Mayor & City Council

MINUTES Special Session of the College Park City Council Tuesday, October 6, 2015 Council Chambers 9:37 p.m. – 9:44 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Fellows; Councilmembers Kabir, Wojahn, Brennan, Dennis, Stullich, Day, Hew and Mitchell. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Cole Holocker, Student Liaison; Adler Pruitt, Deputy Student Liaison. During a regularly scheduled Worksession of the College Park City Council, a motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Wojahn to enter into a Special Session to consider a request for permit parking in the 5200 block of Mineola Road. The possibility of this Special Session was listed on the Worksession Agenda. With a vote of 8 – 0 – 0, the Council entered into a Special Session at 9:37 p.m. ACTION ITEMS 15-G-107 Mayor and Council designation of a permit parking zone for 5200 block of Mineola Road with certain conditions. Councilmember Kabir said this request is coming from a resident who comes home late at night and can’t find parking in front of his house, and sometimes not even on the street, which can make for a dangerous situation. They circulated a petition for residential permit parking from 5203 – 5215 Mineola Road which was not validated. So this is being brought forward from the Council. Mr. Ryan said the City Code requires permit parking be established on a standard City block. Since this stretch of road is not intersected by another road, it includes both 5100 and 5200 block addresses. For this purpose staff recommends that a standard city block be represented by the 5200 block. He continued that the petition requested a limit of 2 permits per household; in other parts of the City we issue 5 permits per household. The petition also requested that the permit zone be enforced 24/7 which is not generally done elsewhere in the City. He discussed fees associated with permit parking zones and reminded everyone that having permit parking will not guarantee that there will be an available space in front of your house. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Wojahn to approve a request to define a new permit parking zone as the 5200 block of Mineola Road, with 2 parking permits per house and 24/7 enforcement. Mr. Holocker says in some way this is a student issue and hopes Council will think about “One College Park” and diversity in housing and “A Smart Place To Live” when they think about this issue. Councilmember Stullich requested a parking study be conducted and include measurements of how many cars can fit in front of each house on this block. College Park City Council October 6, 2015 Special Session Minutes Page 2 The details of the visitors’ permits will be determined by Council after the Public Hearing. The City Clerk stated that a Public Hearing will be scheduled and residents in the affected area will be notified. The motion passed 8 – 0 – 0. ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Stullich and seconded by Councilmember Brennan to adjourn from the Special Session, and with a vote of 8 – 0 – 0, Mayor Fellows adjourned at 9:44 p.m. ____________________________________________ Janeen S. Miller, CMC Date City Clerk Approved