Board Should Approve AvalonBay's Application

I believe that AvalonBay’s application before the planning board should be approved.  And I want to address comments made by many who oppose the development in the name of “protecting the character of the neighborhood.”  I submit that if we do not allow additional housing to be built in the core of town, we will be further destroying the true character of Princeton.

The actual consequences of opposing town infill development such as this is the further calcification of our town into an elite, over-expensive country club.  Simple economics demonstrates the overwhelming desire for housing in town -- prices are so high simply because there’s enough demand to support these high market rates.  By wielding the zoning power to artificially limit the number of units in town, those who oppose development make housing more expensive, and more and more out of reach of those with even upper middle-class incomes -- to say nothing of the younger generation of workers, like myself, who are saddled with educational debt.  And to say even less of the working class workers who drive into Princeton every day to serve its wealthy residents.  Approving AvalonBay’s application will be a vital step in alleviating the upward pressure on prices and beginning to address the housing needs of the tens of thousands of people who are already in Princeton, driving in every day to their offices, restaurants, shops, libraries, and theaters.

The addition of housing in the walkable core of town will undoubtedly reduce the number of cars on our streets.  It’s notable that most residents of the former Borough actually work in town and walk to work.  This development would take more cars off the street than it would add -- just as is the case in other college towns similar to ours.  Many of the opponents of this development don’t seem to understand that apartment living actively discourages the use of cars for in-town trips.  It’s not like in a single-family home, where you step out your door and right into one of the cars parked in your driveway.  A resident of the proposed AvalonBay complex would have to walk out her apartment, down flights of stairs, go up more stairs in the parking garage, find her car, drive a few blocks to another garage, pay for parking, and then walk a few blocks to her destination.  It would be faster and so much easier just to walk the few blocks to the office, restaurant, or shop.

Either we allow more housing to be built in town, or we draw a big red line around Princeton saying “only upper-upper middle class allowed; everyone else has to drive in.”    Whether or not the opponents of this application realize it, this is the outcome that will result if we continue, in a knee-jerk fashion, standing against all new housing.  So I urge the board instead to approve this application.