REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2005

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:07 p.m.

QUORUM:

In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Councilmembers Aleshire, Booker Jones, Brady Jenkins and Lyles; City Manager Deutsch, Assistant City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Elissa Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

Daniel West, Post Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, presented a contribution in the amount of $250 to go to the Bowie Tsunami Relief Fund, which the City established to aid the countries that were affected by the Tsunami. Mayor Robinson thanked Commander West and gave the details of how other citizens could contribute to the fund.

PRESENTATIONS:

Teacher of the Month Recognition – Ms. Joyce Halper, Bowie Education Committee, announced the selection of Ms. Sophia Farmer as the Teacher of the Month for November 2004. She said Ms. Farmer is a reading specialist at Rockledge Elementary School Mayor Robinson presented Ms. Farmer with a Certificate of Honor from the City Council as well as a Savings Bond courtesy of the Washington Savings Bank.

Ms. Tennier then announced the selection of Ms. Barbara Perish, a first grade teacher at Tulip Grove Elementary School as the Teacher of the Month for December. Mayor Robinson presented Ms. Perish with a Certificate of Honor from the City Council as well as a Savings Bond courtesy of Washington Savings Bank.

Ms. Halper also announced the selection of Ms. Judy Tucker, a resource room teacher at Yorktown Elementary School as the Teacher of the Month for January. Mayor Robinson presented Ms. Tucker with a Certificate of Honor from the City Council as well as a Savings Bond courtesy of Washington Savings Bank.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

Appointment; Reappointments; Swearings-in – A. Councilman Lyles moved the appointment of Rubina Qureshi and Samuel Williams as Members of the Bowie Education Committee. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved the appointment of George Nash as a member of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Mayor Robinson swore Ms. Qureshi and Messrs. Williams and Nash into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter.

COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Mayor Robinson announced: a) There will be a forum on January 19 at City Hall sponsored by the Education Committee on Early Childhood Education from Birth to Five. He urged all to attend; b) The Council will be joining with the Clergy Association to sponsor a fund raising concert for Tsunami victims at the Bowie Performing Arts Center on Sunday, February 13; tickets will be available through the various congregations in the community or at City Hall.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager Deutsch reported on the following items: a) Senator Green, Delegates Conroy, Hubbard and Holmes, along with County Councilman Peters held an open door legislative forum last Saturday at City Hall; the program will be rebroadcast on Cable Channel 71; b) Staff is continuing to work with the Volunteer Fire Department personnel and the County to move forward to select a method of managing the contract for the EMS facility so the project can move forward in the next few months.

CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved approval of Consent Agenda Items: A) Approval of Minutes of December 6, 2004 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Resolution R-2-05, Approving the Revision to the City’s Development Review Guidelines; C. Approval of Resolution R-3-05, Accepting the Donation of the Williams Plains Property and Approving the Second Modification to Lease, Agreement and Concession Between the City of Bowie and the Bowie Racquet and Fitness Club, Inc.; and D. Approval of Charter Amendment Resolution R-01-05, Amending Secs. 6 and 23 of the City Charter to Amend Dates Contained Therein, for Consistency With Prior Amendments Adopted by CAR-02-01 Pertaining to the Timing of Elections for Municipal Office. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Ordinance O-1-05 - Amending Chapter 6, “Elections” - City Attorney Elissa Levan reported that this ordinance was originally scheduled for introduction on December 6, 2004, but had been tabled; the ordinance was introduced on January 10, 2005, and is before Council for public hearing and adoption this evening; corrections had been made in the text and most of the changes are not substantive, but are intended to delete obsolete provisions. She summarized the sections that have been amended.

With reference to the section dealing with appointment of a treasurer, Councilman Lyles asked what is the current provision that states when someone can start a campaign or appoint a treasurer and thereby be officially filed as a candidate. City Manager Deutsch replied that there was no current time restriction; the only requirement is that when someone files they must have a treasurer appointed on or before the time of filing.

Discussion was held about the appointment of a treasurer and when a candidate can start to raise funds. On conclusion of the discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to table Ordinance O-1-05 so that staff can develop appropriate language. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Ordinance O-2-05 - Providing Supplemental Appropriations for the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2005 for the Purpose of Upgrading the Voice Mail System - City Manager Deutsch said that this ordinance needs to be considered by Council in tandem with Resolution R-5-05 which is the first item under New Business; the ordinance appropriates money from the Equipment Acquisition Replacement Fund in the amount of $46,000 so that purchasing new equipment as part of the telephone system can move forward; the system installed in 1998 was handling 30,000 calls per month and now is handling 44,000, but is not handling them well. He reported that if Council supports the ordinance, it will provide the funds and the resolution recommends a bid waiver; there are only two companies in the area that are willing to provide the equipment and their prices were approximately $1200 apart; staff recommends awarding the contract to North American Communications Resources for $43,500.

Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

Councilman Lyles moved the adoption of Ordinance O-1-05. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Approval of Resolution R-1-05 - By Two Thirds Vote Waiving the Bidding Requirements of Section 61, “Purchasing and Contracting” of the Charter of the City of Bowie and Authorizing An Upgrade to the Voice Mail System

Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.

Councilman Lyles moved approval of Resolution R-1-05. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

B. Specific Design Plan #9002/02 - The Shoppes at Highbridge - Ms. Elizabeth Chaisson, City Planning Department, summarized the staff report, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. She reported that the plan was for a 58,000 sq. ft. retail center and is located on the northeast quadrant of Annapolis Road and Highbridge Road; the 11 acre parcel is zoned L-A-C and is part of the Highbridge Park residential development of 375 residential units; a Comprehensive Design Plan was approved in 1987 which permitted a 60,000 sq. ft. retail center; the current plan is slightly less than that which was approved. Ms. Chaisson showed a power point presentation which displayed the site plan and location of future pads; the proposal was heard by the Bowie Advisory Planning Board (BAPB) and staff recommended approval with conditions as stated in the staff report; the BAPB recommended approval with amended conditions by staff and the applicant during the presentation. She said some of the major issues for this development raised by residents were the number of gas pumps, which have been reduced from sixteen to twelve, cut-through traffic going to the commercial center, and the separation of the commercial area from the recreational area; the developer is providing monies to restore existing recreational facilities in lieu of building new facilities. Ms. Chaisson also reported that a Departure From Design Standards for universal rather than standard parking spaces had been presented at the BAPB hearing; this will allow for less impervious surface area and increase the green area. She then referred to the conditions noted on Page 13 of the staff report; some conditions were amended during the BAPB hearing and are noted on Exhibit B; all of the conditions were accepted with the exception of 1f where the language was adjusted to reflect only non-native, non-invasive evergreen plants being the only kind of plants that can be used in the planter areas; 1i was eliminated because the applicant agreed to put extra medians in rather than put 50-50 pavers; 1j removed because the plan was revised to show connectivity between the future buildings; 1l - changed to show a public wind sculpture will be provided on the site. With regard to signage, the applicant changed 1n to reflect that a note shall be added to the SDP stating “Except for free-standing buildings and end cap tenants, no more than one fascia sign per tenant shall be permitted”; Condition 1o - applicant agreed to new language stating “Building mounted signage on the store façade shall be permitted as per the sign regulations of the Zoning Ordinance governing signage in the C-S-C zones. The size of the characters, letters, logos, emblems, etc. of each building-mounted sign shall be in proportion to the store unit front of the individual tenant it advertises”; Conditions 2 and 3 remain the same.

Ms. Terry Nurridin, Chairman of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board, summarized the BAPB recommendation and reported the BAPB added Condition 4 to reduce the gas pumping stations from 8 to 4 because of environmental concerns.

Mr. Tom Haller, attorney for the applicant, gave an overview and background of the project as well as the recreational areas. He also spoke about access and circulation of traffic and said that speed control devices have been built within the shopping center; an entrance was added to the center at Gothic Lane and a series of medians were created that allows traffic to come in on Gothic Lane but does not allow traffic to make a u-turn out to insure that traffic does not cut through the neighborhood; the Highbridge Park Community Association has supported the changes.

Mr. Bill Monk, a land planner representing the applicant, spoke about the attention to detail, which was given to the project and the care taken to make sure that the gas station was attractive; the L-shaped center is specifically for visual relief, the pathways and landscaping gives a pleasant walking environment. Mr. Monk then focused on the gas station operation and the layout will function very well, access to the store, and parking spaces. He also spoke about the carwash and the queuing of entering cars, as well as buffering to minimize impact on residences.

Mr. Gary Getz, an architect representing the applicant, displayed the architecture of each building and said his firm was charged with making sure the architecture reinforced the small-scale pedestrian nature of the center. He displayed the elevations of the buildings and describe the materials to be used.

Public Hearing:

1. Mr. Rich Carlson, 6200 Gabriel Street, President of the Fairview Homeowners association, said he had obtained 144 signatures of registered voters who are opposed to the shopping center, especially the gas station.

2. Ms. Jeanne Krivak, 6211 Gideon Street, said she is a member of the Fairview HOA, and spoke about the signs all around the building and didn’t feel they were necessary. She was also concerned about the amount of traffic that would be generated.

3. Mr. Roger Goll, 13314 Vanessa Avenue, said that there was not a need for six pumps at the proposed gas station and that four was more than enough. He also spoke about signage on the buildings, and said the CVS Pharmacy is proposed to be operating 24 hours per day. He felt that the lighting on the 32-foot high building would spill into the bedrooms of the community. He was also concerned that there are no acceleration or deceleration lanes on Highbridge Road.

4. Mr. Arnold Sagel, 6408 Gallow Street, spoke about the proposed gas station, traffic and the L-A-C zoning. He felt that the proposed commercial businesses are not the kind of tenants or shops that should be at a local shopping center and would attract consumers from all around Bowie and would create more traffic.

Discussion was held between Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins and Mr. John Hollander, Eastern Petroleum Corporation, the tenant that will be leasing the gas station space. Mr. Hollander said the service area around Highbridge Road is underserved and the number of dispensers were based on the number of demographic demand. He added they believe the gas station will pump in the neighborhood of 200,000 gallons per month. Mr. Jenkins then asked why the proposed gas station needed more dispensing stations than were at other surrounding stations. Mr. Hollander replied that the other facilities are on approximately ¼ to ½ acre of land except for one; when they were built in the 1960’s, stations were built on smaller pieces of land which was adequate to meet demand at the time; many of those locations have limited parking and stacking and would add more facilities if they had more land for the convenience and safety of their customers. Mr. Jenkins then said he considered the request for the number of pumps too excessive and he had not had a problem with waiting in line at a pump in the past.

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins then spoke about signage and lighting and asked where they are to be located. Mr. Haller noted the locations of the proposed signs on Highbridge Road on the Chevy Chase Bank and CVS, which both tenants have agreed to eliminate.

Councilwoman Booker Jones referred to the noise study and the timing of trucks coming in and out of the community, as well as the operation of the gas station from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. She noted the residents are not only concerned about the lighting deflecting from the project, but also the noise. Councilwoman Booker Jones also spoke about noise from delivery trucks that would impact nearby residential communities. She asked for clarification concerning the reduction of lighting that would spread out into the community. Mr. Haller replied there are two specific concerns, both of which were addressed in an agreed to condition; one of the concerns was to provide a lighting plan that addresses not only the dark sky concept but also to make sure there is no light spillage off the property; the condition specifically addresses the issue to make sure lighting is controlled up and out. Discussion was also held regarding potential lessees and it was noted that there have been no discussions with any other tenants other than those already mentioned in the report.

Councilman Brady raised questions concerning parking and ingress and egress. Mr. Haller said that both locations for ingress and egress are needed because they did not want to have traffic leaving the main portion of the center having to maneuver through the bottom end of the center; therefore, ingress and egress were separated.

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins disclosed for the record that he had received a call from Rich Carlson of the HOA and Dick Arnold regarding the gas station at the subject shopping center. He then moved the approval of Specific Design Plan SDP#9002/02 with the following amendments and conditions. Councilman Brady seconded the motion

1o - “Building mounted signage on the store façade shall be permitted as per the sign regulations of the Zoning Ordinance governing signage in the C-S-C zone. The size of the characters (letters, logos, symbols, emblems, etc.) of each building-mounted sign shall be in proportion to the store/unit front of the individual tenant it advertises. All signage shall be unified in both style and color. Roof-mounted signage shall not be used. Channel lettering (internal lighting) shall be used. Council concurred.

Add 1r to read: “There shall be a maximum of four gasoline pumps (e.g. eight pumping stations). Council concurred.

Add 1s to read: “There shall be no lighted signage on the western façade of the freestanding bank building and only one lighted “CVS” sign on the western façade of the CVS Drug building. Council concurred.

Add 1t to read: “The gas station canopy shall be provided a fire prevention sprinkling system”. Council concurred.

Add 1u to read: “Any future buildings (e.g. the “designated future building pad”) will require preliminary review and recommendation by the City of Bowie. Council concurred.

Add 1v to read: “The applicant shall provide to the City of Bowie the Maryland Department of Environmental Certification regarding the underground gasoline tanks prior to certification of the SDP”. Council concurred.

Add 1w to read: “Any propane tank area shall be enclosed by a fence and locked by a security gate”. Council concurred.

Mr. Jenkins then added to the cover letter an indication that Public Works should give attention to roadway accel and decel lanes on the surrounding roadways. Council concurred.

Councilman Brady added 1x regarding limiting deliveries between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Council concurred.

Mr. Brady also suggested wording for 1m to read: “Dumpsters shall be screened on 3 sides by an 8 foot high fence or wall and should include visibly solid gates using natural materials”. Council concurred.

The motion the to approve the Specific Design Plan carried unanimously.

C. Specific Design Plan #0405 - International Masonry Institute - Ms. Cynthia Fenton, City Planning staff, displayed a Power Point presentation showing the location, size and zoning of the property. She said the applicant is proposing a 234,000 sq. ft. campus containing a two-story, 60,500 sq. ft. training center and office and a three-story, 45,500 sq. ft. main building and dormitory which are both in Phase I; a five to seven-story, 125,000 sq, ft, corporate office in Phase II, and a 5,000 dormitory addition which part of Phase III. She said the site is approximately 25.19 acres and is zoned E-I-A; the topographic map shows a stream running along the southern portion of the site and the site slopes towards the Patuxent River. Ms. Fenton reported that access to the site is provided via 50-foot wide easement that will be paved to a width of 26 feet; a stormwater management facility is in the lower, eastern portion of the site. She further reported that the criteria for Specific Design approval has been met and most of the minor issues raised have been met in conditions contained in the staff report. Ms. Fenton said one of the remaining outstanding issues is that of parking; 158 spaces are being proposed in Phase I and there is an area for overflow parking at the eastern end of the site; however, Park and Planning has not definitively concluded as to exactly what is required in this Phase; in Phase III, 24 spaces are provided for 48 student dormitory addition and 48 spaces are currently being provided; existing Condition #9 would then be eliminated since it is no longer germane. She reported that staff is recommending a new condition to read “The lower overflow parking area of 43 spaces shall be reduced from 43 to the greatest extent possible”. Regarding Condition #7, Ms. Fenton said staff is deleting the condition because the preliminary floor plans have been submitted; Condition #4, the word “shall” had been erroneously omitted from some of the conditions, so #4b shall read: “The percentage of native species shall be identified; 4c will indicate that the bamboo and spirea shall be replaced with non-invasive plant material, and 4d shall read “The applicant shall consider replacing the kousa dogwood and the gumbo white azalea with native versions that are likely to have a better chance of survival”. On Page 11, Ms. Fenton said that staff recommends with regard to Condition #12, that at this point the condition be retained as is and once the parking calculations have been determined staff can change the condition at the time of County Planning Board review; Condition #13 remains the same. The Bowie Advisory Planning Board held a hearing and voted to approve the application with conditions with a vote of 7-0.

Mr. Dennis Whitley, attorney for the applicant, displayed colored renderings showing the different phases of the proposal and gave a brief summary of each phase. He pointed out some other features of the project and noted the undisturbed land; the parcel is 28 acres, 9 acres are being disturbed which leaves well over 50% of green space for the property.

Public Hearing:

Mr. Bruce Pletsch, 16520 Abbey Drive, spoke in support of the application; no one in the surrounding community opposed this application throughout the entire meeting process.

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to approve the staff recommendation for Specific Design Plan #0405 with the following amendments: Condition 4b - insert the word “shall”; 4c - replace the word “should” with “shall”; 4d - insert the word “shall”; eliminate Conditions 7 and 9 and renumber; add a new condition to read: “The lower overflow parking area shall be reduced from 43 spaces to the greatest extent possible.” Councilman Aleshire seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

D. Prince George’s County Preliminary Green Infrastructure Plan - Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved that this item be tabled until February 7. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

C0UNCIL COMMENTS:

Councilman Brady read a statement regarding the Memorandum of Understanding for the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts. He asked for consensus to direct staff to work with all of the partners to resolve the issues noted therein so the MOU can be adopted by the end of February 2005. City Manager Deutsch reported that he and City Attorney Elissa Levan are working on a memorandum to send to Council; would not advise the end of February date because the tide has changed significantly in the last several weeks; the agreement being worked on has been “blasted out of the water” by the MNCPPC; the latest version developed by their general counsel and circulated among the participants strips their participation from the proposed funding of operations; there is a marked change in the approach by the Commission. Mr. Deutsch said that bringing the Planning Board Chair and the School CEO into a public forum would not accomplish anything; representatives from each agency met last month and the Commission wanted to start over by wiping out the prior 18 versions; the City strongly objected and there appears to have been some activities by the Commission to pull out from operational funding support; the addendum to the draft from the Commission showed a revised budget which had been $480,000; they struck the Commission’s portion of $80,000 and left a revised budget; the Commission now believes it needs a return on investment and wants a recorded license in the project. Mr. Deutsch said Council needs to look at the memorandum from Ms. Levan and then meet in executive session or in public session.

Councilman Brady withdrew his request for consensus and agreed that Council should meet in executive session to discuss strategy.

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting into Executive Session in order to discuss legal matters. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk