Your Weekly Update: A Week in Review of the Town Council

Image Credit 

According to the video shared on the Town Council YouTube page, on April 19th, Council members Linda Geevers and Andrea Mandel attended a meeting, at the Trenton Country Club, where Majority Leader, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, of District 6 discussed the state budget, energy issues, and the necessity for energy infrastructure in NJ.

2023-03 Ordinance: On March 27th, the Town Council presented Ordinance 2023-03, which made changes to the flood damage and prevention provisions. It added additional floodplain management regulations. But, NJDEP told the township that they had to include an extra amendment to the hardship definition. The definition states, “Mere economic or financial reason alone is not exceptional, inconvenience, aesthetics considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one’s neighbors likewise cannot as a rule qualify as an exceptional reason.” These issues could be solved in other ways that did not require a variance. Even if the alternative is more costly or mandates the property owner to construct elsewhere or put the parcel to a use than they had originally planned for. The council will need to make one more change to the ordinance. It will need to be discussed at the planning board for their review by law. The council resolved that the ordinance is amended to include the above additional language to the hardship definition and the public hearing for the ordinance will occur on June 12, 2023. There will be no zoom link for remote participation to planning board meetings. 

At the Town Council meeting, there was a discussion between Andrea Mandel and the mayor about the laboratory in Carnegie Center. The mayor was advocating for a lab, saying it was “premium” and “niche.” Hemant Marathe mentioned that at the planning board, there was a lot of talk about if there would be nitrogen and hydrogen tanks and a desire to know what chemicals would be used in the lab. Furthermore, Marathe repeatedly emphasized the lack of clarity that town council members had in expressing what they wanted to “control” in the lab. There will be no vivarium in the lab and the lab will be classified as level 2.

Council Reports:

Environmental Commission Meeting on April 13th: Jillian Maingi, a girl scout, did a presentation on her Gold Award project. She built flight traps for spotted lantern flies. She is planning on giving out traps at the farmer’s market and having services in place for putting and keeping the traps. For those who wish to participate in EC meetings, there is a remote participation link for residents to attend: Agenda’s have the zoom link.

Gina Talt, the Food Systems Project Specialist, at the S.C.R.A.P. lab in Princeton University, did a presentation explaining what the composting lab does. It was the same lab that the council visited about a month ago. Talt spoke about how the scrap lab was formed and some actions the town could take to initiate composting efforts. For more information on composting at the Princeton S.C.R.A.P. Lab click HERE.

Susan Bristol, the Municipal Policy Specialist at Watershed, told the commission that there was a workshop on DEP mapping, on May 18th if anybody wanted to go. For info click HERE.

Planning Board Meeting on April 19th: Planning board accepted PB22-09. There would be changes made to the inside and outside of the current office building at 105 Carnegie Center as agreed upon by the board. The building will now include a life science laboratory and some office space. There was no remote access link for community participation.

Public Comments: Ajay Kaisth, asked probing questions about whether part 6 of the ordinance will hold true under Bridge Point 8 (BP8). He said that BP8 may lower the value of our properties and the warehouse is located in a flood hazard area. Lastly, he warns all West Windsor residents of the detrimental impact of flooding due to it being potentially built in an area based on 20 plus year old flood maps.

If you value your weekly updates, tell your friends and neighbors, subscribe and support The Voice so we can continue to bring all you need to know, right to your inbox.