As residents in Lawrence and neighboring communities raise concerns about potential development at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) campus, township officials say no formal plans have been submitted and no construction is imminent.
The recent discussion stems from a Lawrence Township Planning Board meeting that focused on updates to the township’s master plan, including identifying potential sites to meet New Jersey’s fourth-round affordable housing obligations.
Among those sites is the ETS campus, an approximately 80-acre property that borders Hopewell Township — a proximity that has helped drive interest and concern among residents in both communities in recent weeks.
But Lawrence Township Mayor Christopher Bobbitt said the current process is about zoning and planning, not an active development proposal.
“There’s no application,” Bobbitt said in a recent interview. “What the township is doing is creating the opportunity for housing to happen. It doesn’t mean anything is happening right now.”
Planning for potential — not approving a project
The township’s actions are part of a state-mandated process requiring municipalities to demonstrate that they can accommodate a certain number of affordable housing units.
Similar fourth-round housing discussions are underway across Mercer County and New Jersey, as municipalities — including Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough and Pennington — work to meet the same state deadlines tied to their housing obligations.
Lawrence Township began its current round of planning discussions in 2025 and has continued refining its approach into 2026 as those deadlines approach.
Rather than approving specific developments, towns must identify locations where housing could be built if a property owner chooses to move forward.
“You have to allow for the opportunity for something to happen,” Bobbitt said. “You can’t just zone everything as open space and say nothing’s going to be built.”
Why ETS is part of the conversation
The ETS site became part of Lawrence’s housing plan after being identified as a property that could potentially support residential development.
Because the land is privately owned, ETS retains full control over whether to sell or develop the property.
“For all we know, ETS could decide to keep it exactly as it is for the next 10 years,” Bobbitt said. “That’s not something the township controls.”
If the property were ever sold or developed, any proposal would still be required to go through the full planning board review process, including public hearings.
A larger and more visible round of development
For Lawrence, the current round of housing planning is expected to have a larger footprint than previous cycles, both in scale and location.
Sites like ETS and potential redevelopment areas near Quaker Bridge Mall represent significantly larger opportunities than many earlier projects, which were often smaller or less visible to residents.
“ETS at 80 acres is a lot,” Bobbitt said, noting that the scale of potential sites has contributed to increased public attention.
Public concern — and limits of local control
Recent meetings have drawn strong public turnout, with residents expressing concerns about traffic, environmental impacts, and changes to community character.
Bobbitt said those concerns are understandable — but also highlighted the limits of what municipalities can do under state law.
“If you say no and go to court, you’re going to lose,” he said. “And then the development is likely to be more intense, with less ability for the town to shape it.”
New Jersey’s affordable housing system, shaped by decades of court decisions, requires municipalities to provide realistic opportunities for housing development rather than restrict it.
When residents can weigh in
While some residents have called for immediate action, township officials emphasized that the most meaningful opportunity for public input will come if and when a formal application is submitted.
“That’s the time to come in and talk about traffic, open space, water quality — all of those things,” Bobbitt said.
Until then, the township’s current work remains focused on updating zoning and planning documents to comply with state requirements.
Looking ahead
The Lawrence Township Planning Board is scheduled to continue its review of master plan updates at its next meeting on April 6, which includes continued work on implementing the township’s fourth-round housing plan.
As these projects move forward, officials say the focus remains on meeting state obligations while maintaining as much local control as possible over how future development unfolds.
