City Council Meeting Preview: March 8

The College Park City council will convene for it's twice-monthly meeting Tuesday at 8 p.m.

A public forum to discuss the FY 2012 Action Plan will be held at 7 p.m.

Meetings and worksessions are held in the Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, located at 4500 Knox Rd.

Public Forum on the FY 2012 Action Plan

At 7 p.m., the city council will hold a public forum to solicit feedback from the community on the FY 2012 Action Plan. City staff will first present an overview of the plan, and then the council will take questions and listen to ideas from residents about what the plan should include. A draft of the FY 2012 Action Plan, as well as the 2010 - 2015 Strategic Plan, is available here. Another forum for resident feedback will also be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 at Davis Hall.

The Thirsty Turtle's Request to Reconsider Revocation of its Liquor License

So there's no confusion: the Thirsty Turtle is gone for good. But Turtle owner Alan Wanuck is asking that the license be considered voluntarily surrendered to the liquor board rather than forcibly revoked, as the revocation would appear on his record. A bit of background: the county liquor board after the bar was caught serving alcohol to two underage police aides. Another hearing was scheduled for Nov. 10 to discuss Turtle's involvement in a knifing incident, which was the culmination of a fight that originated at Turtle and included at least three underage patrons. At the latter hearing, Wanuck's attorney Linda Carter said that no further discussion would be necessary, and before the board could reach a decision. 

On Tuesday, the council will discuss whether they support Wanuck's request to the liquor board to wipe clean his record.

Discussion of Parking Spaces Provided at Mosaic at Turtle Creek

The Mosaic is a proposed market-rate, 3oo-unit housing development to be built on the west side of Mowatt Lane -- slightly more than 1000 feet south from the intersection of Mowatt Lane and Campus Drive. The developer is requesting permission to build 227 fewer parking spaces than typically required, on the basis that the development will be located less than a mile from the College Park Metro Station. City staff has recommended some conditions for approving the request, one of which is that developers contribute $31,000 toward a bike-share station to be located near the development. So far, the developer has been resistant to fund the bike-sharing initiative.

On Tuesday, the council will look at what progress city staff has made with the developer toward reaching an agreement.