Notice of Public Hearing

Charter Resolution 23-CR-02

Tuesday, September 5, 2023 | 7:30PM

Charter Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of College Park, to delete Article XIII, Urban Renewal, in its entirety.

The City enacted Article XIII, “Urban Renewal”, in order to undertake urban renewal projects after being enabled to do so by State law. Article XIII was used after adoption only once, to enable and carry out an urban renewal in the Lakeland area of the City, a historically black neighborhood. As noted on the City’s Racial Equity webpage, “From the 1960s through the mid-1980s, the urban renewal process in Lakeland demolished many family homes, displaced 104 of 150 households, and replaced much of the neighborhood with a mix of subsidized townhouses, high-density apartments largely inhabited by students, and an elder housing facility. The result was the decimation of a thriving community and the removal of generational wealth available through homeownership. Two-thirds of the families who made this once thriving community their homes were displaced. The depth of this loss continues to affect African American preservation in Lakeland today as the Lakeland Community Heritage Project has made clear.”

No additional urban renewal project has been proposed or undertaken since that time, and none is contemplated for the City. In view of the upheaval that was caused when the urban renewal powers were used, the need for restorative action, and the evolution of the City since that time, this law is no longer useful in the City of College Park.

Click here to view the staff report.

The Mayor and Council will hold a Public Hearing on this Charter Resolution on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. during the Mayor and Council meeting. You may attend the meeting in person at 7401 Baltimore Avenue, 2nd Floor Council Chambers, College Park, MD 20740, or use the virtual Zoom platform. To obtain the meeting link or phone number to join the meeting, please visit the Mayor and Council Meeting page on our website . All interested parties will have the opportunity to be heard.

Copies of all legislation may be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office, 7401 Baltimore Avenue, Suite 201, College Park, MD 20740, by calling 240-487-3501, or from the City’s website: www.collegeparkmd.gov.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact the City Clerk’s Office and describe the assistance that is necessary.

For additional information please contact the City Clerk, Janeen S. Miller, at 240-487-3501.