College Park council directs staff to pursue parking study, considers immediate code and fine updates

City staff framed five parking items for council review, and council members at the Jan. 13 work session made a clear prioritization: conduct a comprehensive parking study (agenda item 5) to inform neighborhood permit rules, prohibited‑vehicle definitions and parking time limits, and at the same time pursue discrete, lower‑effort changes such as raising fines for safety violations.

Multiple council members described the study as the foundation for future decisions. "That is going to be the foundation for a lot of these other items," Council member Mitchell said, urging staff to identify what questions the study should answer and how it will guide permit allocations and time limits. Several members stressed that a study could provide equitable, citywide standards rather than reactive petition‑by‑petition changes.

Staff said the study may be funded within the current or upcoming fiscal budget and that staff will seek available funding. For near‑term items, the administration proposed returning separately with options to adjust fines and a simplified one‑page table summarizing current violations and proposed increases.

Council also discussed the prohibited‑vehicle ordinance (vehicles that exceed width or gross vehicle weight, or commercial‑logo vehicles) and whether the code's language, last substantially revised in 2021, has unintentionally restricted typical family vehicles. Staff said code amendments or administrative exemptions could be pursued without waiting for the full study.

What’s next: Council directed staff to proceed with the parking study and to return quickly with discrete proposals for fines and straightforward code clarifications. Staff will provide a map of meter locations (related to single‑space meter replacement) and a simplified fines table for council review before the study results.