Two state lawmakers are requesting a meeting with the Institute for Advanced Study to discuss a Princeton Battlefield development
PRINCETON - State legislators, who have worked for months to stop development at a Princeton battleground, are now requesting a meeting with the owners of the land.
The land in question sits just off Einstein Drive and is owned by the Institute for Advanced Study, which plans to develop 15-unit faculty housing there.
In a letter addressed to the institute Wednesday, State Senator Kip Bateman and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora outlined their hopes of coming to some kind of agreement with the institute to stop the development.
"There is no question about the historic importance of the property," Bateman and Gusciora wrote.
They went on to accuse the institute of not acknowledging the section of battlefield as historically significant land.
"In taking this stance, the institute is doing itself and the local community a disservice," Bateman and Gusciora said.
Institute prepares land for development
They added that the battlefield is a place to, "educate and inspire future generations of Americans."
The meeting - which Bateman and Gusciora suggested be held this week - could create a "partnership" between the institute and those who object to the project, they said.
The letter comes after a series of attempts by government officials and various historical organizations to stop development of the land.
The Princeton Battlefield Society has been on the front lines of most of those efforts. Earlier this year the society sued the institute for millions of dollars, claiming that they were disturbing wetland at the site of the future development and they were in violation of the Federal Pollution Control Act.
Even before the lawsuit, Bateman and two other senators wrote a letter last year, calling for excavation at the site to be stopped.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.