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Council committee approves PLD and parking changes including Controlled Zone permits, Wheaton schedule shift and bus-lane enforcement fine
Summary
MCDOT recommended multiple parking-lot-district adjustments: a Controlled Zone employer permit, new EV charging fees, a $75 fine for blocking bus lanes, and Wheaton-specific fee/hour changes (free after 6 p.m. and Saturdays with offsetting higher hourly rates). Staff also proposed adding a contract compliance inspector and a maintenance vehicle as reconciliation items to protect assets and oversight.
MCDOT staff outlined a package of parking-lot-district (PLD) and transportation-fee changes the committee reviewed on April 16, including new enforcement tools, employer permit options and PLD-specific rate-hour changes intended to stabilize enterprise funds.
PLD financials and staffing: MCDOT said the executive recommended a $937,530 (3.1%) increase to PLD budgets, consisting of about $745,000 for compensation and normal adjustments and roughly $191,000 that the department placed on the reconciliation list for new programmatic items. Two reconciliation items called out at the hearing were: adding one transportation contract-compliance inspector (about $150,000 split across Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton PLDs) to provide night and weekend oversight of contractors and a $42,000 one-time vehicle purchase to replace ongoing rental costs.
Fund balance and transfers: The executive also proposed eliminating PLD transfers to associated urban districts (recent practice to preserve PLD fund health) and removing three FTE charges currently paid by PLDs into Silver Spring's urban district; the executive proposes replacing those transfers on the urban-district side with general-fund dollars so those services continue.
Controlled Zone permit and employer parking: The resolution would create a Controlled Zone (CZ) permit allowing employers that reserve 75 or more spaces to secure blocks of spaces for employee use during weekday business hours; staff said early employer interest exists but no contracts are in place yet. MCDOT staff said CZ permits aim to provide steadier revenue and could be tailored or scaled later to include smaller employers.
Wheaton changes and outreach: For Wheaton PLD specifically, the executive recommended ending fee collection at 6 p.m. (instead of 10 p.m.) on weekdays and stopping Saturday collections while increasing per-hour rates (street and lot rates) so the net effect on revenue is neutral; staff said this change reflects outreach with Wheaton's business community and an advisory committee survey.
Enforcement and EV charging: The committee also advanced codifying a $75 fine (state-authorized cap) for driving/standing/parking in a bus lane; MCDOT said automated camera enforcement is planned but will await privacy-conformance work. The county will also adopt EV charging fees (the executive suggested 50' cents/kWh for fast chargers and 35' cents/kWh for Level 2) and a $60 fine for blocking a bikeway. A residential-permit-parking hearing fee of $250 was also carried forward from regulation into code.
Next steps: Staff will circulate survey results and revised staff reports for the public record, proceed with the reconciliation-list coordination for non-tax-supported items, and bring final language for council consideration.
