Mayor & City Council

WORKSESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, April 7, 2020 7:30 P.M. – 11:35 P.M. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a WebEx Virtual Meeting PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Brennan, Dennis, Day, Rigg, Mackie and Mitchell. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Bob Ryan, Director of Public Services; Terry Schum, Director of Planning; Miriam Bader, Senior Planner; Gary Fields, Director of Finance; Dan Alpert, Student Liaison; Julia Nikhinson, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Wojahn opened the Virtual Worksession at 7:30 p.m. via WebEx. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: Mr. Somers reminded everyone to visit the City’s COVID-19 page on the website for the latest updates on the City’s status and resources; provided a reminder about the Census; said Bright Horizons is accepting applications for the Calvert Road Child Care Center; and said the City has posted information on the website in recognition of Women’s History Month. AMENDMENT TO/APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: A motion was made by Councilmember Dennis and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to add “appointment of a resident commissioner to the College Park Housing Authority on an interim basis” to the agenda. Motion passed 8-0. Motion to approve the agenda as amended (Dennis/Rigg) passed 8-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS: 1 Presentation by the Purple Line Corridor Coalition Housing Action Team on its report, “Housing Action Plan to Preserve Affordability along New Light Rail Route in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties” – Council Member Dannielle Glaros; Maryann Dillion, Executive Director, Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. (HIP); Joseph Williams, Senior Program Director, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.: Council Member Glaros gave an overview of the Purple Line Corridor Coalition and said the PLCC Housing Action Team meets regularly and their recommendations are provided in the PowerPoint (attached). Their goal is to ensure that affordable housing opportunities remain along the corridor and that there is no net loss of affordable housing as demolition and redevelopment occurs. The City can assist by asserting its right of first refusal if there are properties in the City, by protecting the rights of tenants and homeowners, and by identifying locations and opportunities to add housing stock for affordable workforce or senior housing. Council Member Glaros will introduce legislation for dedicated funding for the housing trust fund. College Park Worksession Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 2 2 Discussion of Detailed Site Plan and Declaration of Covenants for Knox Road Development (Greystar): Ms. Schum said the Council supported the Preliminary Plan of Subdivision, with conditions, in October. Ms. Bader reviewed the PowerPoint and the staff recommendations on the conditions. This is a student housing project with 341 units, 788 beds, 24,000 sq. ft. of retail, and 248 underground parking spaces. It is 8-9 stories above ground with 2 levels of underground parking that do not connect, each with its own entrance. She reviewed the modifications and departures that the applicant is requesting. They are requesting a departure (reduction) on the number of parking spaces and they are providing more bicycle parking than required. This project will require a Declaration of Covenants. For the applicant: Tom Haller (attorney), John Byner (Greystar), Ken Ullman (TDC), Bob Keane (architect): Reviewed challenges of the site and the topography. They want to create a new pedestrian/festival street on Sterling Place with retail fronting that road rather than fronting Knox. Knox provides access to the commercial street. There are four visible sides to the project – no real front and back sides. Sterling Place will be one-way to the north and Lehigh will be improved and widened and turned into a functioning street. Reviewed conditions: • 2 a and 2b re Sterling Place concern the applicant. Mr. Haller said the Sector Plan authorizes the applicant to make the request. Ms. Schum explained the condition in relationship to the Sector Plan. The Sector Plan defines the primary and secondary streets and the development standards are based on the frontage. This is an infill project in which the Sector Plan says Knox Road should be the front and that Lehigh would be the secondary front. The applicant is requesting something different and should request certain other modifications to designate Sterling Place as the frontage street. We do support the plan but additional modifications should be requested by the applicant. • 4a – will provide more detail about loading dock. • 4b – treatment of the glass is normally left to the tenant; prefer that to be in the covenants rather than as a condition of the DSP. • 4c – seek clarification from staff. • 4d – they agree. • 4f – re modification of the building height. No, they cannot agree to that and believe they have addressed through the architecture. It would affect the density of the building. • 6f – re bollards on Sterling. They can limit the hours of the eastern loading dock to between 5 – 9 a.m. and include in the covenants. After 9 a.m. a delivery to a retailer would be in front of the store on Sterling. If they put bollards on both sides of Sterling the trucks wouldn’t be able to pull over far enough to allow traffic to flow. Therefore they don’t agree to put bollards on Sterling because they don’t want to block traffic. Mayor Wojahn wants to be sure the street is pedestrian friendly. Council wants to see the updated traffic study. Questions about loading area and loading dock hours. The loading dock would be accessible between 5 – 9 a.m. and would be closed at other times. Loading does not take place on the street; the truck backs into the garage and unloads under the building, then pulls out onto Knox. Mr. Alpert asked about average price per unit and what type of retail: 60% will be 4- bedroom units at $1250/month/bed. Mix of Studios up to 4 bedrooms, so pricing scales up from $1,250. College Park Worksession Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 3 Retail: TDC made offers to the existing 9 tenants that will be displaced. 7-11, Insomnia Cookies and the shipping store may come back when the project opens in fall 2023; some have other plans. TDC worked proactively to relocate Marathon Deli. Councilmember Kabir asked if we could put a condition in the Declaration of Covenants to ensure the tenants will come back. Mr. Ullman said each has made their own business decisions and they have negotiated with those that are moving on. Ms. Ferguson said we have never requested a condition like that before especially when the developer doesn’t have any control over the response. Councilmember Brennan asked about the ADA accessibility of the project – how would someone who couldn’t take the stairs be able to navigate the project. Mr. Byner said if the building is open they could come through and take the elevator; if not they would go down to Knox Road to get to US1. He asked about the utility pole on Knox Road? Mr. Byner said that pole is not on their property so they can’t remove it. Instead they improved the accessibility on Lehigh Road by expanding the width. Staff and applicant to work together on conditions between now and next week. To agenda next week – Day. 3 Request for School Facility Surcharge Exemption for Knox Road Development (Greystar) Mr. Gardiner reviewed the staff report. Mr. Haller provided reasoning to support a full exemption from the school facilities surcharge. Mr. Ullman said the developer will not request a Revitalization Tax Credit for this project; it will be fully on the tax rolls. He estimated property taxes to the City and the County will go from $50K to $1.8M. Councilmember Brennan does not support a full waiver for this project. Councilmember Kabir thinks we should be careful in this budget climate. Councilmember Kennedy thinks it is best for the County to make this decision and would support a partial waiver. Mayor Wojahn suggested we move forward with a letter similar to Northgate but to add our thoughts on whether the project meets the goals of the District 2020 plan. Day – to agenda next week. 4 Discussion of response to Maryland Department of Planning State Clearinghouse for Intergovernmental Review for University of Maryland, College Park proposal to demolish six apartment-style residence halls known as Old Leonardtown, located at 4608, 4610, 4624, 4642, 4644, and 4646 Norwich Road in College Park Ms. Schum said the City received a request for comments on the University of Maryland’s application to raze the six residence halls known as Old Leonardtown that were built in the mid- 1970s. This application is only to demolish, not to redevelop. This site joins the Old Town Historic District and any redevelopment will be of interest to the City. Ed Maginnis, Asst Vice President of Real Estate at the UMD, explained that the buildings are past the end of their useful life: the balconies and stairways are structurally unsound, the roof needs replacement, and there is no practical economic way to keep the buildings open. When College Park Worksession Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 4 operations end in August they hope to proceed quickly to demolition. There is no plan right now for what will come in the future. Councilmember Day asked if the number of beds being lost will be added somewhere else. He would rather see the buildings demolished than look vacant and neglected. Councilmember Rigg wants the City to be brought in early to any discussion of redevelopment. He would like to see an attractive lot left behind after demolition. He would not want to see higher density in that location. Mr. Maginnis said the property will be part of the TDC portfolio so they will come to the City early with redevelopment plans. New beds are going up on campus now. He will ask for a landscape plan after demolition. Mayor Wojahn suggested it could be an opportunity to develop more affordable no frills/no perks student housing at this site since Leonardtown had some of the lowest rents. Comments will be submitted online. To agenda for approval next week (Rigg). [At 10:32 p.m. a motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Kennedy to extend the meeting to 11:00 p.m. Motion passed 8-0.] 5 Discussion of a City Emergency Declaration Resolution in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mr. Somers said passage of this resolution is to ratify actions already taken. The City’s adopted Emergency Operations Plan says that when the Governor declares a state of emergency, it applies in College Park, and when he lifts the state of emergency, ours will be lifted. Council asked for an example of when Chapter 69’s competitive bidding requirements could be waived. Mr. Somers responded the purchase of a generator or to make an emergency repair. Council entered Special Session to approve this item. See Special Session minutes for 20-R-08. [At 11:00 p.m. a motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to suspend the rules to extend the meeting. Motion passed 8-0.] 6 Discussion of emergency assistance to Meals-On-Wheels and the College Park Community Food Bank, and discussion of other potential assistance to local businesses, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mr. Somers reviewed the options in the staff report. He said significant revenue decreases are expected in Hotel/Motel tax, A&A tax, and Highway User Revenues. Council asked for input from the businesses as to what kind of relief would be helpful to them. Council asked to have a conversation about delaying some of our capital projects to make more funding available. Council wants to move forward now on funding to Meals On Wheels and the College Park Worksession Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 5 College Park Community Food Bank. Council suggested convening a subcommittee to vet the remaining recommendations. Council requested a letter to Shoppers Food Warehouse requesting special hours for seniors to shop and a letter to grocers requesting them to allow Meals on Wheels shoppers to buy in bulk. See Special Session minutes for 20-G-67, 20-G-68, and 20-G-69. ADDED TO AGENDA: Discussion of CPHA appointment of interim resident commissioner: Mayor Wojahn said that the Resident Commissioner position on the College Park Housing Authority is vacant. The Resident Council is unable to meet due to COVID-19 restrictions to recommend a new Resident Commissioner, so as in interim measure, he would like to appoint Betsy Lynn to the position. See Special Session minutes for 20-G-70. 7 Requests for/Status of Future Agenda Items: • Add discussion of AARP Livable Communities - request by the Seniors Committee (Rigg/Kabir 8-0). ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Rigg and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to adjourn the Worksession, and with a vote of 8-0, the Worksession was adjourned at 11:35 p.m. __________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved  SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES College Park City Council Tuesday, April 7, 2020 Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, this was a WebEx Virtual Meeting PRESENT: Mayor Wojahn; Councilmembers Kabir, Kennedy, Brennan, Dennis, Day, Rigg, Mackie and Mitchell. ABSENT: None. ALSO PRESENT: Scott Somers, City Manager; Bill Gardiner, Assistant City Manager; Janeen S. Miller, City Clerk; Suellen Ferguson, City Attorney; Dan Alpert, Student Liaison; Julia Nikhinson, Deputy Student Liaison. During the regularly scheduled Worksession of the College Park Mayor and Council, a motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Kennedy to enter into a Special Session to approve a time-sensitive matter. The possibility of the Special Session was listed on the Worksession agenda. The motion carried 8-0 and the Council entered Special Session at 10:51 p.m. ACTION ITEMS 20-R-08 Resolution Of The Mayor And Council Of The City Of College Park To Declare A State Of Emergency And Authorize The City Manager To Take Certain Actions Mr. Somers said passage of this resolution is to ratify actions already taken. The City’s adopted Emergency Operations Plan says that when the Governor declares a state of emergency, it applies in College Park, and when he lifts the state of emergency, ours will be lifted. Council asked for an example of when Chapter 69’s competitive bidding requirements could be waived. Mr. Somers responded the purchase of a generator or to make an emergency repair. A motion was made by Councilmember Kennedy and seconded by Councilmember Rigg to adopt Resolution 20-R-08. There were no comments from the audience or from the Council. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-67 Emergency assistance to Meals-On-Wheels and the College Park Community Food Bank due to the impacts of COVID-19. Mr. Somers reviewed the staff report. Council wants to move forward on funding to Meals On Wheels and the College Park Community Food Bank. Council suggested convening a subcommittee to vet the remaining recommendations. College Park Special Session Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 7 A motion was made by Councilmember Day and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to provide immediate funding out of the current budget in the amount of $12,000 each to College Park Meals on Wheels and College Park Community Foodbank. There were no comments from the audience or from the Council. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-68 Provide a letter to Meals on Wheels that they can show to grocers requesting that Meals on Wheels volunteers be allowed to buy in bulk. Councilmember Kabir said that grocery stores are imposing limits on purchasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result, representatives of Meals on Wheels (MOW) are having difficulty buying the supplies they need to provide meals to their clients. He requested that the Council send a letter that MOW volunteers can show to grocers requesting them to allow the MOW volunteers to buy in bulk. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to provide a letter to Meals on Wheels volunteers that they can show grocers requesting they be allowed to buy in bulk. There were no comments from the audience or from the Council. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-69 Letter to Shoppers Food Warehouse requesting special hours for seniors to shop Councilmember Kabir said other grocers in the area have early morning hours devoted to seniors and other vulnerable populations to shop more safely in their stores, but that Shoppers Food Warehouse has not done so. He requested that the Council send them a letter asking for this accommodation. A motion was made by Councilmember Kabir and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to send a letter to Shoppers Food Warehouse requesting special hours for seniors to shop. There were no comments from the audience or from the Council. The motion passed 8-0. 20-G-70 Appointment of an interim resident commissioner to the College Park Housing Authority Mayor Wojahn said that the Resident Commissioner position on the College Park Housing Authority is vacant. The Resident Council is unable to meet due to COVID-19 restrictions to College Park Special Session Minutes April 7, 2020 Page 8 recommend a new Resident Commissioner, so as in interim measure, he would like to appoint Betsy Lynn to the position. A motion was made by Councilmember Dennis and seconded by Councilmember Day to appoint Betsy Lynn as the interim resident commissioner to the College Park Housing Authority. The motion passed 8-0. ADJOURN: A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Day to adjourn the Special Session, and with a vote of 8-0, the Special Session was adjourned at 11:33 p.m. __________________________________ Janeen S. Miller Date City Clerk Approved