MEETING PREVIEW: Cafritz, Anna Owens Ball Field, and College Park Charter School

The College Park Mayor and Council will meet at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a regular voting meeting in the Council Chambers, on the second floor of , 4500 Knox Road.

Those attending the meeting can obtain a parking pass at the customer service windows on the first floor of City Hall.

Below is a summary of the action items to be discussed. Information is drawn from the full agenda, which can be found here.

Honoring Mayor Anna Owens

The only woman to lead College Park as mayor, Anna Owens, lived in College Park Woods for 48 years. Tuesday night, the council will vote on a motion to request that the ball field in the neighborhood be named after Owens. Because the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission owns the park, the city must submit a request for the name change.

Cafritz Zoning Change

After discussing at length last week the development plans for the Cafritz Property, council will vote on whether or not to approve, with conditions, the zoning change for the land. Currently, the property just south of Calvert Hills is zoned R-55, allowing only for residential use. The developers hope to change the zoning to Mixed-Use Town Center, which would allow for retail space, office and residential units to be built. Developers want to construct a Whole Foods Market, fitness center and nearly 1,000 housing units. , where there are three entry/exit points. , some councilmembers suggested that College Park not support the application, unless developers plan for a crossing over the CSX railway in the first phase of development, allowing for an additional entry/exit point away from U.S. Route 1. The Cafritz attorney said it’s too expensive to construct the bridge that early.

College Park Academy

A partnership between the city and the University of Maryland is looking to establish a public charter school in the greater College Park vicinity, offering a “personalized middle college program” that provides access to college preparatory programs and college credits. The College Park Academy Public Charter School could open as early as 2013 for grades seven through nine. The school is expected to grow from 150 students in the first year to 575 students and seventh through twelfth grades by 2017. The council will vote Tuesday night on a motion to approve a letter of intent for the Prince George’s County Public School System, to “get the ball rolling.”