The neighborhood has long been home to minority families in Princeton, but some wonder why it should be labeled historic
PRINCETON - Council members plan to consider an ordinance that would make the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood an historic district in Princeton.
The decision would pay homage to the area's long history as a neighborhood that has been home to minority families dating back to the 1800's.
A map of the proposed historic Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood, brought forth at a special council meeting in March, 2016. A discussion on the ordinance at a special council meeting Thursday night was rife with debate between people who wanted to preserve the area's legacy and others who questioned why certain properties in the district needed the historic stamp in the first place.
The district would start around Paul Robeson Place and Witherspoon Street and stretches town to Birch Avenue and over to Bayard Lane.
Consultants surveyed the area and determined that most of the properties or buildings contributed to the historic nature of the area. Several others did not - prompting controversy from some Princeton residents who wondered why those homes should be in an historic district if they were not historic in nature.
Jared Witt, one speaker who addressed council members Thursday, said he was speaking on behalf of owners of two of the properties in the district. One property was deemed historic by consultants, another was not, he said.
"We ask that you reconsider and consider excluding that property... It contains no historically significant features or uses," he said.
Members of the Princeton Historical Preservation Committee (HPC) disagreed with Witt on the historical nature of the property, but his words echoed those made by other speakers at the meeting, who questioned why the non-historical properties should be included in the district.
"There are buildings that don't contribute to the district," HPC member Julie Capozzoli conceded. But she added, "We can't have a district that looks like Swiss cheese."
Her words were met with applause and cheers from members in the audience.
Another speaker in favor of the ordinance discussed the history of the area, saying that in the early 1900's African American Princeton residents were not permitted to live in other sections of the town.
"Witherspoon Street has been and continues to be an important boundary in the community," she said.
One Princeton resident who spoke raised the idea that some only support the ordinance because, "they think they'll get some tax breaks."
"Tell me how making it an historic district is going to preserve the history," he said.
Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert responded to the idea of tax breaks and property values in the district Thursday, saying that in some historic districts property values have increased. In others, they haven't.
"You can't make a prediction," she said.
For Councilwoman Jo Butler, the debate - at least in part - came down to who was able to have a say. She said she has gotten emails from residents in the neighborhood who did not want their homes to be in an historic district.
"Some people are getting the consideration that others aren't," she said.
She was met with a response from the audience, many of whom yelled, "Well why is that?" Several speakers argued that people who were opposed to the historical district were not coming to council meetings to voice those opinions.
Late Thursday night council members decided to turn the proposed ordinance over to the Planning Commission, which would examine it and present their findings to the council in April.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.