REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005

CALL MEETING TO ORDER:

The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, June 20, 2005 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:00 p.m.

QUORUM:

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

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:

The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/AMENDMENTS/DELETIONS:

Mayor Robinson added Item C under New Business regarding the Hall Road L-A-C.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:

A. Mr. Richard Schroeder, 1305 Port Echo Lane, said he is one of 3 citizen parties of record who, along with the City of Bowie, have filed requests for Oral Argument before the District Council concerning the decision of the Zoning Hearing Examiner recommending approval of the proposed Hall Road L-A-C. He said he had become aware of a compromise, he had told the developer that the compromise would have to be acceptable to the communities most affected, particularly Devonshire and Collington Station and would have to be legally enforceable; his concern is that there is no indication that the Clerk of the District Council or any of the parties of record were notified of the new proposal.

CITY BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

A. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved the appointment of Joan Christian and Lou D’Orsaneo as Regular Members, and Barbara Harris as an alternate member of the Board of Elections. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

Mayor Robinson swore Ms. Christian and Ms. Harris into office in accordance with Sec. 92A of the City Charter. Mr. D’Orsaneo was not present.

CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:

City Manager Deutsch reported that the City had received a letter today from attorney John McDonough of O’Malley, Miles, et al; attached to the cover note to staff is a letter dated May 17, 2005 which was the date of the joint hearing on the Master Plan; the letter proposes instituting M-X-T zoning at the Science and Technology Center; the proposal includes 866 residential dwelling units - 500 4-story multifamily rental apartments, 113 3-story multifamily rental condos, 204 townhouses and 42 single-family detached dwelling units. Mr. Deutsch said the proposal also includes 52,000 sq. ft. of retail, 44,000 of which is on Pod 3 which is where a large office building is now being developed, as well as an anticipated future office building; a hotel is shown on the plan as well as additional flex space, and an additional 700,000 sq. ft. of office space. He said staff is asking that the Council not act this evening since this is not a formal submission for action or approval by the County Planning Board or the County Council; staff felt the matter is serious and wanted to keep Council abreast of this effort to continue to obtain residential zoning at the level of housing of housing density.

CONSENT AGENDA:

A. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to approve Consent Agenda Items A. Approval of Minutes of April 18, 2005 Council Meeting; B. Approval of Proclamation P-14-05, Congratulating the Soroptimist International of Bowie-Crofton on Their 25th Anniversary; C. Approval of Resolution R-33-05, Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Amounts in the FY2004-2005 Budget; D. Approval of Resolution R-40-05, By Two-Thirds Vote Waiving the Competitive Bidding Requirements of Section 61, “Purchasing and Contracting” of the Charter of the City of Bowie to Allow for the Retention of Professional Services From Apex Environmental, Inc. to Perform Certain Mold Removal Services for the Bowie Gymnasium; E. Approval of Resolution R-42-05, Allowing for the Reduction of the Performance Security Guaranteeing Construction of Storm Drain and Paving at Woodmore Estates, Phase 1 Under Permit SDP 2-2001; and F. Approval of Resolution R-43-05, Accepting the Bid From Molina Construction, Inc. for Renovations to the Bowie Playhouse. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 6-0 (Booker Jones absent).

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Strategic Plan - City Manager Deutsch reported that approximately 1 ½ years ago staff and Council agreed on a strategic planning process to review the entire scope of the community’s involvement in various issues; through a series of public meetings, the Council, with the assistance of the consultant, developed a Strategic Plan to guide the City over the next five years.

Mr. Victor Tervala, Institute for Government Services said that a Strategic Plan is a vehicle for aligning a community with changes in its environment; the idea is to try and anticipate what the changes are and then to take advantage of the opportunity and avoid the threats in the future. He said a vision is being sought for the future and then a step-by- step process that goes towards that vision; once a document is in place, it integrates all other planning documents and is the key document. Mr. Tervala then summarized the process used to create the Strategic Plan as well as the content of the Strategic Plan; focus groups were asked to help identify what the strengths and weakness of the City of Bowie were, as well as the opportunities and threats that were emerging. He said IGS then reviewed all the notes for commonalities, themes and then the material was summarized.

Public Hearing:

Mr. Todd Turner, 3507 Evans Mill Court, said he had served as a member of one of the focus groups and appreciated the efforts of staff and IGS in putting this Plan together. He referred to the staff report and made the following comments: Action items 1, 2 and 3 have been addressed by Council by their recent vote to place the police advisory question on the November ballot; action items 4 and 5 - it is not necessary for the City to hire a lobbyist to assist in gaining land use controls and that individual Council members are staff are sufficient at this time without the need for the additional expense; action item 6 - increasing influence among state, county and independent agency partners will go along way in meeting the goals and improving governmental relations; action item 8 - is key in improving Bowie’s reputation and interaction with the rest of the County; agreed with action plan 10 to establish a uniform annexation policy; action items 13-15 - supports the City’s taking over commercial code enforcement from the County. Mr. Turner said he would also add residential communities within the City for evaluation for revitalization and repairs similar to the Huntington section of Bowie; action items 16-19, agreed that the City should try to influence the School Board and other leaders on school construction, capacity, and management issues; the City should take a strong position on having an elected School Board that represents the City of Bowie; action items 20-22 - supports the goals and actions for the road and transportation improvements; action items 23-25 - as a member of the County’s Redevelopment Authority Advisory committee, offered his assistance to be a partner with the City.

Following discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to accept the Strategic Plan for 2005-2010. Councilman Lyles seconded the motion and it carried with a vote of 6-0 (Booker Jones absent).

B. Maryland Route 450 Design Plan - Mr. Colbert Stephen, State Highway Administra-tion, reported that this is the last leg and is a completion of the extension of Route 450 from I-95 to MD Route 3; this portion is a 1.6 mile length of the roadway from Stonybrook Drive to MD Route 3, will be widened from two to four lanes and will introduce left-hand storage lanes and signalization; sidewalks, multi-use trails and features that will enhance the area will also be incorporated. Mr. Stephen said they are prepared to work with the citizens and businesses of Bowie to give the most effective design to the community.

Mr. Matt Vredenburgh, Landscape Design, used a Power Point presentation to describe the design plan, plant materials, streetscape features and said they will be incorporating some of the older elements of the roadway into the new phase so that there will be continuity and a seamless transition from phase to the next. He then reviewed the seven intersections from Stonybrook Drive to MD Route 3.

Mr. Joe Meinert, City Planning staff, summarized the staff report dated June 16, 2005, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He reviewed the general principles listed on Page 4 of the staff report. He said staff is recommending that the City Council support the proposed design and engineering plans for MD Route 450, with inclusion of all of the Concepts and Principles identified in the staff report.

Public Hearing:

1. Mr. Jimmy Marcos, President of the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce, commended the State for the work and progress that has been made on this project. He said there was a concern about the Main Street corridor and felt the landscaping should be kept at a minimum height in front of the retail centers so that businesses could benefit from the visual advantage of facing the completed roadway. He thanked the State for addressing this concern and working with the businesses.

2. Mr. Bruce Levine, Storch Management Corp., said that the Hilltop Plaza businesses had a concern about access points on Rte. 450 going towards Route 3 from the west; there is a service drive at the rear of the shopping center; the way the plan is drawn trucks heading east-bound on Rte. 450 would not be able to access the service drive without going to the middle of the 3 entrances; this brings most of the trucks and trailers to the front doors of the shops in the center. Mr. Levine strongly encouraged that a break in the median be allowed for trucks to access the rear service drive. He added that another concern is that when cars are leaving this side of the shopping center along Rte. 450, there is no way to exit the center to head eastbound toward Rte. 3.

3. Ms. Chris Hedman, 13404 Overbrook Lane, spoke about the traffic and congestion on Rte. 450. She spoke about the need for excellent lighting on sidewalks and crosswalks, improvement of safety for drivers in the Hilltop Plaza and Scarlet Oak Lane areas, and not letting plantings block the view of storefronts and signs.

4. Mr. Kevin Conroy, 12432 Shawmont Lane, said he felt the staff recommendations were excellent. He said he and his neighbors strongly advocate pedestrian crossings between Stonybrook Drive and Superior Lane and timing of the signals; there is a need for a hiker-biker bridge to join Free State and Market Place shopping centers; residents of the Bowie Forest subdivision will lose the ability to make a westbound turn from the neighborhood without other options; there will be residential development on the Jesuit property and there are no crosswalks proposed for this area.

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins said it is difficult to make an informed decision without having seen a visual plan.

Mr. Paul Upton, a consultant for State Highway Administration, reviewed the drawing, which was displayed on an easel. Mr. Jenkins then asked how residents exiting from Bowie Forest could make a turn to go westbound. In response to Mr. Upton’s response, Mr. Jenkins said he found the solution totally unacceptable because it is not good planning for traffic to make a U-turn on a major highway. He then said the issue of trucks pulling into the shopping center to go through the entrance that takes them in front of the stores, is also totally unacceptable. Mr. Jenkins felt that it was essential to recommend that trees be visually marked well ahead of time so that residents will know what the removal is going to mean; there needs to be community involvement with regard to what the mitigation will be. He added that the ingress and egress from the church has not been addressed.

Following additional discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to table the Rte. 450 Design Plan until such time additional information is provided by SHA. Councilman Lyles seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.

C. Hall Road L-A-C - Mayor Robinson reported that Council had been provided with copies of letter dated June 17, 2005, from the developer of the Hall Road L-A-C proposal; the letter proposes an alternative asking the City if they are willing to consider the alternative in a public session.

City Manager Deutsch reported that staff recommendation does not call for action by the City Council and is merely procedural; if Council were interested in reviewing the alternate plan publicly, staff would suggest scheduling a date for a public hearing giving appropriate notice to all interested parties.

Public Hearing:

Diedre Trass, 808 Jackson Valley Court, said she was disappointed in the decision by the Zoning Hearing Examiner to recommend approval for the L-A-C; the ZHE’s decision was reached because all the concerns raised by the communities were ignored. She urged the Council to go back to the developer and let him know he cannot ignore the community residents and make it clear that he should not circumvent the public participation process. She urged the Council to recommend to the developer that a stakeholder’s meeting should be held.

Councilman Brady moved not to place this item on a future agenda and to go back to the County Council on July 11 to argue the case. Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried 5-2 (Robinson, Lyles).

ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Pro Tem Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing legal matters. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk