Introduction

Every six years the Municipal Land Use Law (Chapter 291, Laws of N.J. 1975, amended) (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-1 et. seq.) requires that the governing body shall provide for a general reexamination of its master plan and development regulations by the Planning Board. The law goes on to require that a reexamination be completed at least once every six years from the previous reexamination.

On November 30, 1995, The Princeton Regional Planning Board adopted the Princeton Community Master Plan Reexamination report, and on December 12, 1996, the 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan was adopted with subsequent amendments through May 6, 1999. The 1996 Master Plan expresses community goals for the use of Princeton's land and facilities.

The primary theme woven through each element in the Master Plan emphasizes balance and human scale. The 1996 Master Plan identified the shortage of vacant, easily developed land and noted that "the debate over sites for affordable housing, senior housing as well as the development of parks and schools is just the beginning of a series of increasingly difficult choices that the Princetons must make between competing social goals." (page 7 Princeton Community Master Plan).

The 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan was meant to represent the collective thinking of the Princeton Community on its growth and development as well as its vision for the future. The 1996 Master Plan was a strategic plan to guide our future and a policy tool for retaining and enhancing the special character, values, and quality of life that are fundamental to our community. A major purpose of the 1996 Princeton Community Master Plan was to express community goals for the use of Princeton's land and facilities. Guided by a broad community consensus, these goals included meeting the community's affordable housing obligation, meeting age restricted senior housing needs, providing for educational needs, preserving open space, developing adequate recreation facilities, preserving historic buildings and sites, and retaining Princeton's small-town atmosphere. The Master Plan also sought to preserve the existing character, mix, and densities of commercial, residential, and other land uses in Princeton.

The purpose of this report is to discuss how well the 1996 Master Plan anticipated the community's needs to date and to document the Planning Board's 2001 Reexamination of the 1995 Reexamination, of the 1996 Master Plan, of Princeton development regulations, and to identify those areas in need of change. Following adoption of this report the Planning Board will undertake a detailed review of the changes recommended and amend the Master Plan.
The law (Section 40:55D-89) requires that the reexamination report shall state:

• The major problems and objectives relating to land development in the municipality at the time of the adoption of the last reexamination report.
  
  
• The extent to which such problems and objectives have been reduced or have increased subsequent to such date.
  
  
• The extent to which there have been significant changes in the assumptions, policies and objectives forming the basis for the master plan or development regulations as last revised, with particular regard to the density and distribution of population and land uses, housing conditions, circulation, conservation of natural resources, energy conservation, collection, disposition and recycling of designated recyclable materials, and changes in State, county and municipal policies and objectives.
  
  

• The specific changes recommended for the master plan or development regulations, if any, including underlying objectives, policies and standards, or whether a new plan or regulations should be prepared.

• The recommendations of the planning board concerning the incorporation of redevelopment plans adopted pursuant to the "Local Redevelopment and Housing Law," P.L. 1992, c. 79 (C.40A:12A-1 et al.) into the land use plan element of the municipal master plan, and recommend changes, if any, in the local development regulations necessary to effectuate the redevelopment plans of the municipality.