Comments are by Councilmember Susan Whitney and are not approved or sanctioned by the City of College Park.
Click here to watch the video of the City of College Park Mayor & Council Meeting held on June 3, 2025. By going to this link, you can watch the discussion of specific agenda items you are interested in. If you have questions about Council actions and discussions, please email us at lbesters@collegeparkmd.gov and swhitney@collegeparkmd.gov.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
City Manager Kenny Young was away at the ITGA Conference, so Assistant City Manager Bill Gardiner announced the following:
- The city is marking Pride Month at City Hall with banners and a traveling exhibit shown in partnership with the Stonewall Museum and a potentially a powerpoint presentation about gay rights in American since the 1940s. Next Friday’s Friday night live will be pride-themed and features Honest Lee Soul.
- A seminar about fraud is being hosted at College Park Woods Clubhouse
- Trolley Trail Day will be Saturday, June 14, and the Hollywood Farmer’s Market opens at 9 am that day.
- Free parking downtown all summer.
- This Friday is the registration deadline for the summer reading camp program at UMD, which is free for students grades k-7.
PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS
AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Councilmember Hernandez made a motion to move Consent Agenda item 25-G-57 regarding locations for 5 stop sign cameras in the city off consent to action.
Passing the agenda as amended was moved by Councilmember Mackie, seconded by Councilmember Whitney and unanimously approved.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON CONSENT AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS
College Park resident and former Councilmember Bob Catlin said in the coming meetings, he would provide a history of development in College Park including:
- From the mid ‘70s to mid ‘80s, adjacent development in Berwyn and Lakeland made that area the center of development.
- From the mid ‘80s to 90s, there was almost no development.
- From the late 90s to mid 2000s, North College Park was the focus of development.
- Three major projects on big tracts of land: Washington Post building, Ikea JTCC (the Juniors Tennis Center)
- Changes to Route One zoning in 2003 that led to the University View and 16 additional projects in coming years.
CONSENT AGENDA
25-G-56 Approval of amendments to the VEO shared micromobility Agreement – Carlos Nunes, Senior Planner and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney
25-R-07 Approval of a Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park adopting the recommendation of The Advisory Planning Commission regarding variance application number CEO-2025-01, 9623 Narragansett Parkway, College Park, Maryland, recommending approval of one variance from the City Code Section §87-23 C., to permit the installation of a 42-inch high black aluminum fence in the front yard – Miriam Bader, Director of Planning
Councilmember Whitney made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Mackie. The Consent Agenda passed unanimously.
PRESENTATIONS: None
ACTION ITEMS:
25-G-57 Approval of the five (5) locations for Stop Sign Monitoring Systems within the Corporate Boundaries of the City of College Park -Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney
Director Khokar provided a history of the ordinance and said the first step in implementing the program was getting the ordinance allowing stop sign monitoring passed on May 13, 2025, with an effective date of June 3.
The second step is getting locations approved through the county council, which they’re working with Council Members Olson and Dernoga to do. They will want to see city council approval of the proposed locations, which is what we’re voting on tonight.
Staff started with a list of 14-15 locations, which they shortlisted to 9. They took that list to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Council, which winnowed it down to 5.
Councilmember Hernandez asked about how additional locations could be requested and what the cost for that would be.
Director Khokhar said a process for that had not yet been developed, but it would need to be fair and consistent. They would consider the number of violations during the pilot project, and the location would have to be appropriate for the solar-powered cameras.
Councilmember Rigg recalled that capital costs for the vendor that ran the pilot project were to be incurred by the vendor, which needs a certain number of citations to make it financially feasible.
Director Khokhar said they will follow the direction from Council about adding more cameras, saying the law does not prevent having more, but a feasiblity study would need to be done, the location must be environmentally friendly, and the locations would have to be approved by County Council.
City Manager Young reminded Council that they had requested a slow and steady approach with not too many initial locations to allow us to see how the cameras operate and what kind of data to collect for extra locations. The city is also fighting to maintain tree canopy, which eliminates many locations. We must also abide by the law requiring the cameras to be within a certain distance from a school. He said the process to get here has had many steps that other municipalities did not follow, which is why we are one of the last municipalities to implement the program.
Councilmember Mackie asked how residents would be informed of the program. Mr. Young said that once staff has decided on the grace period during which fines will not be assessed and once locations have been decided, staff will develop and implement a communications plan.
Councilmember Mackie asked if it would be reasonable to request a second site in each district in 3 months, and Mr. Young said he did not think so. He said council frequently changes direction and they are trying to get minimum locations established for a baseline.
Councilmember Whitney requested a video that shows a proper stop to avoid a ticket.
Councilmember Hew asked if we were using the vendor that performed the pilot.
City Manager Young said we are riding a contract, he thinks with the town of Brentwood.
Councilmember Ranker asked said he would like the contract to comes before Council so we could review how long it was for, and what would be considered in getting extra locations.
Whitney made the motion, which was seconded by Rigg, then passed unanimously
WORKSESSION DISCUSSIONS
Review and discussion of a code provision to increase municipal infractions from $1,000 to $5,000 (Senate Bill 820) – Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services and Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney
Director Khokar introduced the item, saying staff seek guidance and input from councilmembers and civic associations.
City Attorney Stephanie Anderson pointed out that the increase is up to $5 thousand. She said the final amount is a range, and what staff has highlighted are areas in the current code where an increase might benefit code enforcement. She said the law doesn’t take effect until October 1.
Director Khokar said if Council wanted to implement higher fines, it would have to introduce and ordinance that amends Chapter 110 that details the fines, then bring that back to Council for final approval.
Councilmember Mackie said a lot of our fines are from the 1990s. She said fines are important to deter negative behavior. She said we should have at least one community meeting in every district to gauge community response.
Councilmember Ranker said he doesn’t want someone who makes a mistake to get at $5 thousand fine, but, rather, we need escalators for repeat offenders that flip their nose at being in the community and do not follow rules. He said he’s a strong proponent of continual escalators, especially for repeat violations within a certain period.
Councilmember Rigg proposed 3 different ways of approaching such changes:
- By Council subcommittee
- Through staff recommendations
- Grassroots based, either by using the Advisory Planning Council and/or series of community meetings
He said he would lean toward asking staff to identify the most egregious violations to increase fines for, then going to community, saying it’s not a good use of council time to hammer work through this as a council.
Mr. Gardiner said staff could bring back recommendations that both Council and the community could vet.
Councilmember Whitney mentioned overcrowding and amount that landlords make on that and suggested fines be set accordingly. She also brought up the tree ordinance, saying current fines could just be seen as a part of the cost of an unapproved removal.
Deputy SGA Liaison Amira Abujuma asked if tenants or landlords paid fines.
SGA Liaison Nick Dispiritu noted a situation with the Chelsea Garden apartments, saying many residents were asked to leave because of how bad living conditions are. He said if fines were directed at tenants, they couldn’t afford to pay and move.
Director Khokhar said the landlord is the one held responsible if the violation is in common areas or with the HVAC system. He said in rare instances, the tenant can be held accountable if they’re not maintaining their apartment.
Councilmember Whitney said it tends to be logical. Noise ordinance violations can impact tenants. If there is a situation where people think the landlord is purposely blaming things on tenants to get them out, they should communicate first with code officers and, if not getting point across, go to their council representative.
Councilmember Ranker said we should focus on ensuring tenants know their rights and understand what their lease says they’re responsible for.
Mr. Young said staff would review the fines mentions and will come back to Council once and can discuss with the public a few times.
Councilmember Rigg closed by saying if Council wants to dig deep and do and overhaul, a subcommittee will be needed. It would require a level of detail and, on behalf of council, trust of the subcommittee. This is a project that if don’t manage it well, we will get stuck in the mud. He suggested letting staff come back, then seeing where we stand.
REQUESTS FOR / STATUS OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
On behalf of Mayor Pro Tem Mitchell, Councilmember Mackie asked that Mitchell’s submission regarding requiring audits on our grant recipients be added to the master list. It was seconded by Councilmember Hernandez an unanimously approved.
COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: None
COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR, COUNCIL, STUDENT LIAISON OR CITY MANAGER
Councilmember Mackie said she and Councilmember Hernandez attended the College Park Academy graduation, and it was very inspiring. She also noted her six years of service on COG’s Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee and explained little things people could do to help the Bay, like picking up trash, composting and not putting yard waste in the street.
Councilmember Hernandez said he attended International Night at Hollywood Elementary School, saying it was interrupted by the tornado warning, which was handled well.
Councilmember Whitney reminded residents to learn what to do during a tornado warning and to take them seriously.
SGA liaison Dispiritu said they are reviewing applications for the SGA liaison advisory council, and SGA Deputy Liaison Abujuma said she is looking forward to getting to know the Mayor and Council.
ADJOURN CLOSED SESSION Pursuant to the Maryland Annotated Code, General Provisions Article, § 3-305, the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park are providing notice that they will meet in a Closed Session after this meeting to:
1. Discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, discipline, demotion, compensation, removal, resignation, or performance evaluation of appointees, employees, or officials over whom this public body has jurisdiction; any other personnel matter that affects one or more specific individuals. The Mayor and Council will be discussing the Board and Committee Applications received;
2. To consider the acquisition of real property for a public purpose and matters directly related thereto;
3. To consult with counsel to obtain legal advice. The Mayor and Council will not return to open session
MEETING ADJOURNED
Click here to see the full agenda for the City of College Park Mayor & Council Hybrid Meeting on June 10, 2025, once it is available. Tune in, show up or share your thoughts/concerns about the following anticipated Consent Agenda and Action Items, and Workshop discussions proposed to be on the agenda that may interest District 2 residents. Please contact us as soon as possible if you need accommodations to participate in a meeting, including language translation:
Consent:
- 25-G-59: Approval of a letter of opposition of the transfer of a Class A, Beer, Wine and Liquor license from 8141 Baltimore Avenue Corporation, t/a College Park Liquors to Riya Raj, LLC, t/a College Park Liquors, 7207 Baltimore Avenue, College Park, MD 20740
Public Hearing & Possible Action:
- Petition request for Traffic Calming in the 9000 Block of Autoville Drive
Action:
- 25-G-58: Approval of the reappointments of Maxine Gross and Senator Jim Rosapepe as Class B Directors and Kate Kennedy, Gloria Aparicio-Blackwell and Kenny Young as Class C Directors of the College Park City University Partnership
- 25-G-60: Annual appointments to City advisory boards for terms that begin on July 1
- Introduction of an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park Authorizing the acquisition of certain real property located at 5021 Lakeland Road, College Park, MD 20740, for a public purpose. The Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
Worksession Discussions:
- Discussion of Proposed FY26 Annual Strategic Plan Objectives
The College Park District 2 Digest 