over $133,000 for this past summer. And so I'd like to just publicly recognize and thank uh
each and every one of those agencies. And I'm going to uh read them off. uh the Cocoa Fund, uh Parker Bear Fund, the Joe Fund, Princeton Children's Fund, Princeton Community Housing, Housing Initiatives of Princeton, Griggs Farm
Association, the Municipalities Academic Success Today program, and Send Hunger Packing Princeton, who covered the cost of day camp lunches for all of our financial aid uh participants in day camp, as well as providing snacks for
travel camp and and day camp. Without the continued support and assistance of those programs, the recreation department would not be in a position to continue to subsidize our programs to the extent uh that we have. And so, it's a true team effort across the entire
community and we are extremely grateful for all of their support. And just one other note in closing, um, everyone that requested financial assistance from our department or from other agencies for our programs received financial assistance. So, thank you very much.
>> Great job, man. >> Great report. >> Thank you. >> Michelle, did you have >> just to add a thanks also to Evan Moorehead and your great team uh for leading this and putting all that together. Uh, it's really um a wonderful program. So, thank you. >> Thank you. And I just want to plug the
uh ribbon cutting also tomorrow afternoon four o'clock for the brand new playground at SU Park. Anybody who's able to come. Thank you. >> See you there. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, Evan. >> Do we have any other staff reports at
this time? >> No. How about the uh police monthly report? Lieutenant. >> Thanks, Mayor. First, on behalf of the police department, I would just like to thank you for your kind words about the department earlier. Tonight, I'm here to
rep uh to present the uh September's chief's monthly report. I'd like to highlight a few items on this report. Uh there was a typo uh regarding parking summones, meter parking summones. It was noted that 194 meter summones were
issued uh in the month of September. Uh that typo was pointed out to us and it is actually 1,194 violations. Uh another issue, another thing I'd like to note. In September, the police administration met with Princeton public school superintendent Michael Asusa to
discuss improvements to school safety protocols. Over the past several weeks, our officers, including myself, observed school evacuation drills at Princeton High School and a few other elementary schools and towns to not only observe, but also to give safety recommendations. And the last thing I'd like to note, the
command staff met at the end of September to plan out operations and staffing for the many special events that we have going on in Princeton from now till the end of the year. The police department remains committed to maintaining a safe environment, allowing everyone to enjoy these events. Mayor, mayor and council, do you have any
questions regarding this report or any other police matters? >> Any questions up here? >> And just >> Well done. Thank you. >> Yeah. Just everybody remember that >> whenever the police report comes out, we don't need to wait till this meeting to actually ask questions. Feel free to just shoot an email in because a lot of
the questions tend to be of more of a minor nature. I mean, anything of any significance feel free to hold for here, but it's always good to let a lot of the stuff can be resolved way before the meeting. Anyway, >> thank you, Mayor Council. >> Yeah, sorry. And Brian, thanks for catching the uh parking uh violation
number mistake. All right, Lieutenant. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Have a good night. >> You too. All right. Next up, Ryan Leming Edens. >> Grab a Yeah. There we go. Check. Check. Great. All
right. Good evening. Thanks for having me. Well, I'm excited to be here to give a very short presentation on the shopping center now that all redevelopment activity has been completed, construction's been completed, and we've sort of lived through a full calendar year of
operations at the shopping center. Um, just a reminder to the team here. Um, I'll pull up our current plan. Um, I had to go back and remind myself we began conversations and activities to Yeah, >> Ryan, our mics only pick up your voice
if you're talking right into it >> like this. >> Exactly. >> There we go. >> So, and for people watching in the recording, they they won't be able to hear anything you say. It's so that if you want to say something privately and you say it over here, nobody will hear. >> Perfect. How's that? All right. So, just
a reminder to the group. I had to go back myself and uh check the timeline here, but we started this process back in 2021 um with the redevelopment area and our plan approval. We had some building permits come in 2022 to start the first phase of the Walgreens
construction that was completed in 2023, which paved the way for our partners, Avalon. We then finished our redevelopment and renovation of the rest of the shopping center about a year ago in late 2024. And Avalon opened earlier this year in 2025. So, can't believe it,
but about a 5-year process, start to finish. These are just some images just of of what we did here. And when we started this process, the shopping center um you know had sort of we had all gone through COVID and there were a lot of holes to fill at the shopping center. It was a
low point about 20% vacancy, which is about 50,000 square feet. But as of right now, I'm pleased to announce that all those spaces have been filled. some photos of Avalon, some photos of our facade work, signage, landscaping.
So, as I mentioned, a lot of new retailers, 18 new retailers to be exact. Folks like Kids United, Lacrosse Unlimited, Innovative Physical Therapy, Princeton Family Adventure Center, Formed by Two, Pilates, Wonderfa, an
Asian restaurant, which I actually had dinner in this evening. OHM Fitness, Dirty Burgers, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Back Nine Golf, Capriyottis, Pastamo, just recently opened Hudson Table in the former Main Streets. Uh, definitely
check it out. Cooking classes, chef demonstrations, lots of cool stuff going on, a lot of community interaction there, Forever Young Med Spa, Alpha Fit Club. And the final piece to the shopping center, we did bring in a gym to fill
the New York Sports Club. So, we're excited to announce Fitness Factory will be joining the Princeton Shopping Center. It'll be their 20th location in the state of New Jersey. They'll be submitting for permit soon and hope to open mid to late next year. So, that anchor space that we lost, big space
that we lost uh during CO has now been filled. our playground which has been beloved, the clock tower cabana. One of the things we heard in our initial surveys was the loss of the cabana, the loss of the outside interaction via main
streets. This was the first calendar year where we made the decision after completely rehabbing the clock tower to move our concert series with the library to Friday night and to bring in Triumph Brewing to activate the clock tower alongside the concerts. Huge success
this year. So look for that in the future. Seven new murals, eight if you include the one Avalon did, and not those do not include the planters and the fountain that we did. So, a lot of new public art. Thanks to the Princeton Arts Council for your partnership there.
>> And as I briefly hit on events. So, this year we hosted over 20 events, unique events, half of which were reoccurring theme like the concert series, like the movie nights, which we brought back this year. So
happy to address any comments or questions, but >> Okay. Good. Please. Go ahead. >> Thank you. Thanks for coming. Uh Ryan, um a couple weeks ago, Ryan spoke to a group at the regional uh chamber of
commerce about experiential retail. And I think you really are an expert in that given the fact that uh so much of the retail is family oriented, experiential and um you know we spoke a lot about the
fact that the shopping centers really familyoriented, community oriented place and you responded by getting those kind of tenants attracting things for the kids to do, the teenagers to do, places to work out, places to hang out. So, um,
we really appreciate that. Um, and I just wanted to see if you had any comments in terms of your ability to attract these tenants. Um, how did that play with the residential development that you know was surrounding what that is surrounding the shopping center?
>> Sure. Um, it was absolutely integral, right? Um, it was something that, you know, we as Edens look to do wherever we can, wherever there's community support and town support in adding housing, right? It drives foot traffic. It's a
built-in consumer. Um, so we were thrilled when we started these conversations and brainstorming that there was an kind of an openness and a need for more housing in Princeton. So, the residential absolutely helped. I think that really led the way in the partnership between the town and Edens,
but then also the renovations and improvements we did to the existing infrastructure of the 70year-old shopping center alongside that to really complete the picture. I think the total package there, you know, we showed folks lots of renderings, right? But I think
once people saw it was a construction site and buildings were coming out of the ground and facades were being torn down and rebuilt, everyone said, "Okay, this is really happening. We want to be a part of this >> waiting and then
>> yeah, I just want to thank you. I'm born and raised here. I haven't been here my whole life, but you know, I get around town and I have sat on the swing chairs >> Yeah. outside of Starbucks and and I've tried to sit sit on all the swing chairs throughout
the shopping center. I had 11:30 meeting at FO the day constantly at uh the uh what's the ice cream place? Not the ice cream, but uh down in the corner there. Uh
>> Rita Rita the the >> the shopping center is exploding. with goodness right now. It It is so much fun, so comfortable, so much a warm feeling just to walk around there to see
the new amenities, the the grass, the chairs. It you you you see kids playing. You guys have really responded to building community in a magnificent way. I just want to say thank you and I just wanted to encourage you to continue to
do that to continue to build community and to try to the best that you can to keep the rents there reasonable so that you can keep a good retail mix that's not Palmer Square influenced. Thank you. >> Sure. Thank you
>> Mia and then Laticia. Um, so I want to say we appreciate it has been a lengthy ri uh relationship with Edens. We've learned to be candid with one another. We've had some ups and downs and I'm glad that we're now in in an up period. Um, and we do Ryan in
particular, you came in mid midway to take over um all of the work at Edens and it has been a pleasure to work with you. You've been remarkably responsive. Um and as the face of Eden's you have made um the relationship a success from
our perspective and we really appreciate that. Um I also wanted to say that you know uh there was a comment from someone recently um about how they thought there was too much residential at the shopping center. Um, and uh, I think it's really
important for Princeton residents to understand that the um, reason why we were able to save the shopping center, which has been integral to what was the former township um, was because of the former density and the interaction
between the the residents who then provide foot traffic and are and we're able to maintain commercial there. And had we not been able to surround the shopping center with residential density, um we would not have been able to even maintain from an economic
viability perspective the commercial core, which I'm so glad that we did and I hope that we can expand um on that commercial core as we've discussed. Um, and I also, you know, I think a lot of us sitting up here remember um how
vibrant the shopping center was when we were growing up um which was just a few years ago. And um I have felt recently for the first time in many many years that feeling of just excitement and connectedness that I did when I was
little being at the shopping center. And in particular, I just what is notable is the diversity of the people who are the kids who are playing in the center lawn.
Um it is a remarkably diverse um socioeconomically, racially mix of people that one now sees at the shopping center, which is refreshing for Princeton. It's not the case everywhere in Princeton. It is very much so now at
the shopping center. um which I think speaks to what we've tried to accomplish with the inclusionary housing around the shopping center. Um and I also um
just wanted to to note that you know the that the redevelopment that we've done that we did there enabled the planning connectivity between all of the residential development and the uh commercial core which is one of the benefits of redevelopment that it allows
you that planning and financial flexibility. So, I think we have not yet achieved David's goal of unearthing the stream that goes through the middle of the shopping center, but um maybe that will be on our to-do list. Thank you. >> We call it daylighting.
>> Yeah, daylighting. >> Daylighting. I'm sorry, not unearthing, daylighting. >> Leticia. >> Yes. Thank you. So, I've been in Princeton for more than 25 years now, and I've witnessed uh how the shopping center has evolved over time, and I'm so
excited about what's there now. I wish my kids were little again so they could experience everything that it has to offer. Uh I spend I still spend a lot of time there and especially uh recently I'm I'm working with the arts council on
their upcoming uh the deos muertos day of the dead event which was hosted for the first time last year by by the shopping center. I believe last year there were estimated 400 people that attended and we're expecting even more.
Uh, and so this is a way of me announcing I saved it from the announcements. Uh, next Saturday, November 1st, from 1 to 3:00 p.m. at the shopping center. Uh, it's a cultural community building event. Uh, there's going to be crafts, lots of crafts for
the family, food, music, and Triumph is hosting a beer garden there, too. So, it's something for everyone. Uh, really excited. We're going, we're putting together a community altar. uh so everyone can experience uh at least my
culture and many others in our community and m Mia mentioned diversity and is it truly is so I hope uh the community will come out expecting really good weather compared to what's in the forecast I
think Saturday will be clear so f so yeah hope to see everyone there thank you >> thank you David. >> So, with all the wonderful things that people are saying, um, with which I agree, it feels a little petty to bring
this up, but I do want to ask if you can have somebody take a look at the placement of the planters relative to the bike parking racks because some of them are very close. You can't fit a bicycle on both sides of the rack and
it's a shame. You have beautiful bike racks, lots of place for planters. They don't have to conflict with each other. So, just uh >> have them check that out. >> No problem. >> Thanks for making the time to share the update with us. We appreciate it. As
somebody that's lived in town my entire life, it is nice to see that shopping center is the active place I remember it was. >> Thank you. Thank you for your partnership. >> Yep. Thank you. All right. Next up, ordinance introductions. We have two tonight.
First up is ordinance 2517, an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton regulating parking and amending chapter 19 of the code of the bureau of Princeton, New Jersey, 1974. The public hearing will be November 10th, 2025.
Is there a motion on that? Thank you, Laticia. David's got the second. And that's a roll call vote, please. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Miss Frogga,
>> yes. >> Mr. Nulan, >> yes. Next up is ordinance 2518, an ordinance by the municipality of Princeton revising the definition of minor site plan, modifying certain provisions pertaining to administrative approvals and zoning permits, updating the
checklist for minor site plan applications, and amending the code of the Burough of Princeton, New Jersey, 1974, and the code of the township of Princeton, New Jersey, 1968. The public hearing will be November 24th, 2025. David has the motion. Mia has the second
roll call vote. >> Mr. McDonald, >> yes. >> Miss Peron Lamrose, >> yes. >> Mr. Cohen, >> yes. >> Miss Saxs, >> yes. >> Miss Bragga, >> yes. >> Mr. Nulan, >> yes. >> Next up are the resolutions. Resolution
25351. Resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton approving police promotions for 2025. Thank you, Brian. Is that Michelle has the second? Any questions or comments? All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I.
>> I. >> 25352, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing execution of the second amendment to the Brick House Road Pump Station Maintenance Agreement between Washington Oaks Homeowners Association, Inc. and Municipality of Princeton. Thank you,
Brian. David's got the second. Questions or comments? >> I see none. All in favor, please say I. >> I. I. Resolution 25353, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton approving an adopt to park agreement with Markwan Park Foundation pursuant to
New Jerseys adopt the park law NJSA412-20. Is there a motion there? Thank you, Mia. Brian's got the second. Is there any question? Are there any questions, Brian? >> Uh, not really a question, but a comment. I just wanted to recognize the
thoroughess of the adopt a park agreement. It's really a model in terms of how comprehensive it is. And um I wanted to offer my thanks to the Machuan Park Foundation which has been such a a a sensational steward of this wonderful
park for close to two decades. >> Good. >> Okay. Thanks. >> I want to say something. >> Okay. Any Let me I'll get to that. Any other questions or comments up here? >> Yeah. Building on Brian's comment, I I want to say that, you know, it's was one
priority for um Deanna and uh our, you know, the um public works, engineering, infrastructure, and operations group to this year to streamline our relationships with our various open
space partners who provide voluntary services in in uh keeping our parks and the adopt a park agreement. We're hoping to have adopt a park agreements with all of our partners um because it's the most
flexible but yet specific um way to um sort of codify for lack of a better word those relationships um but also provide some some um parody in terms of how we're we're those various
partnerships. So, I think people should look forward. We will we'll be introducing some other adopt a park agreements with other partners in the near future. >> Thank you. >> Uh Leon, you're up. >> Thanks, Mark. Brian and Mia already covered what I was going to say. Thank
you. >> Any other comments? >> All right. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. Uh, resolution 25354, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing an increase of $54,250
to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with Arcadus US Inc. for Hamilton Avenue sanitary sewer replacement engineering design and bid phase services for a new not to exceed amount of $463,920. Is there a motion on that? Thank you,
Mia. Is there a second? Thank you, Leighton. questions or comments? Diana, this is all additional services on top of what was originally are previously uh >> correct additional services.
>> Thank you. >> All right, no other questions. All in favor, please say I. >> I. Resolution 25355, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing an increase of $36,900 to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with
WSPUSA, Inc. for engineering services in connection with the design and permitting of rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the intersections of Route 206 and Mansro Road and US 206 and Herrentown Road for a new not to exceed
amount of $100,200 and extending the contract for the length of time necessary for completion of the actual construction. Thank you, David. Michelle's got the second. Questions or comments? Wow, that was quick. Mia and then David.
>> So, we've heard a lot from both of these neighborhoods about, you know, interest in having us move forward with this rapidly. It's both of those intersections are dangerous and especially with the um RPM, affordable housing project going up
uh further up. There is really the need for that one. But my question is the last line extending the contract for the length of time necessary for the completion of the actual construction there. We have waited so long and I know we're dependent on the state but because
we get so much outreach from residents about both of these and they're so excited. Can you let us know like can we give a an estimate of how much time is left? I I cannot even guesstimate what the
DO's time frame is for the application process. Um but we you WSPUSA feels that they can complete their additional work in a timely fashion I think in the next two to four weeks so
that we can reubmit the plans uh to the state for authorization. Okay, Charlie Yedlin, I hope you're out there and you heard this, >> David. >> Yeah, and I just want to um
emphasize that rectangular rapid flashing beacons are not a panacea. Um just because it's flashing doesn't mean the cars are going to stop. So, I really caution the people who will be using these to use good sense and make
sure the cars are stopping before you um try to cross the street. So, it's really important that we're doing this. It's great, but it's not the entire solution. >> Okay. Any other comments or questions?
All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Uh, okay. Resolution 25356, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing an increase of $62,000 to the not to exceed amount for the professional services agreement with Greenbomb Rose Smith and Davis LLP for
legal services related to affordable housing planning and redevelopment for a new not to exceed amount of $262,000. Thank you, Leticia. Michelle's got the second. Questions or comments? >> All right, seeing none, all in favor, please say I.
>> I. Resolution 25357, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton appointing alternate municipal prosecutors for calendar year 2025. Thank you, Leticia. Is there a second? Thank you, me. We just need to have a
backup for the regular prosecutor and we needed to appoint somebody new. >> Yeah. And these are these are people who are in the same office as our regular prosecutor. They've already been providing the backup services, but you need to formally designate them as such for court purposes.
>> Thank you. Any questions or comments up here? >> All right. All in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. >> Resolution 25358, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing change order number one to the contract with ANA Painting Corp. for painting at 400 Witherspoon Street
utilizing Bergen County Cooperative Purchasing System bid contract number 25-40 for an increase of $8,550 resulting in a new not to exceed contract total of $177,947.72. Thank you, Brian. Michelle's got the second. Uh yeah, they left out some of
the Carters and we had to put those into the contract so the whole building got painted, not just most of it. Any other questions or comments? All right. All in favor, please say I. I. >> I. >> Uh, as I noted earlier, 25359 should not be there. So, we're going to pass over
that. Resolution 25360, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton author amending the contract with VoIP networks for telephone services utilizing Sourcewell National Cooperative Purchasing Contract number 12122-
MBS from $42,266.58 to $53,26658 due to a pricing error. They left out taxes and fees. Thank you, Leighton. And Brian's got the second. Questions or comments? All in favor, please say, "I." >> I. >> I.
>> Resolution 361, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing and amending Princeton affordable housing program home rehabilitation loans 2025-3 and 2025-4 not to exceed $19,990. Latia has got the motion. Leighton's got
the second. Questions or comments? >> All right. All in favor, please say I. >> I. I. Resolution 25362, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton authorizing an amended license agreement with Ryder University. >> Thank you, Brian. Mia has got the
second. Questions or comments? Okay, seeing none, all in favor, please say I. >> I. >> I. Resolution 25363, resolution of the mayor and council of Princeton, affirming Princeton's race and social justice work and directing municipal departments to use available tools to
assist in the elimination of racial and social disparities across key indicators of success, including health, criminal justice, the environment, employment, and the economy, and to promote equity within Princeton in the delivery of municipal services.
Leighton's got the motion. Leticia has got the second questions and comments later. >> Have a comment. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Yes. No. Uh, as some of you are aware, uh, Brian, I know you missed out on the presentation by the the Civil Rights
Commission on the Equity Toolkit, but I'd be happy to fill you in any questions you may have. But uh I I mainly uh wanted to state that, you know, and this was presented to uh the governing body years ago by the uh civil
rights commission and uh spearheaded by Tommy Parker and uh with uh working with a subcommittee to move forward this resolution and to create uh the equity toolkit that would then be used uh by
our departments uh BCC's and hopefully extend to our community partners though we cannot uh direct uh mandate or direct uh outside uh our community partners to
implement it. I would certainly want to encourage them to do so. Uh, and I've been saying that in practice we do you do use an equity lens when considering policies and initiatives. But tonight's
resolution will formalize that uh that practice by directing all of our departments and by extension our BCC's uh to actually uh not just implement but follow the guidelines for the toolkit
when uh considering policies, initiatives or pretty much everything we do uh on a day-to-day basis. Um, so I know Leighton, you wanted to add to that as well. >> Thank Thank you, Leticia, and thank you for being a great colleague. Thank you,
mayor. Thank each and every one of my colleagues, the municipal staff, people in the audience, everybody in Princeton for this this remarkable moment. Um, you know, I I'm I I was born and raised and I just want to say I'm so proud
proud to be in this great American city. And I just want to read something that I I wrote today. Before we take this vote tonight, I want to pause and speak speak from the heart. This resolution, the equity toolkit, is
more than policy or procedure. It is a statement about who we are and who we aspire to be as a community. A place where equity and inclusion are not just words on paper, but a way of life.
Many people have worked long and hard to bring us to this point. The CARES Committee, our staff, and our community members who gave their time and their voices. I thank and commend them all. But tonight,
I need to shine a light on someone very special, my dear friend Tommy Parker. Tommy served as chair of the Civil Rights Commission. And it was through his determination, his leadership, and his sense of justice, that this effort
was first set in motion. Tommy gave so much of himself, not for recognition, not for titles, but because he believed in people. He believed in fairness. He believed that Princeton could be better. He worked tirelessly,
always with dignity, kindness, and that signature smile that could light up a room. Life has since dealt Tommy some painful blows. He suffered two devastating strokes,
and though he can no longer speak or share that booming laugh of his, his spirit is still here with us in this room, in this work. In this moment, to Tommy's family and his many, many
friends who continue to stand by him with love and care, know that Princeton remembers. We see him, we honor him, and we lift him up tonight with gratitude and love. Tommy Parker,
this one's for you, my brother. your work, your wisdom, your gift of giving live on in this community you helped build. Thank you, mayor.
Thank you. Other questions or comments? I'm sorry. >> I just want to thank my colleagues Leighton and Leticia for bringing this to fruition and your work on this and
also echo the work what what you said about the work of the CRC and of Tommy and everybody who who brought this to this point. So hopefully now we'll >> and and I just might add pray for Tommy because he's back in the hospital again.
>> This time his his heart is giving him some problems. So lift him up in prayer. Thanks questions if you want to speak. >> Sure. Come on up. >> Just to repeat the the routine, just
announce your name. Did you live in Princeton or not? And a timer is likely to go up given your three minutes. So just But thank you. >> Yeah, I don't know if that closer. Maybe >> we check make sure that's on. >> Thanks, Jim.
Thank you. Can you hear me now? >> Yeah. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Linda Oppenheim. I live on South Harrison Street and I've come tonight to to speak very briefly in support of R25
363 having seen from the beginning when not in our town Princeton in June 8th 2020 when the previous council was considering a resolution to
declare racism a public health crisis that we brought to the attention of the then mayor and council the idea of such a toolkit which was used in various places in the country as
councilwoman Leticia Fraga alerted us to. She reminded us that in Seattle, it was already in place. And indeed, under the leadership of Tommy Parker, the toolkit was created and accepted enthusiastically
by the then council and was used spottily. Sustainable Princeton was one. So, I am gratified to see that there is acceptance of using it throughout the
municipality. And my one question then is who's under who is going to oversee the implementation and hear about the results? Thank you. >> Thank you, Linda.
>> Is there anyone else here to speak on that if they wanted to? Good evening, Maria from Grobert Avenue. Um, I wanted to add my um appreciation to this initiative. Um, and um, I'm
terribly excited to um, uh, to see you take the steps. And I add my voice also to the request for a little more um, bite uh, to uh, uh, to this to
follow. Um, in other words, uh, could we, um, ask you to please, uh, request that, uh, municipal staff, uh, develop an actual implementation plan, uh, for this, um, for this
resolution? How are we going to achieve this very lofty goals? Um, and more spec specificity. uh in other words um uh give us a sense for how how this part that this toolkit
is going to be used um and what other tools may we consider and specifically I would ask uh to also um uh suggest that as we consider as you consider plans for
the uh development of the Westminster choir acquisition which is a major major investment that this community is making that and you know we've put down $50 million so far and that's just the
beginning, right? Uh that we pretty much that we definitely take this into account take into account uh these goals as we develop uh plans moving forward. Thank you very much. >> Thank you.
Hi, Wilma Solomon. Uh 41TR place right next to our amazing Princeton Shopping Center. Can walk there. Uh okay. So, I also um thank you all for this resolution. Um as you know, I've spoken
about it early on. Uh my concern that I hadn't seen it move along. Um but I um I'm just very grateful uh to uh to people uh the liaison to the cares committee and the cares committee
itself. Um I know it's going to be it it is an undertaking. Okay. And I re I encourage staff and whoever else is responsible for this uh being implemented that in
the original report there was a listing of organizations and resources that are available to support the implementation of the the racial equity impact toolkit and other ways of making sure that our
programs and policies are are equitable. and I encourage them to take a look at that. Um, I wasn't involved with it at all and I really honor all the people who were. So, that's available. Um, the other thing I want to say which is
kind of related, it's not really related to this resolution. I'm going to sneak it in. Um, I think we're all aware that due to the efforts uh to the to Congress's reconciliation bill that a lot of people in our community probably
are going to be facing additional food insecurity due to the effect on our SNAP program. And I really just would like to acknowledge and I know by doing this I'm going to be forgetting uh people and organizations but um our own human
services uh program our mobile food pantry share our meals uh kindness project arm and arm a cornerstone kitchen at United Methodist Church Jewish family and children service mobile food pantry the
send hunger packing program our community gardens schools and congregations, um, small little food pantries, Princeton Mutual Aid, our congregations, our schools, probably Maccaffries and other organizations and really want to
thank them for how they've stood up all these years. And I encourage all of us in our community who are able to support these organizations uh and and others and our you know however we can to make sure that all of
our um residents who are in need um are served. >> Thank you woman. >> Okay, seeing nobody. >> Can I just respond to a question that was asked uh about who's going to oversee? So following uh the
presentation to council where it was wellreceived as you recall uh we did uh the administrator when he he had just come on board uh Bernie that it was then uh presented to all department heads uh
the Tommy Parker, myself and and Bernie met uh via Zoom at the time with all the department heads to uh go over the toolkit and how it was to be implemented And it was uh it just we never did
actually because we never did actually adopt a resolution basically uh uh what is the word I'm thinking about to uh put it into practice directing the
department heads and uh and our all our municipal departments and also like I mentioned the BCC's how it was to be implemented. It just never hasn't gotten as far as formalizing it, which is what we're doing tonight.
>> Yep. Thank you. Yeah. Go ahead. Wilma, I just I just wanted to say to your point about what we're potentially hope probably facing in terms of the the cuts from the from the federal level
that you know this is something that we are talking about a lot. um the uh tsunami that's coming our way. And um we we talk a lot about, you know, how we can
uh safeguard and bolster our human infrastructure here in in terms to to um protect our residents against what is coming. And there are no easy answers, but I I do hope we can um you know, we we do share the town with other
institutions like the university. Um, and so I hope that we can partner in um, helping um, confront what's coming our way. So, >> okay. U,, let me just talk to Adam in
the back room. Hey, Adam, I think we have somebody with their hand up, I think, wants to comment on this also. Could we bring them in? Hi, can you hear us? >> Yeah. Can you Hello. Can you hear me? >> Yeah. Yeah. If you just introduce yourself and then uh >> Yeah. My name is Arava Trojani. Um I'm a
resident of Princeton and I'm also a student at the Princeton High School. Um and I wanted to first of all thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak. Um, and what I wanted to speak about is not concerning the resolution we were previously talking about, but rather the possibility of a sidewalk extension on
Great Road. >> Okay. So, let me let me get back to you. We we have a part of the agenda where you can talk about things that aren't on the agenda. So, if you could just hang on and we still have to vote on this and do one or two other things and then we'll get to that part of the meeting. >> Yeah, of course. No worries.
>> Okay. Thanks. All right. Anything else on this? All right. All in favor, please say I. I >> I >> Okay, the consent agenda, as I mentioned before, the third item 25366 comes off. And if everybody's content with the rest of the items staying there, Leticia
moves them in block. >> Is there a second? Thank you, Brian. All in favor of those say I. >> I. >> Okay. Uh, can we bring Ara back for public comments for items not on the agenda? >> Hi. Thank you. Uh, thank you so much for
giving me this opportunity. I'm sorry about the um the little bit of trouble there. Um but I wanted to talk about the possibility of a sidewalk extension on Great Road. Um I as a student at Princeton High School, a huge part of our school community is the connection we foster with each other, especially
through the opportunities our town presents to us, including through connecting with people, places, and especially our environment. And I believe that connectivity is a core part of who we are in Princeton. But the issue with where I live um Ridgeview Road and that surrounding community is that we can't reach the main part of our
town and Princeton downtown because of the great road and the dangers it presents to pedestrians. However, there is a very easy fix to this. If the sidewalk on Great Road was extended to reach Rididge Road and its surrounding area, not only would the people who live near the area benefit, but the town as a
whole. Um, around my, as you may know, as you may know, around my neighborhood sits the Emerald Necklace, which is a ring of old growth forests and trails that surround the town and may someday connect Princeton to Hopewell, all through hiking trails. And as we know, Princeton is an active town. There's always people biking and walking and
jogging. And we're also a town that is very connected to our environment and a town that likes to utilize natural spaces given to us, like the Emerald Necklace. With the sidewalk extension on Great Road, people from all around town would be connected to the necklace, therefore impacting a lot more people than just those living on Ridgu Road.
Many young people such as myself will also benefit from being exposed to natural things our town has to offer, as well as a way to get involved with the environment through the work of the Ridgu Conservancy, um, which is a group of youth that works on preserving the emerald necklace. When the sidewalk was first being built many many years ago,
it was initially planned that it would be extend past VI road, but that was never implemented. And as we look at it now, the voice of many and the benefits of all should be taken into account. And I believe we had the funds for it then, and I'm sure we can find the funds for it now. Um, especially with the growing
support we have. So, I just wanted to uh bring this and voice this out to the council to uh prioritize this and hopefully benefit our environment and the people of this town. Thank you very much. We appreciate you tuning in.
Are there anybody else? Oh, sure. Come on. Come on up. Introduce yourself. >> Hello. Good evening. Um, Mayor Freda, Council, thank you for having me. My name is Dom Canonica. I work and live in Princeton. Uh, I'm a partner and operator of Princeton Property
Management Services. Um, I would like to preface that I do understand that I appear biased uh regarding my opinion of the short-term rental regulation. With that being said, our firm does provide long-term housing, commercial management, real estate sales. So, I feel I do have a holistic understanding of Princeton's housing needs, and the
full range of rental options before us. The resolution states its purpose as to ensure public safety, preserve neighborhood character, address any concerns of neighbors. Comparisons were made to ordinances in surrounding towns to support a restriction on vacation rentals. Uh, however, Princeton's
unique. The comparisons made to these surrounding towns are not apples to apples. Visitors come to Princeton for research, the university, cultural events, family milestones, reasons and motivations that differ greatly from neighboring communities. One council member expressed concern that short-term rentals compete with community. I would
argue the opposite. Responsible short-term rental hosts invest in the community. Short-term rentals don't have room service, don't have upgrades to sell. Instead, hosts promote local restaurants, shops, and experiences, putting spending directly into Princeton's small businesses. In fact,
national data shows Airbnb guests spend on average $775 per trip beyond their lodging costs. That's meaningful economic activity staying right here in town, driven and created by the local hosts. Hosts are also graded publicly after nearly every stay. Long-term
rentals are expected every few years. Short-term rentals are evaluated an average of every 3 days. That accountability creates strong incentives for good behavior, safety, cleanliness, and hospitality. Career hosts benefit from these focuses by obtaining designations like superhost status. Those designations, catered properties,
and experiences cannot be replicated by a host who occasionally lists a property. Uh, one thing I want to mention as well is during the holidays, we host a family traveling from Europe so they could share Christmas dinner with their child. Uh, we hosted a bride and groom Princeton alumni who returned
to celebrate where they first met. And we welcome them with chocolates from Thomas Chocolates and a cheese board from Olsen's. These are stories of connection, not disruption. What we advocate for is simple and fair. Hold short-term rentals to the same municipal safety inspection standards as long-term rentals. Apply the same lodging tax
structure used for bed and breakfast and hotels. Uh, and enforce nuisent roles consistency. No person works to to prevent disruptive guests. No one more than the host of the property. I will say I know my I'm running super short on time. Um I I agree with Councilman
Nuland's um uh concern regarding grandfather some grandfathering somebody in perpetuity. I I'm inclined to agree. I don't think that is uh I'm not inclined to agree with that either. Uh but I would love to discuss that more when when time would permit if uh anybody would care to discuss more. I do have a lot more uh information and data
points that I could suggest as well that hopefully could aid in making uh a decision. Um again I appreciate your time. I want to conclude by saying uh we our clients and local hosts are proud to contribute to Princeton's cultural fabric. Uh short-term rentals are not in competition with community. Done response done responsibly, we strengthen
it. Uh thank you for all your time. Appreciate >> Thank you. Thank you. Uh is there anybody else in the room that has uh an item to talk about that wasn't on the agenda? >> All right. Is there uh anybody online that had a comment for an item not on
the agenda? All right. Could I >> I just wanted to um respond briefly to Ara's um >> okay >> comment because uh I met her uh when I had a meeting with the Reach View
neighborhood to talk about pedestrian uh facilities on their street and uh I just wanted to add that um parking is in somewhat short supply for the emerald necklace the for the open space that
we've preserved. served. So the idea of providing uh a safe route for people in town to get out to the emerald neck necklace by bicycle or by foot uh and obiate that parking need is another little benefit that u I think we should
consider as we discuss putting this on our goals in the future. >> Sounds like a great item for uh our discussion on future capital projects. Brian, I see is making a note to ask you, David, what the cost is.
>> Okay. Do you have a Do you have a motion? >> Yes. Um, if everybody's ready, I move to ajourn. >> Is there a second? >> Second it. >> Somebody seconded that, right? I did. Yes. Thank you. Okay. >> All in favor say I. I. I. >> We are done. Thank you all for being
here tonight. Have a great evening.