Council Worksession – January 18, 2011

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Dave and I went to Pittsburgh, so unfortunately I missed the Martin Luther King celebration on Saturday, but I hope some of you were able to make it!

We’re back to our regular 8 pm worksession time tomorrow night, although we still have a pretty full agenda. Here’s what we’ll be discussing:

1. PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA – we have two items up tomorrow night which shouldn’t need any discussion: 1) Approval of a policy for rental of city holidays on Sundays and holidays. The City has established rental policies allowing residents to rent the Parish House and Davis Hall on weekdays and Saturdays, for a certain cost, and for some organizations to rent them for free. Unfortunately, on Sundays and holidays, there are not always people available to open up the buildings and ensure that renters take proper care of the property and that there are no security concerns. Therefore, staff has proposed that the Council set a policy that the Old Parish House will only be available on Sundays and holidays when the caretaker of the Parish House is available to open the building, and that Davis Hall will not be available for rentals on Sundays and holidays. 2) Change of responsible person for the liquor license for the University of Maryland University Center. The Inn and Conference Center at UMUC is currently under the stewardship of Jean Bielefeldt, the University’s Associate Vice-President of Human Resources, to Mary Harmon, Assistant Provost of Administration and Finance.

2. REVIEW OF DETAILED SITE PLAN FOR DOMAIN COLLEGE PARK, ANNEXATION AGREEMENT FOR PROPERTY, AND AMENDMENT TO DECLARATION OF COVENANTS AND AGREEMENT REGARDING LAND USE. The Council has discussed this proposed development, a proposed market-rate rental housing and retail development on the corner of Mowatt Lane and Campus Drive, for the past couple of weeks. The Council worked out an agreement with the developer to reduce the amount of money the developer would put toward a bike-share station on the property, and will now be requiring a $31,000 investment into a 4-bike, 7-dock bike-share station, which the developer has agreed to. The staff has now, however, asked that the Council review a set of proposed amendments to the Declaration of Covenants, a set of terms that the developer has agreed to in order to receive the City’s support for the project. These amendments would require that the developer take certain steps to help ensure that the project is designed for professional and graduate-student housing instead of undergraduate student housing, such as ensuring that the units are mostly one-bedroom, ensuring that the developer rents the apartments out as whole apartments instead of renting out beds, and enforcing an occupancy limit of no more than two adults per bedroom. The amendments also ensure that the public has access to one of the recreational facilities that the developer will be providing, and ensure that, if the developer sells the property to a non-taxable entity (such as the University itself), the developer must ensure that the new owner makes a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the City in perpetuity. I believe the developer is agreeable to these conditions, and I feel that the conditions make sense to help ensure that the development is, as promised, a high-quality development marketed to young professionals and graduate students.

3. REVIEW OF DETAILED SITE PLAN FOR THE CHINESE BIBLE CHURCH. The Chinese Bible Church, located off Autoville Drive about 500 feet south of Chery Hill Drive, just northwest of the Mazza development, has long had an expansion in the works. This expansion would not increase the size of the sanctuary or increase the number of people in attendance at the church, but it would allow the Church to increase its classroom, office space, and parking spaces. The expansion has a long and complicated history. The City Council has already reviewed the proposed detailed site plan for the project, but the County erroneously told the Church that it could withdraw its detailed site plan because it wasn’t part of the Route 1 sector plan, so it withdrew the DSP. Unfortunately, the Church did have to submit a DSP, because it was part of a sector plan at the time when it initially submitted the DSP – so the County now has to review the DSP. The Church has been working closely with Autoville and Cherry Hill residents in developing a quality addition, addressing environmental concerns, and taking care of the needs of neighboring residents. Therefore, the City only has a few minor concerns about the project, mostly relating to enclosing a new dumpster at the church, adding new plantings to buffer the parking lot, and making minor changes to the architecture. Hopefully we can reach an agreement with the Church so that the Church can move forward without any difficulty.

4. REVIEW OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO 10-O-09, DEFINITION OF PROHIBITED VEHICLES. I sent an e-mail about this earlier this evening – this relates to the City’s prohibitions on parking commercial vehicles overnight on residential streets. The code currently prohibits the following vehicles from being parked overnight on City streets:

–any vehicle exceeding 21 feet in length or six feet in width that is used for commercial purposes;
–any vehicle exceeding a manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight specification of 8,500 pounds;
–vehicles containing advertising other than a firm name or similar designation less than 4 inches high;
–vehicles exceeding 300 cubic feet of load space; and
–any stake platform trucks, dump trucks, crane or tow trucks, or vehicles with dual rear wheels.

We’re now considering how to tweak these rules, given that some residents have received citation notices for vehicles that they need to drive back and forth to work every day and that they have used for years without citation. The current proposal on the table is to keep all the restrictions mentioned above, but to lift the restriction on commercial lettering. Please let me know if you have any input or questions on this.

5. ANNUAL LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS. Every year, the City reviews the activity of all liquor license holders in the City to see if they’ve maintained compliance with the liquor laws (that is, not gotten cited for violations of the underage drinking laws, the noise ordinances, etc.) to determine if we should challenge renewal of the license. In the past, the City Council has objected to renewal of some liquor licenses, such as the Terrapin Station due to its violation of underage drinking laws, and College Perk due to its refusal to allow inspection of the property by code inspectors. This year, there seems to be little reason to challenge any of the liquor license holders – the biggest problem was the Thirsty Turtle, which is now closed. None of the liquor license holders have ongoing code violations – some faced minor code citations, but they were corrected. Only Alario’s has an ongoing problem regarding a violation of the requirement that the liquor license holder reside in the County – and the Board of Licensing Commissioners is currently investigating this issue. Another problem is that V.F.W. Post 5627 does not have its required Health Department Permit – I do have some questions about this and whether the V.F.W. Post has worked to come into compliance. Otherwise, I see no reason to challenge any of the current liquor licenses.

6. FY 2012 BUDGET GUIDANCE. We have received preliminary numbers for the FY 2012 budget and a proposed budget calendar. We are still awaiting the assessment summary for some of the City’s reassessed properties, but some of the money lost through decreased assessments will be made up by the new residential properties coming online (such as the Varsity and Starview Plaza properties). We will also be getting some money from the Ledo Restaurant Lease. All together, staff currently predicts additional revenue of about $350,000. The City Manager has proposed limiting increased expenditures to 1% of their current amount. There will be no Cost of Living Adjustment for employees in FY 2012, but we will have to start paying off the debt for the new parking garage.

City Council wish lists and other budget requests will need to be in by February 11. Due to the minimal increased expenditure, I will limit my wish list requests this year. One thing I would like the staff to look into, though, is a possible grants manager for the City. I believe that this is a position that could pay for itself and help us take advantage of grant opportunities to improve our stormwater management as a City or, like the cities of Bowie and University Park are doing, to offer residents low-cost ways to make their homes more energy-efficient. I would like the staff to see if there is money available in our budget for such a position.

The City Manager’s draft budget will be available online and distributed to Mayor and Council on Thursday, March 31, and there will be two budget worksessions on Saturday, April 9 and Saturday, April 16, both at 7:30 am. The budget ordinance will be introduced on Tuesday, April 26, and the public hearing will be held Tuesday, May 10, for the budget to be adopted on Tuesday, May 24. Please let me know if you have any questions.

7. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. Once the final numbers are available from the Census Bureau, the City will be redistricting Councilmember districts for the 2011 municipal election. A redistricting commission will be developing three redistricting proposals for the Council to consider. Councilmember Nagle and I have asked, respectively, north College Park residents Tim Miller and John Krouse to participate in this commission. Thank you to Tim and John for their service!

8. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMITTEES. There are vacancies available for District 1 residents on the following boards and committees – the Airport Authority, the Animal Control Board, the Animal Welfare Committee, the Cable Television Commission, the Committee for a Better Environment, the Education Advisory Committee, and the Veterans Memorial Improvement Committee. Please let me know if you’re interested or if you have any questions about any of these.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Patrick

Council Worksession – January 4, 2011

First of all, Happy New Year!!! I hope you all enjoyed your holiday seasons, and had the opportunity to spend time with friends and family. This was a good time for reflection on all that the City has accomplished over the past year, and all that we have to look forward to over the next year. We continue to face a lot of challenges as a city, with a difficult economy, continuing problems with crime and foreclosures, and continuing challenges with traffic and development, but I believe that the City can move forward on these issues over the next year. I look forward to continuing working with residents of north College Park to make our city a better place to live!

We’re back to our regular Council schedule tomorrow, although since we have a busy agenda tomorrow, the worksession is scheduled to start at 7 tomorrow instead of 8 pm. Here’s what’s up for tomorrow:

1. CONSENT AGENDA – RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. – As the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., approaches, we will pause to celebrate his life. The City will be holding its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute event at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on Saturday, January 15, 2010 at 2 pm. Please mark your calendars and spread the word!

2. REVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLAN AND FY 2011 ACTION PLAN. Back in August, the City, after much community input, passed its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, setting forth our major goals for the next five years, and our FY 2011 action plan, with a series of action steps to accomplish over the next year. The Strategic Plan covers many different issues, including economic development and revitalization of both the downtown area and the Hollywood Commercial District, addressing congestion and traffic on US 1 and Rhode Island Ave. and increasing public transportation, maintaining high quality public services, providing high quality services through our youth, family and senior services program, advocating for resources to rebuild US 1, and improving the City’s sustainable practices relating to greenhouse gas emissions and stormwater management. The Strategic Plan is available online here, and the FY 2011 Action Plan is available here.

Tomorrow, we will be reviewing the City’s progress on these items over the past 4-5 months, as we begin to consider the action plan and budget for FY 2012. A number of the items are ongoing and will be continued to next year – such as advocating for funding for the rebuild of US 1. The City has made progress on a number of items, though, such as: 1) the City will soon begin its inventory of community greenhouse gas emissions in the City, with an aim to set a target for reduction; 2) the City is working on developing a policy around tax increment financing, to use this as a tool to revitalize some of the run-down areas in the city and areas in need of improvement; 3) the City is working with local Realtors and the University to market the City better to University staff and faculty and other potential homeowners; 4) the City held its first annual College Park Day event; and 5) the City has been meeting with business owners and commercial property owners in the Hollywood Commercial District, and will work with them to develop a revitalization plan in the area after the County finishes improvements to the intersection of Edgewood Road and Rhode Island Ave. The City has also developed additional programs for withdrawn and isolated senior citizens, developed additional resources for seniors to age in place, received a grant for Green Streets improvements on Lackawanna Street near the Greenbelt Metro, and begun the process to revitalize the City’s Neighborhood Watch program. Tomorrow we will begin discussing which of these items we will carry over to next year’s action plan – I think we still have a ways to go on these issues, so it won’t be hard setting an agenda for the next year! Please let me know if you have any questions.

3. PROPOSED DOG PARK AT LAKE ARTEMESIA – The Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission will be coming before the Council tomorrow to discuss a proposed dog park near Lake Artemisia. I don’t know much about the project at this point, but I’m excited to hear about it!

4. AUDITOR PRESENTATION REGARDING THE CITY’S COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT. The City’s auditors just finished our annual CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report), a review of our financial practices to ensure that there is minimal risk of fraud or material misstatement. The auditor found that the City’s financial statements fairly present the financial position of the governmental activities of the City and its major funds, and that there were no material weaknesses in the City’s financial report. The Report is available online here.

5. DETAILED SITE PLAN FOR THE DOMAIN AT COLLEGE PARK. The Domain at College Park is a proposed project to be located just outside of the current boundaries of the City of College Park, at the corner of Campus Drive and Mowatt Lane, just west of campus. The developer has proposed market-rate (non-student) housing, aimed at University faculty and staff and visiting faculty, and has been working with the University to develop a project that the University feels its necessary to house its staff and faculty. The developer is proposing 256 units, 197 one-bedroom and 59 two-bedroom, in four stories over 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail, oriented toward Campus Drive, with 380 spaces of structured/underground parking. In order to pursue the project, the developer requested to rezone the property to a Mixed Use-Transportation Oriented Zone (M-X-T), given the proximity to the University and to public transportation, including the proposed alignment of the Purple Line. At the time of rezoning, the developer agreed to pursue annexation of the property by the City of College Park. In exchange for annexation, the City agreed to phase in property taxes from the project over five years, allowing the developer to pay 70% of the applicable property taxes over the first five years after annexation.

The developer has proposed a high-quality project that would provide easy access for faculty and staff to many people who work at the University, and therefore help cut down on traffic going to and from the University. As a result, I think this project could have a real benefit for College Park. Although there are a few issues to work out, such as the need for recreational facilities for the large number of people who will be living in the development, and the need for an adequate street section to serve the residents and people visiting the retail, as well as to accommodate the Purple Line when it goes through. It seems that the developer is close to resolving any remaining issues with the City, and the project will likely move forward.

6. CONTRACT AWARD FOR AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT. The City has issued an RFP to upgrade the audio/visual equipment in Council chambers. After receiving bids that were more than the City had budgeted for the project, the Council scaled the project back to what we felt was absolutely necessary to improve the sound quality and the ability of residents to hear and watch the City Council meetings and worksessions. This includes new cameras, new microphones, and new mixers. The lowest bid for these items came in at about $141,000, plus additional monitor connections (I’m not entirely sure what for, but I plan to ask tomorrow) at $3,200, and a three-year warranty at $4,000. If the City decides in the near future to move to a new City Hall, we will be able to take this equipment with us. The staff has drafted up a contract to proceed with the improvements. The funds will come from P.E.G. grant funds provided by Comcast and Verizon to be used on audio/visual equipment.

7. COUNTY EARLY INTERVENTION GRANT. The City has received a grant from Prince George’s County to engage in “early intervention” with youth to prevent truancy in our schools. The City’s Youth Services Bureau has $30,000 to use for this purpose, and the staff has proposed distributing $5,000 each to the four public schools that serve the most College Park children (specifically – Hollywood Elementary School, Paint Branch Elementary School, Greenbelt Middle School, and Parkdale High School), and to use $10,000 to offset a reduction in state funding for the City’s youth services bureau. The four schools have proposed specific projects – Hollywood ES has proposed using the funds to provide substitute teachers to allow the regular teachers to engage in collaborative planning and discuss effective strategies for individual students; Paint Branch ES has proposed additional time for teachers to engage in extended learning for 3rd-6th grade students to help them prepare for the Maryland State Assesment; Greenbelt MS has proposed purchasing the Study Island Extended Learning Opportunity program to help students improve performance on the Maryland State Assessment, and Parkdale HS has proposed using the funds to purchase an outdoor camera to monitor an area on the campus where students often go to cut class. I have some questions about some of these projects – like whether it’s appropriate to use these funds on a camera to monitor students instead of teaching materials. $5,000 isn’t a lot of money for them to do things with, though, so there probably isn’t much that the schools can do with these funds.

8. PROPOSED ORDINANCE PROHIBITING FURNITURE ON THE ROOF. Apparently, there has been a regular problem in the past in Old Town College Park (especially student housing) with students placing furniture on the roofs of their houses even when the roofs were not meant to support this furniture. This poses obvious an safety hazard for these students, and Councilmember Stullich has proposed an ordinance to prevent this. The ordinance prohibits furniture on any roof surface not designed and built for the purpose. It does not prohibit placing furniture on any balcony or roof patio when built according to code. A first violation would lead to a $200 fine, and a second violation would lead to a $400 fine. There will be a public hearing on this ordinance, so let me know if you have any comments, and if you would like to submit comment for the public record.

9. 2011 COG COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS. Members of the Council typically volunteer to serve on a number of different committees with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. This gives us an opportunity to have a say in area-wide policy and collaborate with other governments in the D.C. metro area. I myself have served on two committees over the past couple of years – the Transportation Planning Board, which refuses (and has ultimate say) on any regionally significant transportation project, and the Human Services and Public Safety Policy Committee, which discusses and considers policy on public safety and human services issues, including homeland security, police authority, mental health issues, substance abuse, etc. Unfortunately, due to my new job, I’m afraid I don’t have the time to continue my service on both of these, so I will likely discontinue my work with the Human Services and Public Safety Policy Committee. Because I was recently appointed as chair of the Access for All Subcommittee of the Transportation Planning Board, which considers issues regarding access to transportation services for people with disabilities, people with limited income, and people with limited English proficiency, I would like to continue my work with the Transportation Planning Board.

Other committees include the COG Board of Directors, the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee, the Metropolitan Development Policy committee, the Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee, and the Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee. You can find more information about these committees and what COG does generally online at http://www.mwcog.org.

10. BOARDS AND COMMITTEES. Tomorrow, the Council will be considering appointments to the 2011 Redistricting Committee. This committee will be considering boundaries of the four City Council districts in light of information we will be receiving from the 2010 census, in preparation for the 2011 municipal elections. Councilmember Nagle and I have asked, respectively, Tim Miller and John Krouse to serve on this committee – thanks to both of them for agreeing to serve.

We will also be filling the Rent Stabilization Board. I have located two tenants who are interested in serving as tenant representatives of this committee – both are residents of District 2 in Branchville in north College Park, Justin Fair and former deputy student liaison Aaron Zaccaria. Councilmember Nagle is putting forward Kimberly James and Bob Weber, both north College Park residents, to serve on the two optional seats on the Rent Stabilization Board. Thanks to all of them for stepping up and volunteering.

There are also vacancies open for College Park residents on the following committees: the Airport Authority, the Animal Control Board, the Animal Welfare Committee, the Cable Television Commission, the Committee for a Better Environment, and the Education Advisory Committee. Please let me know if you are interested in any of these or would like further information.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and let me know if you have any comments or questions about any of these agenda items!

Patrick

Public Meeting – Pattern Book Development -January 10, 2011

Public Meeting – To Discuss Development of a Pattern Book

The City has contracted with a consultant, Urban Design Associates (UDA), to develop a Pattern Book for College Park. The purpose of the Pattern Book is to assist homeowners, contractors, and builders, as they repair, rebuild and expand houses in the City and to encourage quality development that is aesthetically pleasing and enhances the architectural quality of the existing neighborhoods.

UDA has been tasked with developing a pattern book that identifies the various housing styles found in different neighborhoods. The Pattern Book will also illustrate key components such as the shape of windows and doors, roof pitches, eaves details and types of porches that are appropriate for that style house. From remodeling a front door, adding a wing to your house, or building a new house, the Pattern Book will be designed to provide assistance in finding appropriate patterns to ensure a result that is compatible with the neighborhood.

The first public meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 10 at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 4500 Knox Road. Public participation is needed to ensure the consultant produces a product that is useful for our community.

As part of the process, the Planning Department is convening a steering committee of 6-10 persons who can, along with staff, meet with UDA and review their work as it progresses. If you are interested in participating in the steering committee please let us know as soon as possible.

Christine and Patrick

Resident Satisfaction Survey- January 10, 2011 Deadline to Submit

Just a Few Day Left to Complete the College Park Resident Satisfaction Survey!

Comments must be submitted by January 10, 2011.

If you have not already completed the survey, we ask that you take a few minutes to complete the 2010 City of College Park Resident Satisfaction Survey.

The City uses the Resident Satisfaction Survey as a tool to see how well we serve you through City services. It has been three years since the last survey was completed. The results provide us with valuable input that helps in developing the budget and making service improvements.

For the first time, this year, the survey is ONLINE! So you can access the survey at anytime and submit your results faster. To complete the survey, go to collegeparkmd.gov/survey

Please complete only ONE survey per household. You can save and exit your survey and come back anytime to complete it.

If you prefer a paper copy, please call 240-487-3501 and request a survey in either English or Spanish. We will pick up some paper copies at City Hall on Tuesday and can deliver a copy to anyone who requests one, just let us know.

Please take time to provide us your feedback on the survey. Again, the deadline is January 10, 2011.

For questions, you can contact us or the Assistant to the City Manager, Ms. Chantal Cotton at ccotton@collegeparkmd.gov.

For more information and survey results, go to the City Website.

Thanks so much,

Christine and Patrick