Residents of the Knox Box apartments returned to College Park last fall to find their streets dotted with newly erected “No Parking” signs – an addition that was unpopular among students.
The College Park City Council gave residents a buffer period to get settled before it started issuing fines, but the new restrictions still came as a surprise and pointed out one of the realities of local politics in a college town: For a good portion of the year, students are out of town while policies that will affect them are debated and implemented.
The council doesn’t expect to take up any controversial issues this summer, although it looked a few weeks ago as if the city council would consider a change to noise regulations that would double fines for violators in some cases – a measure aimed at rowdy students.
Former Student Government Association President Andrew Friedson called the timing unfortunate.
“I think we have shown, on this issue, a lot of input from students,” he told The Diamondback last month before District 3 Councilwoman Stephenie Stullich abandoned the measure. “It would be unfortunate if their positions are not represented.”
Still, a number of items on the city’s summer agenda will likely have an impact on students:
– The council will continue to meet with developers of student housing projects to provide feedback on their designs.
– A public hearing discussing the College Park 2009 budget, which includes an extra $500,000 for police services, is scheduled for next Tuesday night, while many students will be in town but preparing to move out or studying for their last exam. Council members expect the budget to pass, but said that some residents are opposed to the cost of the program and that students stand to benefit from higher police presence in the city.
– The city will explore a possible “buy-local” campaign to encourage residents to patronize locally-owned independent businesses in favor of chain stores.
– The city will be involved in the development of a new version of the Route 1 sector plan, a document that outlines development of the Route 1 corridor. The plan is being modified in part to reflect increased development of student housing in the area.
– The city is scheduled to evaluate the success of Santa Fe Café’s underage admittance nights. Santa Fe began allowing underage patrons for live music in March. The city council raised no formal objections at the time but promised to revisit the issue.
– The city will continue to negotiate with the university regarding the financing of the planned mixed-use East Campus development that is planned for the corner of Route 1 and Paint Branch Parkway. The university wants the city to pay for part of the development out of the increased tax revenue it would eventually generate.
– District 2 Councilman Jack Perry proposed an ordinance that would make English the official language of College Park, but some of his fellow council members said they did not expect the idea to be passed, or to carry any weight even if it were.
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