Mayor & City Council

MINUTES College Park City Council Meeting Tuesday, December 9, 2025 7:30 p.m. HYBRID In Person in Council Chambers of City Hall Virtual over Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/92398574069 PRESENT: Mayor Kabir; Mayor Pro Tem Mackie; Councilmembers Hernandez, Hew, Jordan, Simmons, Oates, Ranker, and Mitchell. ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Kenneth Young, City Manager; Yvette Allen, City Clerk; Stephanie Anderson, City Attorney; Shannon Olive, Finance Director, Miriam Bader, Planning Director, Carlos Nunes, Senior Planner, Steve Halpern, City Engineer, Jatinder Khokhar, Director of Public Services, Nicholas DiSpirito, Student Liaison; and Amira Abujuma, Deputy Student Liaison. Mayor Kabir opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Councilmember Hernandez: District 1 meeting will be held at Davis Hall on December 15th at 7:00 p.m. Parkdale High School will be hosting their second parent meeting of year on December 16th at 5:00 p.m. to discuss collaboration opportunities between parents and administration. The Berwyn Ballet School will bring the magic of The Nutcracker on December 13th at 7:30 p.m. and December 14th at 4:00 p.m. at the Hoff Theater in the Stamp Student Union. Councilmember Hew: North College Park Civic Association will meet on December 11th at 7:30 p.m. at Davis Hall. Holiday Trains and Planes will be held December 12th – 14th at the College Park Airport from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Berwyn Ballet School will bring the magic of The Nutcracker on December 13th at 7:30 p.m. and December 14th at 4:00 p.m. at the Hoff Theater in the Stamp Student Union. The Berwyn Ballet School will also hold its Winter Showcase on December 13th at 12:00 p.m. at the Hoff Theater in the Stamp Student Union. Councilmember Jordan: Attended the Berwyn District Civic Association Perry Plaza Lighting, the Lakeland Civic Association Tree Lighting and Bonfire, and College Park Winter Wonderland. Councilmember Simmons: Attended the Lakeland Civic Association Tree Lighting and Bonfire. College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 2 of 9 Councilmember Oates: Thanked City staff for organizing the College Park Winter Wonderland event and thanked the Calvert Hills Citizens Association for hosting the Calvert Hills Tree Lighting event. Councilmember Ranker: Welcomed Raising Cane’s restaurant on officially opening today in District 3. Mayor Pro Tem Mackie: Thanked all Civic Associations for inviting Council to their Holiday events. The schedule for the December leaf collection is on the website. Enroll in December for the Curbside Food Scrap Collection and receive a free food scrap container. Councilmember Mitchell: The Lakeland Community Center will host a Frosted Fun for the Little Ones a Winter Cookie Decorating Day on December 18th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. From November 28th through January 1st, Prince George’s County will host the Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Councilmember Hew was appointed as an at- large member to the NLC Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials. Acknowledged Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk for being elected as the new Maryland House Speaker. Nicholas DiSpirito: Had the opportunity to meet with some of the new Councilmembers to discuss their priorities. Looking forward to discussing the Early Lease Ordinance. Amira Abujuma: Has been speaking with students and other stakeholders regarding the Early Lease Ordinance. CITY MANAGERS REPORT: Kenneth Young, City Manager: Sidewalk construction work will continue throughout December. Please adhere to posted parking restrictions on orange barrels. Contractors for Prince George’s County Department of Public Works & Transportation continue to work on bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Rhode Island Avenue between Paducah Road and Sunnyside Road. Please expect lane shifts and temporary flagging operations during daytime hours as work is completed. Due to freezing temperatures, WSSC Water is currently working to repair several water main leaks and breaks throughout the City. If you see a water main break, please contact WSSC’s Emergency Call Center at emergencycallcenter@wsscwater.com or 301-206-4002 with specific location information. Do you love to decorate for the holidays? Get out all your bulbs, bows, and reindeer because the City's Deck the City Holiday Decorating Contest is back! For details and to submit your entry, visit collegeparkmd.gov/deckthecity2025. Submit your entries online between December 1st-15th. Photos of entries will be posted to FB on Dec 16th, and voting will be open December 16-18. Winners will be notified on Dec. 19th via email. College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 3 of 9 AMENDMENTS TO AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA A motion was made by Councilmember Oates and seconded by Councilmember Ranker to move Presentations to after Action Items. The motion passed 8-0-0. A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Mackie to move 25-O-13, an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of The City of College Park, amending Chapter 125 “Housing Regulations”, Article I “General Provisions” By Adding § 125-18 to establish the timeframe in which owners must communicate an offer for a successive lease or notice on non-renewal to a current tenant to the February 3rd agenda for approval. Councilmember Mitchell: Requested that the Ordinance adoption be postponed and moved to the February 3rd agenda, as additional communications recommending amendments were received late this afternoon. This extension will provide sufficient time for the City Attorney to thoroughly review the proposed changes and consult with all relevant stakeholders before final consideration. Public comments will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on February 3rd. If Ordinance 25-O-13 is moved to the February 3rd agenda, Council and the public will be able to make comments on the ordinance due to the Ordinance amendments. Roll call vote: Hernandez: No Hew: Yes Jordan: Yes Simmons: Yes Oates: No Ranker: No Mackie: Yes Mitchell: Yes The motion passed 5-3-0. Ordinance 25-O-13 will be moved to the February 3, 2026, agenda for action. A motion was made by Councilmember Oates and seconded by Councilmember Simmons to add a Worksession to discuss the amendments to Ordinance 25-O-13. Roll call vote: Hernandez: Yes Hew: Yes Jordan: Yes Simmons: Yes Oates: Yes Ranker: Yes Mackie: No Mitchell: No The motion passed 6-2-0. A Worksession discussion item has been added to the agenda. A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Councilmember Hernandez to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed 8-0-0. College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 4 of 9 PUBLIC COMMENT: Yonah Gross, resident: He expressed concern that removing an item from the agenda, especially one aimed at supporting students, was disrespectful and disregarded their interests. Dhruvak Mirani, resident: Spoke about removing items off the agenda at the last minute. Sammy Saheed, resident: He took time out of his schedule, despite needing to study for final exams. He requested that Council decide and vote on the item rather than postponing or removing it from the agenda. Richard Biffle, non-resident: Believes that Ordinance 25-O-13 expired upon the swearing-in of the new Council. He further asserted that the current process is not in compliance with the Charter and that a new ordinance should be introduced. Alex Lugo, resident: Would like the City to sign-on to their letter to scrap the proposed AI Data Center in Landover. Gannon Sprinkle, resident: Expressed concern that the Council appears to be aligning with landlord interests and overlooking student perspectives. He further stated that Councilmember Mitchell is complicit in this matter and indicated that he intends to address the issue with her further in the County Council Chambers, where they both work. Mayor Kabir clarified that the decision to remove Ordinance 25-O-13 from the agenda was not influenced by any particular group, nor was it intended to show disrespect to any member of the College Park community. CONSENT AGENDA: A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to approve the Consent agenda, which consisted of these items: 25-G-122 Approval of an On-Call Agreement for Engineering services to Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI) using the hourly and billable rates from Montgomery County, Maryland Contract Number 1184500 – Steve Halpern, City Engineer 25-R-13 Approval of Resolution 25-R-13, 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 CPV-2025-07, located at 4705 Fox Street, to approve a variance from the Prince George’s County Zoning Ordinance Section 27- 42029 (e)(2) of a one foot side yard setback variance and validation of a previous, legal non-conforming side yard setback of one foot to permit construction of a second story College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 5 of 9 addition above the existing footprint - Miriam Bader, Planning Director 25-G-127 Approval of the FY 26 Education and PTO-PTA Grants – Kiaisha Barber, Director of Youth, Family and Senior Services 25-G-128 Approval of Community Service Grant in the amount of $1,444 for Impact Humanity Inc. Single Parent Holiday Giveaway – Shannon Olive, Finance Director 25-G-132 Approval of Council Internship Guidelines – Teresa Way-Pezzuti, Human Resources Director The motion passed: 8-0-0. ACTION ITEMS: 25-G-131 Support to move forward to upgrade and modernize College Park Carwash, 8616 Baltimore Avenue through a Minor Amendment to a Special Exception– Miriam Bader, Planning Director and Jonathan Stahl, Cosmic Carwash Planning Director Bader reviewed the staff report. Cosmic Carwash is now interested in redeveloping the property with a modern facility. Past Code issues at the current 24-hour carwash (e.g., late-night gatherings and loud music) would be addressed: moreover, the new carwash would operate 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with a gate to prevent after-hours activity and 3 – 5 staff per shift to maintain order. The redesigned site layout would also address existing traffic concerns. The new configuration would accommodate up to 25 vehicles queuing toward the rear of the lot eliminating spillover onto Baltimore Avenue. This use is permitted by Special Exception, and the applicant will be seeking a minor amendment, which the County Zoning Hearing Officer will review before forwarding it to the Planning Commission. Jonathan Stahl, Cosmic Carwash provided a presentation and overview of their updated carwash plans. The facility will operate as an express, tunnel-style carwash in which customers remain in their vehicles during the wash. Upon exiting the tunnel, customers will have access to 20 self-service vacuum bays, available for use at their discretion. Dave DuGoff, owner of the College Park Carwash, stated that if the proposed updates to the facility are not acceptable to the City, the business will continue to operate in its current form. He also expressed his intention to sell the carwash to Mr. Stahl and retire. College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 6 of 9 A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to support the Applicant going forward with his plan to upgrade and modernize the College Park Carwash located at 8616 Baltimore Avenue. Bob Catlin, resident: This was originally a discount gas station and disappointed that there isn’t a better use for this property. Happy to see the improvements that will be made. Richard Biffle, non-resident: In support of the carwash. The motion passed: 7-1-0 (Councilmember Hew) 25-G-129 Approval of the 2026 Council Meeting Schedule – Yvette Allen, City Clerk Consistent with previous years, we are recommending a total of thirty (30) regular meetings, in addition to a Saturday Budget Worksession. The schedule generally provides for three (3) meetings per month, with the exceptions of June, July, November, and December, which have two meetings each, and August, which has one meeting. Staff recommend designating one meeting each month as a Worksession focused on presentations and discussion items only. Worksession meetings could be scheduled on the second or third meeting of the month. If an item requires immediate formal action by the Mayor and Council on a Worksession date, it may be added to the agenda. Staff recommends that the last week of the month stay open to allow for Council to attend meetings and allow staff to work on projects. The City Charter requires that we must have one meeting a month. Councilmember Oates recommended amending the Council meeting schedule so that any meeting falling immediately after a three-day weekend would be moved to a later week. He stated that this adjustment would provide additional time for Councilmembers to submit questions to City staff in advance of Council meetings. Councilmember Oates proposed the following changes to the meeting schedule: January 20 to January 27, February 17 to February 24, September 8 to September 22 and October 13 to October 27. The first and last meeting of the month will be a Regular Council meeting, and the second meeting of the month will be a Worksession. A motion was made by Councilmember Ranker and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Mackie to approve the Mayor and Council Schedule A (from the red folder) as amended per Councilmembers Oates recommendations. The motion passed 8-0-0. 25-G-130 Approval of the Council of Government Committee Assignments – Yvette Allen, City Clerk COG Board of Directors: Mitchell/Kabir College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 7 of 9 Transportation Planning Board: Mitchell/Simmons Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee: Hew/Hernandez Region Forward Coalition: Ranker/None Human Services: Mackie/Mitchell Climate Energy and Environment Policy Committee: Hew/Oates Chesapeake Bay and Water Policy Committee: Mackie/Hernandez Food and Agriculture Regional Member: Mitchell/None National Capitol Emergency Preparedness: Jordan/Hew A motion was made by Councilmember Mitchell and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Mackie to approve the Council of Government Committee Assignments. The motion passed: 8-0- 0. PRESENTATIONS: Urban Policy students through the PALS (Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability) Program presented by Nicholas Crane, Frances Chen, & Ashna Pandya presented a report on “Housing Policy Best Practices – Balancing Student Rentals and Owner Occupancy.” Council plans to work with the Student Liaisons on an initiative to involve the University of Maryland in developing and implementing this orientation effort. WORKSESSION: 25-O-13 Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of The City of College Park, amending Chapter 125, Housing Regulations, Article I, General Provisions By Adding § 125-18 to establish the timeframe in which owners must communicate an offer for a successive lease or notice on non-renewal to a current tenant As a result of the Public Hearing, City Attorney Anderson, worked with the landlord stakeholders and student liaisons. Changes were made to the ordinance with some of the concerns each side had. Ms. Anderson went over all the changes and why they were made since the introduction and public hearing. All changes are in the packet listed as “This ordinance contains updated language, which may be added by motion this evening.” Questions from the Mayor and Council were addressed by staff and the City Attorney. Three new Councilmembers were sworn-in last week and after review of Ordinance 25-O-13, Councilmember Simmons had several recommended amendments (see below):  Remove the 15-day renewal clause by striking Sec. 1(3)(B) in its entirety (“A tenant’s acceptance of a landlord’s offer for a successive lease period will be evidenced by the signing of a new lease which shall be returned to landlord via electronic communications, personal delivery, or U.S. mail no later than 15 days of receipt of the offer and new lease by tenant.”) College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 8 of 9  Based on the renewal offer timeline on the lease end date instead of lease start date, by revising Sec. 1(2)(A) as follows: “A landlord shall not make any renewal offer earlier than 180 120 days from the start end of the current lease.”  Revise Sec. 1(6)(A) A violation of this section constitutes a Any landlord or landlord’s agent who violates this section commits a […]” A motion was made by Mayor ProTem Mackie and seconded by Councilmember Mitchell to extend the meeting. Councilmember Oates also highlighted several typos in the draft Ordinance to be addressed before it is returned to Council for action. Ordinance 25-O-13 will be brought back to the February 3, 2026, agenda. REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA: None COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE Yonah Gross, resident: Commented on the 180 days in section four of the Ordinance. Would like to have more notice if an item is going to be removed from the agenda. Made suggestions on how Council should have amended the agenda. Sean Wolloms, resident: Came out tonight to support the amended language in the Ordinance. Language could be added to the City Code once the ordinance is enacted. COMMENTS FROM THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL Councilmember Mitchell: Attended the Food and Agriculture Regional Members Policy Committee meeting last week. There were two presentations regarding the SNAP program and how to get food on the table for all in need. Mayor Pro Tem Mackie: Attended the Maryland Tourism Summit last month. Also recognized the new Councilmembers and the student liaisons for their work on Ordinance 25-O-13. Councilmember Ranker: Thanked everyone for their work and understanding regarding Ordinance 25-O-13. We want all voices heard. Councilmember Oates: Thanks to the work of City staff, residents who are applying for parking permits can now also request a resident pass for Shuttle UM application on our website. Councilmember Hew: Glad we were able to hold a Worksession on Ordinance 25-O-13. Councilmember Hernandez: He will attend all January meetings by Zoom. Wished everyone a happy holiday. Nicholas DiSpirito: Looks forward to discussion on the Early Lease Ordinance and noted that the removal of agenda items without advance notice left residents feeling disrespected. College Park City Council Minutes December 9, 2025 Page 9 of 9 Amira Abujuma: Stated that she looks forward to further discussion on the Early Lease Ordinance. She expressed concern that the removal of items from the agenda without advance notice left residents feeling disrespected and uninformed. She noted that timely communication could help ensure transparency and maintain trust between the City and the community. Kenneth Young: Congratulated Councilmember Mitchell for being nominated as the Secretary Treasurer for the National League of Cities. Please send the dates that you will not be able to attend a Council meeting to the me or the City Clerk. ADJOURN A motion was made by Councilmember Hernandez and seconded by Councilmember Oates to adjourn. The motion passed 8-0-0. Mayor Kabir adjourned the meeting at 11:04 p.m.