At tonight’s Council meeting, the City Council will take public comments on two important topics. The Public hearings will start at 7:30pm at the City Council chamber at 4500 Knox Road, College Park, MD 20740.
The first Public Hearing will be about amending the City’s Charter to delete the requirement that an individual is a United States citizen in order to vote in City elections. If this proposal is passed the City will create a supplemental voter list for non-United States citizens who are eligible to vote in City elections. The same restrictions that currently apply to eligibility to vote in City elections would apply to City residents on the supplemental list. Individuals 1) convicted of buying or selling votes; 2) under guardianship for mental disability and found by a court to be unable to communicate a desire to vote, or 3) convicted of a felony and currently serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment for the conviction are ineligible to vote in municipal elections.
Council will take public input on the regulation fences in the City. Council is considering whether the City should maintain its current fence ordinance, modify the current ordinance or eliminate the City’s ordinance. If the City eliminates its ordinance College Park residents will still need to comply with the County’s fence requirements. The City is allowed to enact its own requirements for fences so long as those requirements are not less restrictive than the County’s requirements.
| County | Existing City | Proposed City | |
| Front yard | Cannot exceed 4ft in height | Not allowed unless replacing an existing fence | Not allowed unless replacing an existing fence |
| Side or rear yard | Cannot exceed 6ft in height | Same | Same |
| Through or corner lot | Cannot exceed 4 ft in height, can be built to the property line | Requires 25 ft setback from property line along the street | Requires 25 ft setback from property line along the street, cannot exceed 4ft in height |
| Through lot (road at both ends) | Two front yards | One front yard based on orientation of the house | One front yard based on orientation of the house |
| Chain link fence | Allowed in all yards | Not allowed in front yards except for reconstruction or replacement by variance | 1. Not allowed in front yards except for reconstruction or replacement 2. Not allowed except by variance |
| Building permit | Not required if 4ft In height or less | Required for all fences | Required except for garden fences 4-ft in height or less
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If you cannot attend the Public Input session, writteyou can submit written comment may be submitted to the City Council, no later than 5 p.m. the day of the meeting, by email to cpmc@collegeparkmd.gov Please identify the agenda item you are commenting on and include your full name and street address.