Dear Neighbors:
Here’s a link to the November 13, 2019 City Council meeting Agenda: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-november-13-2019/. This week, we’ll kick off at 6:00 PM with a presentation from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation on the real property re-assessment process, followed by public Q & A. In the regular meeting (which starts at 7:30 PM) key items include the final vote on election-related changes to our City Charter, along with discussions of draft Tree Ordinance amendments and on public posting of signs and flyers. We’ll also be voting on a contract for purchasing trash and recycling containers and on a budget amendment. In the Work Session, in addition to the Tree Ordinance we’ll be discussing a proposed closure of Laurel Avenue for part of one day next May; contracts for an elevator retrofit contract and for Police vehicle replacement; and appointments to resident committees. There will also be an update from the Youth Council.
Upcoming Council Schedule. With the holiday season approaching, the Council will soon have a break from formal meetings. Next week we’ll meet on Monday, November 18 instead of the usual Wednesday meeting, because several Councilmembers will be attending the National League of Cities conference. That November 18 meeting will include a presentation from our staff on the proposed Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. It will be the final Council meeting this year, other than a joint meeting with our State Delegates and Senator on December 11 which will focus on legislative priorities for 2020. We’ll resume formal Council meetings in January.
November 10 Takoma Radio Appearance. I was glad to be on WOWD FM Radio’s Talk of Takoma show yesterday, hosted by Eric Bond. You can listen to my appearance through the following link: https://www.radiofreeamerica.com/schedule/wowd-lp Click on Talk of Takoma for November 10 — my segment starts about 29 minutes into the program.
State Dept. of Assessments and Taxation Presentation. As noted previously, because of concerns that have arisen about this year’s re-assessment data and trends, we requested an opportunity to hear from SDAT staff about the results. Residents will be able to ask questions, though this is not a session where questions relating to assessments of individual residents’ properties will be on the agenda. It’s focused on broader themes and process questions.
VOTING SESSION
Election Charter Amendments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-123.pdf. The City Board of Elections proposed a series of changes to our Charter and City Code as part of their work to prepare for synchronization of our municipal elections with Federal, State and other local elections. Synchronization will start next year and continue in future even years. Many of the Charter changes are technical in nature and none appears controversial. No residents testified at the October 23 public hearing on the Charter changes. I’ll be voting yes. We’ve also had initial discussions on the proposed Code changes, but the vote on those amendments will happen in a future Council meeting.
Trash and Recycling Container Purchase: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-4.pdf. I’ll be voting in favor of the purchase.
Budget Amendment: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-5.pdf. I’ll be voting for the amendment.
WORK SESSION
Laurel Avenue Closure: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-6.pdf The Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair has applied for permission to close Laurel Avenue next year on Saturday May 2 (rain date May 9). The closure would cover the period from 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM. This would be the second year of the fair, which is sponsored by a Washington, DC-based Montessori school. This year the event was held on the Seventh Day Adventist Church property. Organizers expect that next year the fair will have outgrown that space, so we’ll be considering whether it would be appropriate to close off Laurel Avenue for this purpose.
Elevator Retrofit Contract: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-7.pdf
Police Vehicle Replacements: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-8.pdf
Draft Tree Ordinance Amendments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-9.pdf. This session will be a continuation of the Council’s discussions on potential changes to the Tree Ordinance, development of tree canopy goals, and improvements in tree education and community outreach. This week’s discussion will focus on potential amendments to the ordinance.
The City Attorney has developed draft language amending the ordinance, taking into account the three intensive Council discussions in October. None of the changes has been approved by the Council -- rather this will give us an opportunity to see what the potential changes we discussed would look like when drafted into legislative language. Some of the topics we talked about last month require more input from the Urban Forest Manager and as a result are not fully fleshed out in the City Attorney’s drafts. In other cases, as noted in his comments in the agenda material, there may be reasons why certain changes would not work well or as intended. So none of these proposals should be thought of as representing final decisions by the Council. I’m continuing to look through the draft language myself, and I welcome feedback from residents.
Public Posting of Signs and Flyers: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-10.pdf. As outlined in the City Attorney’s memorandum -- which is accessible through the above link -- local laws on the public posting of signs, flyers and the like may present Constitutional problems if they treat categories of signs differently based on their content (which our current sign ordinance does). We’ve previously seen concerns raised by residents about appropriate placement of political signs. And in the past there have been problems with blight owing to excessive posting of commercial signs, which is one of the reasons our local ordinance was adopted in the first place. In addition, it’s often the case that flyers aren’t removed after the date of the event they announce or once their purpose has expired. Finally, many residents are unsure of what types of postings are acceptable.
For these reasons, I think it makes sense to consider revising our current ordinance so as to put in place a reasonable, more easily understood set of restrictions that are aligned with current Supreme Court rulings. I wouldn’t support simply allowing any and all signs to be posted. I’m optimistic that we can develop some revisions to our ordinance that would continue to allow community-oriented postings without leading to an unsightly increase in other types of signs and flyers. I’ll be working for that goal as we consider our options.
Resident Committee Appointments: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2019/council-20191113-11.pdf. We’ll be reviewing several appointments to resident committees, with votes on appointments likely to happen at our November 18 meeting.
Please feel free to be in touch with questions or comment about any of the issues covered in this blog.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com