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J U LY 1 9 , 2 0 1 9 F R E E
West Windsor preps for influx of housing Developers currently moving to build more than 1,000 residential units By siDDHARtH MuCCHAl Now that West Windsor has finally resolved its affordable housing plan, officials are gearing up to deal with the next step in the process—the construction of new housing developments. State Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson in May approved West Windsor’s plan to implement an October settlement with the Fair Share Housing Center of Cherry Hill. The ruling and subsequent agreement came after FSHC sued West Windsor, claiming that the town had not provided for its fair share of affordable housing. In a ruling earlier last year, Jacobson set the township’s obligation at 1,500 units. The township negotiated a settlement last October with FSHC that set out a detailed plan for how the town would provide for that number of units. The settlement satisfies the township’s obligation and protects the township from builder’s remedy lawsuits through 2025. “The board has made some amendments to our land use as part of our master plan,” said West Windsor Planning Board chairman Gene O’ Brien. “The change was to recommend classifying certain parcels of land to be used for mixed use or residential development. These changes were then translated into ordinances that were approved by
the township council.” Now that the council has updated its land use ordinances, the next step is for the developers of the properties to submit land use applications, get approval from the planning board and begin construction. The following update on several of the projects anticipated in the near future is based on interviews with O’Brien, Mayor Hemant Marathe and land use manager Samuel Surtees. AvalonBay Communities is planning a mixed-use development, with 37,000 square feet of commercial/retail space and 800 residential units, of which about 99 will be affordable rentals. The plan also includes a hotel, which is separate from the rest of the commercial space. The project will be built on a 24-plus acre site Station Drive and Washington Road. Currently, the developer is working with the township’s Technical Review Committee to finalize the specifics of its plans before they are submitted to the planning board. AvalonBay must also obtain approvals from N.J. Transit (due to proximity to the Princeton Junction train station), and Mercer County, since this development will impact Route 571, a county road. Another major project in the pipeline is Mack Cali’s 25-acre Roseland site, located on Route 1 north between Carnegie Center Boulevard and Meadow Road. Based on discussions with Mack Cali, it is estimated that construction on the site will yield 492 market-rate units and 164 See HOUSING, Page 8
West Windsor resident Darren Geist, with wife Lauren and daughter Nora, 2, saved a man from drowning in his car after he drove into the Delaware and Raritan Canal. (Staff photo by Bill Sanser vino.)
Hero hailed for canal rescue Port Mercer resident pulled motorist from car that sank into water By Justin Feil Quick action by a West Windsor man was instrumental in saving the life of a motorist whose car plunged into the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the late night hours of June 19. Marko Oydanich, 27, of Newark, was driving home from a friend’s house in Princeton on Quaker Road headed towards Route 1, when he failed to navi-
gate the 90-degree turn before the bridge over the canal. The car jumped the guard rail and flipped upside down into the water. Oydanich was trapped inside, gulping what little air was left. Darren and Lauren Geist had just gone to bed shortly before midnight when they heard the loud crash outside their Port Mercer home, which overlooks the canal. The couple went downstairs and looked out their dining room window. “We’ve heard scrapes before. That guardrail gets taken out fairly often,” Lauren said. “We said, ‘That was definitely a crash.’”
They couldn’t see anything due to the darkness. For the first time since they lived there, they decided to go out and investigate an accident. “I don’t know what it was,” Lauren said. “We thought about going back upstairs. I’m a religious person. It had to be the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Your instinct is finely tuned over years, and it felt like something was off.” Lauren said they still couldn’t see anything when they went outside. It wasn’t until Darren walked onto the bridge that he realized the gravity of the situation. See RESCUE, Page 6
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