Student advocates yesterday scrambled to get an amendment to legislation proposed in Annapolis that would remove tax incentives from future student housing in much of College Park, succeeding in extending the tax-exempt zone to some areas, most of them non-residential.
Rather than the tax exemption zone aimed at student housing being tightly wrapped around the campus, the zone will now extend along much of the west side of Route 1, in some areas north of Route 193, and excludes most of downtown except for the Knox Boxes.
The existing tax exemption zone extends about 1.5 miles around the university, including some residential areas and most of downtown.
Although officials claim the bill would benefit students because it requires housing be built closer to the campus to receive the more than $7,000 per unit tax exemption, student advocates contend the bill would more likely cause less housing to be built and drive up prices. For student housing built outside the tax exemption zone, developers said they would likely pass on higher costs to student renters.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) and the entire Prince George’s House delegation, chops a 1.5-mile zone around the university into smaller pockets. But when the bill had its first hearing in Annapolis, no student leaders showed up to testify against the bill. Only senior David Daddio, who blogs about development on Rethinkcollegepark.net, provided written testimony opposing the bill.
Since then, Graduate Student Government President Laura Moore proposed GSG legislation yesterday calling on the county to “expedite housing projects designated for graduate students,” and has said publicly she wants to amend the bill. Moore, Daddio and Student Government Association President Emma Simson met with Rosapepe to hash out an amendment last night.
Simson has declined to comment on her lobbying efforts or her position on the bill, but said last night that she “was pleased with the compromise.”
The quiet lobbying process – if one has taken place at all – on the bill has been a sharp departure from the sometimes bombastic efforts of student leaders in past years when issues affecting students’ pocketbooks have arisen. This issue, however, could could affect students’ wallets even more directly, since student loans don’t always cover housing costs.
But Moore said in some ways, the bill was a surprise to students, saying no students were consulted about the bill’s effects.
“Since it’s a student housing bill, it makes you wonder why students weren’t asked,” Moore said.
Officials contend student housing closer to the campus would benefit everyone, because it would decrease traffic on Route 1, which is what Rosapepe said surveys have showed students want.
“It’s trying to make it convenient for students,” Rosapepe said. “It doesn’t make too much sense for Prince George’s County tax payers to pay for inconvenient housing.”
If more housing is needed, the university should take the opportunity to provide it on East Campus, at the intersection of Paint Branch Parkway and Route 1, Rosapepe said.
The taxes generated by student housing built outside the tax exemption zone would go to Prince George’s County Schools. Rosapepe said if the bill passes, the question would be whether the university would make “a real commitment to student housing.”
But District 2 City Councilman Bob Catlin wasn’t sure the university would take the legislation as a sign to build housing on East Campus.
“I don’t think you can tell the university to do anything. You ask,” Catlin said. “I guess the issue is how much student housing is being built and how much incentive do you need to build it.”
Although the fee exemption specifically exempts the Mazza graduate student housing project, Moore said even with the bill, graduate students will have difficulty finding housing near the campus. If the bill is passed, property values will increase, which will make cash-strapped graduate students even more hard-pressed to find affordable housing, Moore said.
“I want there to be financial incentives for student housing,” Moore said yesterday.
Contact reporters Mike Silvestri and Melissa Weiss at silvestridbk@gmail.com.
Correction: The story yesterday titled “On housing tax, a quiet student lobby,” incorrectly stated State Sen. Jim Rosapepe was in attendance at a city council meeting where a proposed amendment to a housing bill was discussed. Rosapepe attended a meeting earlier this week with students. Last night’s meeting was between students and council members.
