Advisory Planning Commission

CITY OF COLLEGE PARK ADVISORY PLANNING COMMISSION 7401 BALTIMORE AVENUE, COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND 20740 TELEPHONE: (240) 487-3538 ADVISORY PLANNING COMMISSION Draft Minutes of Meeting September 1, 2022 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; College Park Senior Committee – Robert Thurston, Bonnie McClellan and Mary Anne Hakes I. Call to Order and Amendments to Agenda: Stephanie Stullich called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. II. Approval of the Agenda Michael Meadow moved to approve the agenda as posted. Daejauna Donahue seconded. Motion carried 5-0-0. III. Approval of Minutes: Michael Meadow moved to approve the minutes of August 4, 2022. Daejauna Donahue seconded. Motion carried 5-0-0. IV. Public Remarks on Non-Agenda Items: There were no Public Remarks on Non- Agenda Items. V. Discussion on Draft College Park Age-Friendly Action Plan – Robert Thurston College Park Seniors Committee Terry Schum gave a summary of the plan. She stated that the report presented tonight is a draft and a written version of the draft final report is in production at M-NCPPC . She stated that the Senior Committee would like to meet with as many residents, groups, and boards and commissions as possible to get their input before the plan is adopted by the City Council. Once the document is ready for distribution, it will go out as a draft so that any input received can be added. The Senior Committee will then ask that the City Council formally adopt the plan so that it can be a priority for implementation. Robert Thurston, President of the College Park Senior Committee discussed the College Park Age-Friendly Action Plan. He stated that the action plan was devised from a discussion between the Seniors Committee, meeting with representatives from AARP, and a consultant hired through a grant from M-NCPPC to do community outreach and prepare goals, objectives and actions. Advisory Planning Commission Minutes September 1, 2022 – Page 2 This presentation is the consultant’s draft of areas they feel the city should address for the action plan. This draft has been presented to the City Council, but their comments have not been included in this presentation. Each domain has goals and objectives and general action items. He stated that the goal of livability is for people to feel safe in the community. Not just for residents over 65 but for all ages of residents who can matriculate in the same community or environment and at some point, age in place. The areas of livability that were focused on in the plan are health services, housing, transportation, communication, and social participation. He stated that the committee would like to present this report to all city committees that have some type of activity in the community. In June 2021, the senior committee was admitted into the network of AARP. A grant was received from M-NCPPC to receive some assistance in this process. AARP has a five-year process that includes two years of assessment, three years of implementation, measurements, and results. It is a continuous improvement process. Once the final plan is presented to the committee, we will meet with the Mayor and Council and ask for approval of the plan. Mr. Thurston stated that City Council should work with the County to advocate for changes to policies allowing accessory dwelling units (ADU). He stated that AARP advocates for regulatory changes to permit being able to modify properties so that you can live on a single level if your existing dwelling does not provide that option. Terry stated that accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are not allowed in single-family neighborhoods. If you have a carport that could be converted into a small apartment, you can only have only 1 legal dwelling unit on a site, an accessory dwelling will be a second unit. Mary Anne Hakes stated that the senior advisory committee requested and received money to provide organizations like Habitat for Humanity and other such organizations to make home modifications to make it more livable for seniors to remain in their existing homes. Mary Hakes stated that the aging in place coincides with a lot of the city’s goals like neighborhood stabilization. Bonnie McClellan stated that they are trying to look at things that can be done to make the city more livable so that people who are aging can continue to live in College Park. She stated that the senior committee is exploring offering graduate students a reduced rent in exchange for them performing maintenance and other jobs for the homeowner. Stephanie Stullich asked who will be preparing the final annual report? Terry Schum stated that it is a report for the city that was prepared by a consultant under a grant from M-NCPPC. They have a program called Aid to Municipalities and Communities and you can request grant money from them, and they will administer the project. Santosh Chelliah asked what is the best form of communication that reaches the largest number of seniors? Advisory Planning Commission Minutes September 1, 2022 – Page 3 Mary Anne Hakes stated that they have advertised in College Park Here and Now, which is delivered to every household. She stated that electronic delivery leaves out a huge amount of the population. The aging population is usually isolated and is not used to doing things on their own and coming out so you may have to visit them in person. Stephanie Stullich asked if there is a contact list of current seniors living in the City? Robert Thurston stated that Youth and Family Services has a mailing list, but you have to sign up for the list. Santosh Chelliah asked if there has been a survey as to what the demand is for senior housing within College Park and if there are any pending projects specifically geared to the senior population. Terry Schum stated that there are 2700 residents in the city that are over 65 years of age but no planned housing specifically for seniors. VI. Update on Development Activity – Terry Schum reported on the following: Bimonthly Project Status Report – This report is included in your packet. It summarizes updates on development projects that are in the pre-application process, applications accepted for review by M-NCPPC and community development projects. It is updated every other week and posted on the City’s website and will be included in future APC packets. The Preserve – The property is located south of Cherry Hill Road, west of US Route 1 along Autoville Drive. The proposed development is for 131 single-family residential townhouse units. There are two parts, one North and one South that are separated by environmental features. A developer’s meeting was held on August 31, 2022, at Mamma Lucia at 4734 Cherry Hill Road. A Preliminary Plan of Subdivision and Detailed site plan will be submitted to M-NCPPC for review. The following two projects are scheduled for the City Council agenda on September 6th for their review: RST Development is located on Baltimore Ave. between Cherokee and Delaware Streets. Three hotels are currently located on-site - Days Inn, Howard Johnson’s, and Red Roof Inn. The proposal is to raze the hotels and construct 331 units of affordable housing and 4,000 sf of retail. EcoGrads – This Detailed Site plan is for 123 units of furnished affordable graduate student housing located at Baltimore Avenue and Quebec Street. VII. Other Business: There was no other business. Advisory Planning Commission Minutes September 1, 2022 – Page 4 VIII. Adjourn: There being no further business, Michael Meadow moved to adjourn the meeting. Daejauna Donahue seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m. Minutes prepared by Theresheia Williams