Banners at future luxury apartment site on Stockton Street in Princeton violated zoning regulations

The Princeton zoning office has issued a violation notice to Princeton Theological Seminary after banners were placed along fences at the future site of a luxury apartment complex on Stockton Street.

Neighbors had complained that the banners were an eyesore, and zoning officer Derek Bridger confirmed they violate municipal zoning codes.

According to an email a resident shared with Planet Princeton, a zoning permit is required to post such signs.

“That is the immediate violation, as these signs were posted without zoning approval,” Bridger wrote to a resident on Saturday. “In addition, the signs do not comply with the ordinance. The project does not have an approved site.”

Princeton’s municipal code requires zoning permits from the development enforcement officer prior to the conversion of land use, or before the construction, erection or alteration of any sign in certain districts.

Signs are permitted in any district for buildings “under construction or renovation, with the street number of a building and the name of the architect, engineer, landscaper, the general contractor and subcontractors, and the project title during construction on the premises.” But such signs must be posted at the main entrance, remain within the property’s lot lines, and be removed within seven days of the construction being completed. The total area of such signs on a lot cannot exceed eight square feet.

Technically, the seminary still owns the property. Developer Jamie Herring plans to build 238 apartment units and an underground parking garage at the former site of the seminary’s Tennent-Roberts-Whiteley campus.

The banners were taken down sometime over the weekend.