A group of objectors who launched a court case to try to prevent a proposed redevelopment in Princeton have been dealt a setback by Mercer County Judge Robert Lougy. The objectors named the Mayor and Council of Princeton as targets for their litigation, but, in a ruling issued last month, Judge Lougy agreed that the Mayor and Council have no case to answer.
The litigation was filed by the “Princeton Coalition for Responsible Development” (PCRD). Former Councilwoman Jo Butler is known as one of the leaders of the group. It aims to overturn the Princeton Planning Board’s approval of the new Princeton Master Plan, and to block a proposed redevelopment of former Princeton Seminary land as mixed-income housing. Many of the PCRD members live nearby, and also objected to a previous effort by the Princeton Seminary to redevelop the land as housing for their students. The case also demands an injunction preventing the town of Princeton from making any changes to land use ordinances, and also that the town should also pay all attorney fees and court costs.
The Planning Board, the Mayor, and the Council of Princeton were all named as defendants. Attorney Kevin Van Hise, representing the Mayor and Council of Princeton, called the lawsuit “an extensive series of allegations and (mis)characterizations”. In particular, he argued that the Princeton Planning Board has specific responsibility under New Jersey law to write the town’s Master Plan. As such, the Mayor and Council should not be named in the court case, as they were not responsible for writing the Master Plan. He also described the attempt to prevent the Mayor and Council from making changes to land use ordinances as an “improper” request that would prevent the governing body from governing.
Van Hise asked the judge for a motion to remove the Mayor and Council of Princeton from the court case. The judge initially encouraged the town to discuss the matter with the objectors’ attorney, to attempt to resolve the issue informally. The objectors refused to amend their case, although they also did not present any argument as to why the Mayor and Council should be named as defendants. The judge therefore granted the town’s motion, and dismissed the objectors’ case against the Mayor and Council “with prejudice”. That means that the objectors cannot bring back the same case against the Mayor and Council at any point in the future.
The Princeton Planning Board is still named as a defendant, however, and the case is likely to continue for many months or years. At the Planning Board meeting of March 21, the Board approved additional funding for the Law Offices of Muller Baillie, PC, to defend the case.
Related materials (via Mercer County Courts):
walkableprinceton 