College Park City Council members in January asked city staff to conduct a study to determine whether to restrict parking in residential neighborhoods by issuing permits.
Some neighborhoods, including those with crowded streets and few driveways in North College Park and around the University of Maryland campus, already have permit-only parking. The study would examine whether parking should be permit-restricted on additional streets throughout the city.
Parking Enforcement Officer Jim Miller told councilmembers on Jan. 13 that the city code already allows for permit parking, so increasing the number of streets with restrictions would not require a change in the law.
“It’s a matter of how that restricted parking is utilized,” Miller said.
Miller proposed the study during an August 2025 meeting, when the council discussed the issue extensively.
He said permit-only parking could help address overcrowding in homes because only homeowners and tenants whose names appear on a lease would qualify for permits.
“Where are they going to park their car now, because they are not on a lease agreement, they are not listed as [the] owner-occupied property owner,” Miller said. “Without providing the necessary documentation that we require, they won’t be able to get a permit, so they’ll have to figure out where their car goes. So that is a good stopgap measure that helps.”
In areas where parking is already restricted, permits are free. Most households can receive five residential permits and two visitor passes.
During the meeting, Miller proposed charging an annual fee for each permit, citing administrative costs related to parking enforcement.
He proposed a fee schedule that would allow one free permit per household but charge for additional permits, with fees escalating as the number of vehicles increases.
He also proposed that the council reduce the number of permits per household from five to three, plus two guest passes.
“We can utilize staff to determine where the proper numbers might fall for council approval, and that would be from one neighborhood to the next,” Miller said.
Councilmembers had mixed reactions to the proposal to charge for permits.
Former Councilmember Susan Whitney (District 2) said paid street parking could lead more homeowners to build driveways, which could result in less green space and increased stormwater runoff.
Whitney, who did not run for re-election in November, suggested the city offer more incentives, such as tax breaks, to encourage residents to own fewer cars.
“We want people who need their cars to be able to park them, and we want people who can get by with one car to do that and to be encouraged to do that,” she said.
The council also discussed the study during a November 2025 meeting. At that time, councilmembers were united against permit fees and opted instead to consider increasing fines for safety violations, such as parking too close to a fire hydrant.
Director of Public Services Jatinder Khokhar said it could take a minimum of three to four months to survey the city’s neighborhoods to determine which are candidates for permit parking.