On May 3, the Princeton Regional Planning Board approved a long-awaited plan to build 49 market-rate senior housing units on the Princeton Ridge between Mount Lucas Road and Route 206, just northeast of the Redding Circle. The Board unanimously approved the housing project after the developers agreed to drastically reduce the number of trees that would be lost on the heavily wooded site.

The revised building plan will result in a net loss of 130-150 mature trees, which is considerably lower than the first design that would have destroyed around 550 trees. As a condition of the planning board's approval, the developer will have to close that tree gap by paying $250 per tree for off-site reforestation to make up for the thinned out woods.

The housing development plan still needs approvals from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to convert a proposed swale to a piping system in order to address some of the storm water runoff on the site. The Township has pledged to work with the developer to help them through the DEP waiver process to ensure expedited construction.