Advisory Planning Commission

CITY OF COLLEGE PARK ADVISORY PLANNING COMMISSION 7401 BALTIMORE AVENUE, COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND 20740 TELEPHONE: (240) 487-3538 ADVISORY PLANNING COMMISSION Approved Minutes of Meeting April 7, 2022 (Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a Virtual Meeting) Members Present Absent Stephanie Stullich, Chair x Santosh Chelliah, Vice-Chair x Daejauna Donahue x Vernae Martin x Kiersten Johnson x Malaika Nji-Kerber x Michael Meadow x Also Present: Planning Staff – Terry Schum, Miriam Bader and Theresheia Williams; I. Call to Order and Amendments to Agenda: Stephanie Stullich called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. II. Approval of the Agenda: Santosh Chelliah moved to approve the agenda as posted. Michael Meadow seconded. Motion carried 6-0-0. III. Approval of Minutes: Kiersten Johnson amended the minutes to replace “She” with “He “on page 2, paragraph 3. Kirsten Johnson moved to approve the minutes as amended. Michael Meadow seconded. Motion carried 6-0-0. IV. Public Remarks on Non-Agenda Items: There were no Public Remarks on Non- Agenda Items. V. Housekeeping • Conflict of Interest Statements due April 30 – Back in March, the City Clerk’s office mailed out Conflict of Interest and Gift Disclosure forms to all Boards. The forms should be returned to the City Clerk’s office by April 30th. • Commission members with terms expiring June 30 – The APC has one member whose seat expires on June 30th. A letter and application to reapply has been mailed and must be returned to remain on the Commission. • Privacy question - The City Clerk is considering purchasing a software module to support advisory board recruitment and would like to include each advisory board roster with names and expiration dates. Staff polled all commissioners, and no one objected. • Required training from the Department of Planning – The Maryland General Assembly requires local jurisdiction’s Planning Boards to complete a one-time education course to cover zoning and variance standards. All APC members except one have completed the course. The online course can be accessed at: http://planning.maryland.gov/Pages/YourPart/EducationWelcome.aspx Advisory Planning Commission Minutes April 7, 2022 – Page 2 • Future in-person, hybrid, or zoom meetings – Most commissioners were interested in returning to in-person meetings. Commissioners agreed that hybrid meetings would offer flexibility and the option to ease back to in-person meetings. Commissioners voted to go to hybrid meetings starting with the May 5th meeting. Staff will contact members before each meeting to find out if they will be attending in person or virtually. If the pandemic situation should change, the location of future meetings will be addressed. It was also suggested that staff offer a tour of the new City Hall before the start of the May 5th meeting for any interested member. VI. Update on Planning and Development Activity • New Zoning Ordinance Effective April 1 – The new Zoning Ordinance became effective on April 1, 2022. All properties in the City have new zoning categories. The new zoning will affect variance cases that come before the APC. The lot coverage will increase from 30% to 35% and side yard setbacks must be a minimum of 8 feet on both sides. For new development projects, the developer will have the option for two years to develop their properties under the old or current Zoning Code. Developers will also be required to schedule a pre-application meeting with neighborhood organizations. If the developer builds under the old code, they would be exempt from scheduling a pre- application meeting. • Adelphi Road Purple Line Sector Plan – A hearing was held on this Sector Plan by the County Planning Board on April 7th to discuss staff analysis, testimony and recommendations. They voted 3-0-0 to adopt the Sector Plan with the staff’s recommendations. This Sector Plan received opposition from the City of College Park, the Town of University Park and the City of Hyattsville. There were over 1,000 pages of testimony in the record and countless exhibits, which were analyzed by the Planning Board staff. The Planning Board will adopt the resolution next week, which will codify what was approved at the hearing. The next step is for the adopted plan to go to the District Council for approval. • College Park Age-Friendly Development Plan – A public meeting was held on March 14, 2022, where consultants presented draft vision statements and sought community input. The city received a grant from Park and Planning on behalf of the City Seniors Committee to prepare the plan that will address housing, transportation, communication, economic development, and health. A draft plan should be available in the middle of May and presented to the City Council. The Senior Committee is interested in having the draft sent to community groups and civic associations for their review and then they will ask that the City Council formally adopt the plan and pursue some of the actions recommended in the plan. Advisory Planning Commission Minutes April 7, 2022 – Page 3 • Status of Development Review Applications o Tony Akaras, owner of 7131 Baltimore Avenue, will be before the APC at the June 2nd meeting with his new team of engineers and architects to present revised plans for the site. This will allow APC to weigh in early with comments and Civic Associations will also be invited. The property is at Rt. 1 and Guilford Road and has been in a demolished state for about 5 years. The City’s Code Department monitors the site but has done everything it can do within the law. The project was formerly known as the District 3 Social Club, but is now proposed for a mixed- use building with 12 apartment units and ground-floor retail. No applications have been filed. o On March 17, 2022, the city purchased the property at 4704 Calvert Road. Last year, a developer working with the property owner, Carlton Green, gave an informational presentation to the APC on possible development of the site. The proposed project met with objections from the community and did not proceed. The property was offered to the City and the City Council approved the purchase. The house on the property was built in the late 1890s and has 4 units. It was previously zoned for multifamily. The City will be exploring options for development of the property and will seek input from the APC. o Terrapin House, located on Rt 1 and Hartwick Road, came before the APC in December 2020, to present a conceptual plan for the site. They are moving forward, and the Preliminary Plan of Subdivision application has been accepted by Park and Planning for review. At this stage, adequate public facilities are addressed including traffic impacts. A Detailed Site Plan will follow this application. o ECOGrads is located at Rt. 1 and Quebec Street across from the student housing project called Tempo. The developer is Mark Manzo. A Preliminary Plan of Subdivision has been submitted to build 6 to 7 stories of graduate student housing. The proposed 123 units are intended to be small and affordable. Parking will be provided on-site and the 1/2-acre site will be completely developed. A Detailed Site Plan will follow this application. o On April 5, the City Council is slated to approve a new 3-year agreement for electric bicycles and scooters. The city is moving to implement forced parking, which will require all scooters and bikes to be parked in a designated parking hub or at a bicycle rack. Fees will accrue to the user if they are not returned to their hub. Bicycles and Scooters are a popular alternative transportation mode, and the city would like to provide more parking opportunities. A new electric bike or seated scooter is being introduced with smaller wheels, a bigger seat, Advisory Planning Commission Minutes April 7, 2022 – Page 4 and a basket which may be more attractive to those who don’t feel comfortable on a regular scooter. Staff is looking for ideas where bike racks or hubs could be installed in every neighborhood. The neighborhoods that particularly lack parking are College Park Woods, College Park Estates, and Yarrow. VII. Other Business: There was no other business. VIII. Adjourn: There being no further business, Michael Meadow moved to adjourn the meeting. Kiersten Johnson seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Minutes prepared by Theresheia Williams