December 14, 2010 Council Meeting

It should be a fairly short meeting tomorrow night. We’re starting off with a public hearing on the changes to the City’s vehicle ordinance, and then we’ll be dealing with a number of other issues. Here’s what’s going on:

1. PUBLIC HEARING RE: VEHICLE ORDINANCE. Currently, the City’s code enforcement provisions regarding vehicles prohibit people from parking any vehicles larger than 21 feet long or 6 feet wide on the street in a residential neighborhood at night, even if the vehicle is used for personal (non-commercial) use. Unfortunately, with cars as big as they are now, this covers many personal vehicles. As a result, the City staff has proposed amending the City’s vehicle ordinance to make it more specific to commercial vehicles, by prohibiting the following vehicles between 8 pm and 6 am on City streets in residential zones:
a. Any vehicle exceeding 21 feet in length or six feet in width that is used for commercial purposes:
b. Any vehicle exceeding a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight specification of 8,500 pounds;
c. Vehicles containing advertising other than a firm name or similar designation less than 4 inches high’
d. Vehicles exceeding 300 cubic feet of load space; and
e. Any stake platform trucks, dump trucks, crane or two trucks, or vehicles with dual rear wheels.
Also, the proposed ordinance would prohibit parking of recreational vehicles (campers, boats, etc.) on the street – these must be on people’s driveways.

Some exceptions to these rules are allowed with a permit from the City. I’m interested to hear if any one has any concerns about this – I don’t want to prohibit the parking of vehicles in residential areas that are for legitimate residential purposes. Let me know if you have any comments or questions.

2. FAREWELL TO STUDENT LIAISON BECCA LURIE. Becca Lurie, who was our deputy student liaison last year and has served as student liaison since May, is graduating. Although she will still be at U-MD as a graduate student, the student liaisons have to be undergraduates, so we’ll be saying goodbye to her as our student liaison. Becca has been an amazingly hard-worker over the past year and a half, and she will be missed.

3. 2010 LIBERTY MUTUAL “BE FIRE SMART PLEDGE PROGRAM” GRANT AWARD TO COLLEGE PARK VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT. The College Park VFD recently was one of ten fire departments around the country to win a $10,000 grant from Liberty Mutual to fund new fire equipment. The grants were awarded based on votes from people across the country. We’re very lucky to have one of the fire departments that serves North College Park win this award.

4. CONSENT AGENDA – APPROVAL OF 2011 MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE. The Council will consider its meeting schedule for the next year, which is basically the same as this years – worksessions every first and third Tuesday and formal meetings every second and fourth Wednesday, except for June, July, August and December, when we only meet the first two weeks. The first worksessions in August and November will be moved to Wednesday due to, respectively, National Night Out and the municipal elections.

5. ORDINANCE TO CLARIFY THE DEFINITIONS OF PUBLIC STREET AND PROHIBITED VEHICLES. The Council will vote on the ordinance discussed above.

6. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF THE MATURITY DATES OF THE BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES USED TO FINANCE THE DOWNTOWN PARKING GARAGE. Based on the advice of our bond counsel and in order to get more favorable long-term financing for the parking garage, the City is considering extension of the term of the Bond Anticipation Notes to January 31, 2011, with the possibility of extending them to February 28, 2011. The City issues these notes to fund the building of the garage in 2007. This resolution would also authorize City staff to begin soliciting bids right away for the long-term financing, to settle on long-term financing in February at the latest. SunTrust has offered the City to extend the BAN’s to February 28, 2011, on the same terms as before.

7. RESOLUTION TO AMEND 02-R-03, WHICH ESTABLISHED THE STUDENT LIAISON POSITION, TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF THE DEPUTY STUDENT LIAISON AND OTHER MATTERS INVOLVING THE STUDENT LIAISON. The city will be considering a resolution to clarify the student liaison and deputy student liaison positions in the following ways:
1. Change the title of the deputy student liaison from “student liaison-alternate” to “deputy student liaison,” to reflect the deputy student liaisons role as a sort of assistant to the student liaison;
2. Clarify that both the student liaison and deputy may attend closed sessions, except for executive sessions related to personnel matters;
3. Set the term of these positions from June 1 to May 31 each year; and
4. Clarify the process for removal of the student liaison for misconduct.

8. CONSIDERATION OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE PROPERTY USE AGREEMENT OF VITO’S PIZZERIA TO ALLOW IT TO SELL LIQUOR. When the Council agreed to support the application of Vito’s Pizzeria for a liquor license, we did so on the condition that Vito’s could not sell liquor for the first six months of its operation. Although it has only been operating about four months now, it has done so without any problems, and seems to have acted appropriately to prevent underage drinking. I hope that this will continue, but it seems like Vito will be following the rules as long as we’re watching him like this. So the proposal on the table is to allow Vito’s to start selling liquor now. Given the challenge that many businesses downtown have been facing recently, I will likely support this.

9. LETTER IN SUPPORT OF GREENBELT’S POSITION OPPOSING THE CURRENT PROPOSAL FOR GREENBELT PLACE, A NEW APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT BEHIND BELTWAY PLAZA. I brought this up last week after speaking with Mayor J Davis from Greenbelt. For many years, Greenbelt has been working with a developer to try to comprehensively redevelop Beltway Plaza, to establish a quality development there with quality retail, to potentially complement the new Greenbelt Station development. Unfortunately, the proposal that the developer brought to the table would add significantly to the density in the area without offering any new benefits to area residents – it would only build apartments behind the mall without doing anything to improve the mall itself. Mayor Davis thought it would be helpful if College Park takes a position on this as well, especially given the traffic problems that this additional density might cause for us if the developer does not handle it correctly.

10. RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF “CHARTING NEW WATERS,” A CALL TO ACTION TO ADDRESS U.S. FRESHWATER CHALLENGES. “Charting New Waters” is a commitment by different organizations, businesses and governments to fix problems related to freshwater management through effective regulation and new strategies across different levels of government and different sectors of the economy. This commitment proposes that the City incorporate fresh water management and resource considerations in all development and infrastructure decisions. The City will be considering a resolution in support of this program.

11. LETTER TO WMATA REQUESTING ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES AT THE GREENBELT METRO STATION. This follows from a number of earlier conversations with WMATA police about safety problems at the Greenbelt Metro station. After an attempted rape and a mugging this year at the Metro station, a group of residents collected petition signatures to send to Metro to request a closed-circuit camera and additional lighting. This letter will request those issues and ask that WMATA continue to provide us updates as they consider additional closed-circuit cameras along the Green line.

12. CONSIDERATION OF A LETTER REQUESTING THE PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY PLANNING BOARD TO RECONSIDER A CONDITION THAT THE CHINESE BIBLE CHURCH SUBMIT A DETAILED SITE PLAN. The Chinese Bible Church on Autoville Drive has been considering an expansion for the past couple of years, and is on the verge of getting final approval. The Planning Board placed a condition on the final approval of the addition that the Church submit a Detailed Side Plan, which it did in March 2010. The County then approved the Amended US 1 Corridor Sector Plan, which removed the church property from the overlay zone, thereby eliminating the requirement that the project submit a DSP, but requiring it to obtain a Departure from Parking and Loading Space (DPLS) from the City of College Park. The church filed this application and went before the Advisory Planning Commission – at this meeting, the Michaels Company appeared and opposed the church’s application. The Park and Planning Commission then determined that the Church DID have to submit a Detailed Site Plan, so the church resubmitted their revised plan, but also asked that the Planning Board waive their rules and reconsider this decision. The City is considering a resolution in support of waiver of the rules so that the Church can move forward with the project without the DSP. The City has consistently been reviewing the Church project, and the Church owners have constantly cooperated with the City and with residents.

This whole thing is a mess, but to make a long story short – the Michaels Company is trying to hold up the project because they would like to cut across the Church in order to connect North Autoville Road to Hollywood Road west of US 1. Residents of Autoville are staunchly opposed to this connection. If this reconsideration happens, it will be easier for the Church to move ahead with its development without Michaels holding it up.

13. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES – Thanks to District 1 resident Harleigh Ealley for volunteering to serve on the Animal Welfare Committee, and thanks to Robert White and Robert Day for continuing to serve on the Noise Control Board, and Jerry Anzulovic for continuing to serve on the Veterans Memorial Improvement Committee!

Thanks for reading – please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or comments.

Patrick

Washington Gas Budget Plan

I wanted to make you all aware of some things that Washington Gas has done to help people handle the high costs of heating their homes in the winter. The Washington Gas Budget Plan allows eligible customers to spread the cost of winter heating over the entire year. Information about that program, as well as some tips to help you make your home more fuel-efficient, are on the Washington Gas website at washingtongas.com.

There are also some government assistance programs to help people pay the cost of their gas bills, such as the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is administered by Prince George’s County Department of Social Services, at , and the Washington Area Fuel Fund, which is administered by Washington Gas itself. If you’d like information about LIHEAP or other low-income energy assistance programs, click here or call DSS at 301-909-6300. For more information about the Washington Area Fuel Fund, go to washingtonareafuelfund.org or call Washington Gas at 202-624-6335.

Patrick

December 8, 2010 Worksession

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! FYI – this month, we will only have one worksession this week and a Council meeting next week, and then we’ll be taking the rest of the month off for the holidays.

We have another busy agenda this week, including a couple of possible last minute additions. Here’s what we’ll be discussing:

1. PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA ITEM – 2010 COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE. We will be considering our schedule for the next year – pretty much the same as this year, with worksessions the first and third Tuesday of every month and Council meetings the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month, except for June, July, August and December, when we’ll only have worksessions and meetings the first two weeks. The only exception to having all meetings on Tuesdays this next year will be the first week of August, when we’ll shift the worksession to Wednesday due to National Night Out, and the second week of November, when we’ll shift the meeting to Wednesday for the municipal elections.

2. PARKING GARAGE FINANCING – DISCUSSION OF SOLICITATION PROCESS FOR PERMANENT FINANCING, AND RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES TO FEB. 28, 2011. In early 2008, the City obtained financing to build the downtown parking garage. The City issued two bond anticipation notes (BAN’s) to SunTrust Bank for initial funding for the project – one tax-exempt bond to pay for the parking garage itself, and one taxable bond to pay for the building of the commercial space on the ground floor. The BAN’s were originally scheduled to come due in May 2010, but the bank agreed to extend the term of the BAN’s until October 31, 2010 to allow the City to obtain more favorable long-term financing for the garage. At this point, in order to give the City additional time to obtain permanent funding, SunTrust has offered the City to extend the BAN’s to February 28, 2011, on the same terms as before. The Council needs to pass a resolution to do this, and will also be discussing the process for soliciting bids for permanent financing tomorrow night. We will also be discussing whether to issue tax-exempt bonds, or to issue taxable bonds under the federal Build America Bonds program, which would allow us to receive a 35% federal subsidy on the interest rate.

3. PROPOSED REVISIONS TO STUDENT LIAISON POSITION. This matter was postponed from the worksession last month on the request of the current student liaison, Becca Lurie, to allow the Council to determine whether the current deputy student liaison was willing to take on the role of the student liaison this next semester when Ms. Lurie moves on to grad school. The current deputy student liaison, Aaron Zaccaria, announced last week that he has decided not to take the position, so the City has begun the process to find a new student liaison for the next semester. We will only be appointing that person for the next semester, with the understanding that he or she would be able to apply to stay on next year. Meanwhile, the Council will be discussing a proposal to change the student liaison positions slightly – to: 1) have the deputy student liaison take over automatically for the student liaison at the end of his or her term; 2) clarify the rules regarding attendance of the student liaison and deputy student liaison at Council executive sessions, by stating that the liaison could attend as long as they sign a confidentiality agreement, and as long as the executive session didn’t involve a personnel matter; and 3) establish provisions for the removal of a student liaison who is not carrying out his or her tasks, by referring the removal of the student liaison to the University of Maryland Student Government Association to consider.

4. LIQUOR LICENSE FOR VITO’S PIZZERIA. In May 2010, the City voted not to oppose the liquor license application for Vito’s Pizzeria, but based on our concerns about the restaurant owner’s lack of experience selling alcohol, the City included a provision that Vito’s could not sell hard liquor for the first six months after he got the liquor license, and would have to come back to the Council for approval before selling hard liquor. Vito’s opened in August 2010, and this would be up for consideration before Council in February 2010. The owner, Vito Riccio, has asked, however, that the City take this matter up sooner. He would like to be able to sell liquor once the students come back after the holidays. I had a number of concerns when this came up before us the first time, but Mr. Riccio has done a good job of enforcing the liquor laws at his restaurant, and has been diligently carding people at his restaurant. He is also looking to expand. I think it’s important to support local business, and since he seems intent on following the law and preventing underage drinking, I hope he has success. Waiting another two months to allow him to sell hard liquor may not make a difference at this point, so I’m reluctantly supportive of his request.

5. UPDATE ON RENT STABILIZATION. Councilmember Nagle asked to put this on the worksession tomorrow, to get an update on enforcement of the City’s rent stabilization program. The City first passed this program in 2006, but has been battling a lawsuit against the program since then, and as a result, has not been able to implement the program. The City received a decision from the Maryland Court of Appeals earlier this fall that upheld the program, and the staff is now about to begin implementation. The program applies to rental of single-family homes, duplexes triplexes and quadraplexes. Notices are now going out to landlords that they need to register their properties and hold their rents at the level required by the ordinance or the rent charged in 2005, whichever is higher, or otherwise request an exception based on hardship or on expenditures they’ve made improving the properties. There’s a Frequently Asked Questions paper on the rent stabilization ordinance at http://collegeparkmd.gov/Documents/Public%20Services/Rent%20Stabilization%20FAQ.pdf. Also, there will be a discussion of the rent stabilization ordinance at the NCPCA meeting this Thursday. Let me know if you have any questions.

We are still looking for current tenants to be part of the Rent Stabilization Board, which hears applications for exemptions from the rent stabilization ordinance. If you are interested or you know someone who might be, please let me know.

6. PROPOSED ORDINANCE RE: ZONING AUTHORITY – The Council will again be discussing the proposed ordinance enabling the City to consider a number of zoning decisions recently authorized by the County – specifically, whether to grant: 1) alternative compliance from landscaping requirements on certain properties; 2) certification, revocation and revision of existing uses that are not in compliance with the zoning code (either because they existed prior to the zoning code or were allowed to happen in error), and 3) minor changes to approved special exceptions. These are very limited additional circumstances in which the City can exercise review authority. This proposed ordinance establishes a procedure for the City to exercise this authority. I had a few questions about it the last time that the Council discussed it, including what type of change would be considered a “minor” change that the Planning Director may approve. The definition of a “minor” change is set by the County as any change that changes the scope of the project by less than 10%. Although the planning director may make decisions on these changes, any interested party may request a full public hearing on them.

7. BELTWAY PLAZA DEVELOPMENT. The City of Greenbelt has been considering a proposal from Quantum Companies to place new housing in the area behind Beltway Plaza. Unfortunately, this developer has scaled back its project considerably – the project was originally going to be a full redevelopment of Beltway Plaza, but the current proposal only includes new housing behind Beltway Plaza, with no redevelopment of the mall itself. The Greenbelt City Council sent a letter in opposition to this proposal on November 9, 2010, after the developer refused to consider deferring the project to have a greater discussion on the merits of its proposal. I asked that College Park consider sending a letter to the Planning Board in support of Greenbelt’s position – although this development is not in College Park, the placement of new density so far from the Metro station without providing new amenities within walking distance could add greatly to congestion in the area, especially since the proposed development does not include pedestrian connections to the existing mall. The developer failed to address many of the concerns that Greenbelt had about the project, and given the negative impact that this new density could have on College Park, I would like to see us send a letter to support Greenbelt’s position.

8. PURCHASE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS WITH LEFTOVER FUNDS FROM COLLEGE PARK DAY. The College Park Day planning committee decided that, as part of an effort to make the event sustainable, the City should purchase renewable energy credits to offset the electricity used to run the event. It is difficult to estimate the exact amount of energy used – in addition to the stage and sound equipment, we used a blower for the moon bounce and blow-up obstacle course, and ran a refrigerator truck to keep the drinks cool all day. We estimated that the total energy used was about 250 MwH, and renewable energy credits cost $2 per MwH, so the total cost would be $500. The contractor we propose to use is the one usually used by the University.

9. DISCUSSION OF “CHARTING NEW WATERS.” “Charting New Waters” is a commitment by different organizations, businesses and governments to fix problems related to freshwater management through effective regulation and new strategies across different levels of government and different sectors of the economy. Also, the document proposes that we work to integrate energy use policy with freshwater management to more efficiently treat, move and use water. Part of the strategy involves accounting for the full cost of the use of water and educating the public about the challenges of freshwater management and solutions to those challenges. I’m not certain what action steps the City might take, but I’m eager to discuss this document – it’s important that the City take more steps to better manage our freshwater resources and prevent water pollution, as well as more efficiently use and manage water resources.

10. LETTER TO WMATA REGARDING SAFETY AT THE GREENBELT METRO STATION. I have asked the staff to add to tomorrow’s agenda a letter to WMATA to address safety concerns at the Greenbelt Metro station. Earlier this year, a group of residents collected petition signatures directed at WMATA to ask for the installation of a closed-circuit camera on the Metro path. Also, a number of residents had some concern after WMATA and the Maryland-North Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) clear cut the trees along the stream that runs by this path. In response, the Committee for a Better Environment drafted a set of recommendations asking WMATA to address the public safety issues at the Metro station in a way that respects the integrity of the creek and the Anacostia watershed. I have drafted a letter to send these recommendations on to WMATA and ask WMATA to meet with the CBE to discuss replanting by the creek. The letter also asks for an update on WMATA’s analysis of the location of closed-circuit cameras on the Green line, and asks WMATA to look at the possibility of additional lighting along the trail.

11. CONSIDERATION OF A CITY POSITION ON THE CHINESE BIBLE CHURCH EXPANSION AND THE CONNECTION OF NORTH AUTOVILLE DRIVE. The Chinese Bible Church on Autoville Drive has been considering an expansion for the past couple of years, and is on the verge of getting final approval. Unfortunately, it requires a water easement through property owned by the Michaels Company, and the company is now holding the Chinese Bible Church expansion hostage, based on Michaels’ desire to connect North Autoville Drive to Hollywood Road west of US 1. Michaels has asked the Chinese Bible Church to provide part of its land to allow this connection to take place. The neighborhood is against this based on concerns that this would make North Autoville Drive a thoroughfare. I believe the City will be considering a position against the connection between North Autoville Drive and Hollywood Road, and in support of the Chinese Bible Church.

12. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES. As noted above, the City is still looking for tenants to serve on the Rent Stabilization Board. In addition, there are spots available for District residents on the following boards and committees: Airport Authority, Animal Control Board, Animal Welare Commission, Cable Television Commission, Committee for a Better Environment, Education Advisory Committee, and Veterans Memorial Improvement Committee. Please let me know if you’re interested or would like more information.

Thanks for listening! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about anything we’re discussing.

Patrick

Dog Park Behavior

ATTENTION DOG OWNERS!
The College Park Dog Park Association
Presents A Free Seminar About
Dog Park Behavior

The College Park Dog Park Association (CPDP) invites you to attend an in-depth presentation by the Washington Humane Society’s (WHS) Behavior and Learning Center on the canine culture that governs dog park “pawlitics”. Topics to be discussed include:
Identifying various styles of play
Recognizing subtle canine body language to anticipate and avoid problems
How to determine when your dog is ready for the dog park experience
Recognizing when your dog is no longer benefiting from the dog park…and much more!

Sunday, December 5, 2010
2— 5 p.m.
Davis Hall, 9217 51st Avenue, College Park MD 20740
Humans only, please!
For more information, contact info@cpdogpark.org
About the College Park Dog Park Association: Opened in 2002, The College Park Dog Park is a half-acre dog park located in Acredale Park, and currently has about 100 members. Annual membership is $30. For more information about joining, visit our website at cpdogpark.org. See you at the park!