City of College Park Council Meeting Highlights – April 18, 2023

/ District 2 Councilmembers - College Park, MD

Comments are by Councilmembers Llatetra Brown Esters and Susan Whitney and are not approved or sanctioned by the City of College Park.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS/COMMENTS – MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON

  • Councilmember Kabir – Looking for Celebrating College Park Parade participants & volunteers
  • Councilmember Esters – BDCA meeting this Thursday, April 20th at Tacos a la Madre.
  • Councilmember Whitney – District 2 Walking Tour starts this Saturday 4/22; historical marker ceremony in Lakeland at 1 pm Saturday, 4/22.
  • Councilmember Adams – Yarrow Civic Association meeting at 2 pm on 4/22; Old Town Calvert Hills Playground Renovation Discussion at 7pm on 4/24. Video from Here and Now Mayoral Candidate Forum posted & viewable by question. 
  • Councilmember Mackie- thanks to College Park’s volunteer firefighters; Reminders about Maryland Day, Arbor Day and UMD’s drug take-back event on Saturday 4/22.
  • SGA Liaison Valerie Graham – Several candidates for next year’s student liaisons. SGA elections began on 4/18 and go to end of April.
  • Councilmember Mitchell – Will be Mistress of Ceremony for Lakeland historical marker event on 4/22. COG Board of Directors meeting addressed elections processes & software. Will report to Council next week. 

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT 

City Manager Kenny Young thanked College Park Volunteer Fire Department (CPVFD) for their service. Attended their annual awards banquet along with Councilmembers Esters and Kennedy. 

PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS: 

• Arbor Day (observance on April 28) 

• Children’s Mental Health Week (May 1-7) 

AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 

Agenda unanimously approved

CONSENT AGENDA 

23-G-62 Approve a motion to reappoint James McFadden to the College Park Housing Authority for a five-year term to begin on May 1. 

23-G-63 Approval of FY ’23 Community Service Grants totaling $13,773 for the following applicants: Helpers to Good ($2,500); College Park United Methodist Church ($2,500); College Park Woods Neighborhood Watch ($2,000); Neighbors Helping Neighbors ($543); Berwyn District Civic Association ($2,230); Calvert Hills Citizens Association ($2,000); and Lakeland Civic Association ($2,000) – Gary Fields, Director of Finance 

23-G-64 Approval of minutes from the March 14, 2023 meeting; the March 25, 2023 Budget Worksession. 

Consent agenda unanimously approved.

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS 

  1. Regulation of short-term rentals such as AirBnBs – Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services and Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney 
  • Overview by Ryan
    • Current City code
      • doesn’t differentiate short & long-term rentals
      • doesn’t regulate owner-occupant renting to less than 3 people
      • non-owner-occupied homes renting to 1+ must have permit & annual inspection
      • County requires photos of required safety measures but doesn’t conduct on-site inspections
      • County short-term regulations allow 8 people in single family home
    • Has requested County’s list of short-term rentals
  • Overview by Ferguson
    • Council can adopt County’s code by reference if it wants
    • If City chooses to regulate short-term rentals, County’s laws don’t apply.
    • County law limits a non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in number of days property can be rented’
    • What problem does Council want to resolve?
  • Council comments
    • Some homes owned by non-permanent residents are being used as hotels.
    • Short-term rentals present challenge for rental affordability
    • Lack of accountability for owners and short-term renters
    • Some AirBnBs have homestead, but owners don’t live there
    • County requires only attestation, not proof of residency
    • Is homestead verified? (Ferguson – sometimes. If violation suspected, can contact SDAT)
    • Need to balance need for extra income with quality of life for neighbors
    • AirBnB owners are not notifying neighbors, as is required by County law
    • Does City have to be at least as strict as County? (Ferguson – City can be more or less strict than County laws in this area because it’s business regulation, not zoning.)
    • Can LLCs be prohibited from attaining short-term rental licenses? (Ferguson – Would have to declare a governmental purpose for limiting.)
    • County not enforcing its laws
    • Consensus that City should regulate short-term rentals hosts & platforms and not adopt County law by reference.
  1. Development and implementation of strategies to engage UMD students living in College Park (45) – Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager 
  • Introduction by Councilmembers Esters
    • Inspired to address topic by student engagement in & response to redistricting
    • Councilmembers Esters & Whitney met SGA Liaisons Valerie Graham & Adrian Andriessens twice since December 2023 to brainstorm ways to increase student engagement in City, then took topics to City Manager & City Clerk. All agreed to bring to Council. Key takeaways from those meetings:
      • Students vote more often in national elections; getting them to vote local is harder.
      • Ongoing engagement outside of election years is important.
      • Students engage in big ticket items they’re passionate about. Get the word out about those.
      • Would be good for Council to attend SGA meetings.
      • It’s not just about voting, it’s about being engaged in the community.
      • Idea of asking President Pines or Provost Rice to push local elections in campus-wide emails
    • Comments from SGA liaisons
      • Students only see councilmembers around election time. They value more authentic connections.
      • Students are often surprised they can register to vote at dorm address.
      • University doesn’t make it easy for councilmembers to campaign on campus.
      • Directly engage students in the places they frequent
      • Invite students to directly engage at City Hall Plaza, events
      • UMD student voting in national elections is 10% higher than average student bodies 
      • City leadership should participate in freshman orientation and welcome them to their new home.
      • Include info on College Park civic and social engagement in University 101 syllabus – guest speakers from City
      • Clubs would like visits by councilmembers
      • The more you connect with students, the more engaged they will be.
    • Comments from University of Maryland Office of Community Engagement (OCE) Community Engagement Coordinator David W. Smith, Sr. and Digital Communications Specialist Antonya da Silva
      • Many students nationwide don’t have the proper ID to vote, especially students of color
      • OCE can connect us with university leadership
      • Over 50% of Good Neighbor Day volunteers were UMD students, many with local zip codes. Participation going up over time.
      • That being said, some students provided out-of-town zip codes when registering. They don’t think of College Park as home. How to change?
      • Provost creating new Center of Community Engagement. Should incorporate these goals.
      • Students need space for functions, can the City provide?
      • Identify local students to connect with out-of-town students moving in. 
    • Council discussion
      • Strengthen Council communication with The Diamondback, an asset & key way to reach students
      • Continue to strengthen voice of student liaisons
      • Actively seek student input
      • Put forward measures that only benefit students, arguably some of our biggest taxpayers. 
      • Partner with Do Good Institute.
      • Create ad hoc or subcommittee to work on this with next student liaisons.
      • Don’t measure student engagement by voting, but don’t give up on increasing voter turnout either.
      • Key is humanization. Creating authentic interactions where long-term residents respect the humanity of students and vice versa. Sewing or cooking lessons, progressive dinners.
      • Trying to attract and retain our student population as long-term residents. 
      • Appreciate student contributions to City and welcome more – UMD’s MILE Program, Lakeland Stars, Adult computer classes for city residents
      • Encourage UMD faculty to assign projects in College Park
      • Encourage civic associations to engage students. BDCA created student liaison positions
      • Develop neighborhood guide specifically aimed at students.
      • Invite Mayor & Council to events where incoming freshman visit campus with parents
      • Engage in UMD TikTok
      • Host midnight breakfast where Mayor & Council serve students or deliver snacks during final exam.
  1. Agenda items for April 27 Four Cities meeting – in Greenbelt
  • Discuss how other municipalities are addressing racing, exhibition driving and modified mufflers since State bills failed
  • Beltway expansion idea hasn’t gone away
  • Investors purchases of single-family homes
  • WMATA Better Bus Network redesign
  • Impact were County townhome moratorium to have passed

REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 

  • Councilmember Adams- In interest of public safety, consider increasing New Neighbor Homeownership Grant to $15 thousand for law enforcement personnel. 
  • Councilmember Whitney –  Followed up on petition for traffic study in the 4700 Block of Navahoe St. (City Manager Young – will put on future Consent Agenda)

COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON OR CITY MANAGER 

  • Councilmember Kennedy – She and Councilmember Mackie met with COG FARM committee. No Kid Hungry spoke about success with Breakfast After the Bell Program legislation. The Farm tour in Loudon County is in May.
  • Councilmember Adams – Mayor Pro Tem Denise Mitchell spoke to National League of Cities’ (NLC) University Cities Committee about the City’s relationships with UMD students and administration. Adams attended Hill Day and spoke with Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and a member of Congressman Glenn Ivey’s team about how the FBI coming to Greenbelt would be transformational to our area and thanked them for their advocacy. 
  • Councilmember Mackie – Educational Advisory Committee meeting was Monday night. They’re coming before Council on 5/2, and they will participate in the parade. 
  • Councilmember Mitchell – At a future meeting, NLC would like to hear from the City’s student liaisons about their experiences with their role.

Click here for the April 18th meeting agenda. Click here to watch the video of the April 18, 2023, meeting. 

Click here to see the agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on April 25, 2023. Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following anticipated Presentations and Workshop discussions:

  • Introduction of FY ’24 Budget Ordinance
  • 2023 Quarterly Financial Presentation
  • Discussion of having a different property tax rate for vacant and blighted properties
  • Discussion of quality-of-life issues (noise, unruly social gatherings, open containers, public intoxication and public urination) and of UMD student health and safety
  • Third Quarter Strategic Plan update