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University student team presents housing-policy findings to College Park council
Summary
Students from the University of Maryland’s PALS program presented research showing increased off‑campus student housing and rising rents; their recommendations include expanded knock‑and‑talk outreach, university collaboration on alcohol policy and an expanded rent‑subsidy pilot.
A team of University of Maryland students presented the results of a semester‑long PALS (Partnership for Action Learning and Sustainability) project to the College Park Mayor and Council, outlining findings and policy recommendations intended to balance student rentals with owner occupancy in nearby neighborhoods.
The student presenters said the off‑campus student population has grown substantially and that the university can house only a minority of undergraduates on campus; they reported a roughly $1,000 increase in median rent between 2000 and 2020 for the neighborhoods studied and highlighted overcrowding, noise and trash as drivers of neighborhood strain. "The rent itself has increased about $1,000 over 20 years between 2000 and 2020," the team reported.
Their recommendations included stronger city–university coordination (including off‑campus orientation and knock‑and‑talk outreach by code enforcement), revisions to university alcohol policy to encourage parties back on campus, and expansion of a rent‑subsidy pilot to provide student housing alternatives. Planning staff said it will share the students’ data with the city's Affordable Housing Task Force.
Councilmembers thanked the students for their work and urged continued collaboration with university student affairs; Councilmember Hill pressed the students to emphasize the university’s role in off‑campus behavior and parking impacts. City staff said they will accept revisions to the student report and circulate the findings to relevant city committees.
