The College Park City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday night to decouple the University View I and II from the View Village, no longer requiring the Village properties to provide parking for View residents. There were two abstentions.
This new agreement would eliminate 109 parking spaces designated for View I and II residents located on the View Village properties .
The council also supported an amended Declaration of Covenants with suggestions discussed at the council’s Feb. 2 work session meeting, which would help mitigate the effect of fewer parking spots at the View as well as on the campus.
One of these amendments would require the owners to provide $111,500 in funding to the city for an on-site bike-share facility, bike-share memberships for University View I or II residents and other transportation options.
Another amendment to the agreement stated that Clark Enterprises must provide 60 more on-site parking spaces for residents’ bikes.
But in coming years, the University of Maryland plans to decrease on-campus parking, including satellite parking for those who live in the View I or II.
According to the amendments, if this university discontinues parking for View residents on the campus, the buildings’ owners must inform students about “parking spaces from other locations,” District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook said.
The current declaration, which was first established in 2008, required the View Village to provide an additional 109 parking spaces for residents in the View. Francis Lynch, a senior associate for Clark Enterprises — who owns the View and View Village properties — said this requirement was unnecessary, as the View already had sufficient parking.
Terry Schum, the city’s planning director, said Clark Enterprises originally intended to use the View Village properties for additional off-campus student housing. Since 2008, about 6,200 beds have been constructed on and off the campus.
Based on the lack of demand for new student housing, Clark no longer plans to build additional units and wants to sell the property. Lynch said the original agreement made it difficult to sell the View Village property.
“We’re excited to open up these sites up and allow development,” Lynch said.