Experts Weigh in on Institute Housing, History Professor Offers Compromise

The second planning board hearing for the lasted nearly four hours on Thursday.

The next hearing is scheduled for Jan 26 and should include public comment on the proposal, which has been limited until now due to time constraints.

The Institute for Advanced Study hopes to build on land it owns that sits between the Institute and the Princeton Battlefield State Park.

The planning board application boils down to whether or not the land in question was the site of Gen. George Washington’s counterattack and first victory against the British during the Battle of Princeton in 1777.

“The planning board can not approve a cluster development unless they make a specific finding that it will not adversely impact the area of the development- the site and the adjoining properties,” attorney Bruce Afran said after Thursday’s meeting. Afran represents the Princeton Battlefield Society and several individuals who oppose the plan.

After three-and-half hours of expert testimony on both sides debating whether the Institute land was crucial in the Battle of Princeton, it was James McPherson who offered what may be a compromise between the two sides.

McPherson, an emertis professor of history at Princeton University, said he and fellow historian David Hackett Fischer worked with the Institute to find a solution to what’s been a stalemate between the the Institute and those who want to preserve the Battlefield land.

McPherson said the first option, finding alternate land upon which to build the faculty housing, was impossible, because other property is either limited by conservation easements or not viable due to wetlands.

McPherson said the Institute’s architect, J. Robert Hillier has modified the proposal to include the following modifications:

• moving the tree line away from the edge of Battlefield Park and putting it directly behind the proposed homes, shielding homes from view but maintaining open space.
• Installing a path through the Institute property with interpretive signage to commemorate the Battle of Princeton.
• Providing public access to the buffer zone
• Reducing the size of one house lot to preserve more space 

"We have a conflict here between two positive and desirable goals," McPherson said. "On the one hand, housing for Institute faculty that would advance its mission by creating a creating a community of scholars on the other, preservation of an important historical resource."

Under cross-examination by Afran, McPherson said he and Fischer believe the Insititute land was the very location of Gen. Washington's counterattack and would ideally prefer that nothing was built there.

A lack of available land and skyrocketing home prices means fewer faculty live within walking distance of campus: from more than 60 percent three decades ago to fewer than 30 percent today, Institute Director Peter Goddard said.

The Institute’s plan includes a 200-foot buffer between Battlefield Park and the housing, and in some cases, the buffer would extend to 350 feet. The homes would have flat roofs and constructed of all-natural materials.