Commission Suggests Independent Review of Environmental Conditions at Former Hospital Site

At a nearly two hour-long Princeton Environmental Commission meeting on Wednesday marked by attorney bickering, yelling and constant interrupting, officials reccomended the Planning Board consider hiring an independent environmental engineer to determine if adequate environmental testing has been done at the former hospital site.

The Commission recommends the Planning Board consider asking AvalonBay to conduct additional soil and/or groundwater tests now or during construction of the proposed 280-unit project.

The Planning Board will begin a hearing on the project on Thursday.

Commission members are concerned about a potential lack regulatory testing at the site during the development process. And they want to be careful given the change in use from commercial (hospital) to residential.

By 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Commission members seemed fed up with the discussion.

“I would like it noted in the minutes the exceptionally rude behavior displayed by the attorney for AvalonBay,” PEC Member Wendy Kaczerski said. 

In recent months, a group called Princeton Citizens Group for Sustainable Neighborhoods has been vocal about what its members claim is a lack of transparency by AvalonBay, the company under contract to buy the Witherspoon Street property.  

A report commissioned by AvalonBay in 2011 noted current and former underground storage tanks and raised concerns about groundwater and soil, recommending further site testing.

But Attorney Aaron Kleinbaum of the Eastern Environmental Law Center in Newark, who represents the group of Princeton residents, said the developer’s application to Princeton failed to mention storage tanks or contamination. 

The PEC requested,and received a requested Phase 2 follow-report from AvalonBay’s engineer. That report concluded that there was no reason for concern or further action.  

AvalonBay’s attorney, Ann Studholme, told PEC members that there would be environmental oversight on the property during the process of decommissioning the hospital. But hospital attorney Mark Solomon suggested federal and state regulatory oversight is triggered only if there is evidence of contamination, of which he said there has been none to date.

Commission members said they have no reason to believe there has been intentional or irresponsible contamination at the Witherspoon Street property.

“I want to be on record as saying that I don’t think the hospital is a nefarious entity at all and I do think they’ve abided by all regulations over the years,” PEC Member Heidi Fichtenbaum said. “But what I will say is what we knew 60 years ago and what we do know today has definitely changed. And what the regulations were 60 years ago and what the regulations today are have changed. And so what might have been perfectly acceptable many years ago we now realize is very problematic.“

Kleinberg said Princeton deserves to receive better information that has been provided thus far.

“This is a site that’s going to be used for housing,” he said. “This is a site where children are going to play on the ground and touch the soil and the grass. And the applicant has identified risks which have not been investigated and the community deserves to know more. The law allows you to know more.”