Board carries complex Ridgeview lot‑line adjustment; staff and neighbors press for demolition guarantees and conservation talks

The Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment heard extensive testimony May 28 on a minor‑subdivision and variance application involving two contiguous parcels on Ridgeview Road owned by the Keller family. The applicant asked to transfer 0.8452 acres from Lot 14 to Lot 13 so Lot 13 would meet the minimum lot‑size requirement and to convert approximately 1,000 square feet of the second floor of a detached rear garage on Lot 13 into a dwelling unit.

Staff and multiple board experts flagged complications: Lot 14 currently contains three separate dwellings (addresses 355, 369 and 371 Ridgeview) that are nonconforming in the RA/RB zones, storage containers and evidence of business activity (a long‑running plumbing/maintenance operation), and uncertainty about whether the rear 3‑unit structure at 355 had ever been lawful as a multi‑family use. Staff advised that reducing Lot 14’s area without resolving building removals would intensify existing nonconformities and require d‑2 relief; the planning consultant said the application otherwise advances several planning goals but asked for…