First of all, since we are getting closer to December 16^th, I wanted to remind you that we are having a Ward 7 Town Hall that day at 6:00pm at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck library. I’ll be presenting on local lessons drawn from our work-study to Sweden that was on Sustainable Transportation in particular. The Mayor may be joining us as well. After this the meeting will be opened up into a general Q&A Town Hall. I could really use help distributing flyers, so if you have the time and inclination to leave them on the doors of your neighbor’s houses, please let me know and I’ll ensure you get some flyers to distribute. Ideally I’d like to get them out this weekend or early next week so people have ample notification of the meeting.

In other news for Monday, we will be voting on a Resolution that would delay the enforcement of our gas-powered leaf blower ban. I want to be clear: this is not a step back from that ban. It’s clear that this is the direction the public wants to go. What this is, is an effort to respond to some concerns we have heard about the financial transition to electric equipment, so we are working on securing funds and setting up a program to administer a voucher or rebate program to assist residents and local landscaping companies.  But we need time to get this set up. So the ban will still go into effect January 1^st but the enforcement, as far as fines, will be delayed. If you do notice violations, please take pictures of the company or individual in question, email them to [email protected] and City staff will reach out to them to help educate them about the law and our transition assistance program.

Also, my Fair Cannabis Employment Ordinance is up for public hearing. More information on that below. Lastly, my legislation that would prohibit new drive-thrus will be up for a final vote. I’ve posted closing comments on that below, but suffice it to say that my intention is to build a more sustainable, safe, and accessible community for all. I’ll explain more below. 

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

We have a number of things up for public hearing and first reader at Monday’s Council meeting that may be of interest to you.

What I’m most excited about is the introduction of my legislation, titled “Fair cannabis employment practices”, that I’ve been working on for a while. This would prohibit the City from testing any applicants or employees for cannabis use, unless otherwise required by the State or Federal government. I detail the problem below, but suffice it to say that the City’s testing methodology detects cannabis use that could date back weeks or even months, which obviously has no relation on someone’s ability to do their job. Yet if someone tests positive during their pre-employment screening or if a current employee has any positive test, they are either terminated immediately or have to undergo a full drug rehabilitation program. Potentially losing one’s professional career for a completely legal activity they engaged in while off duty, with no impact to their job performance, seems rather draconian to me. Hence this change.

As far as public hearings, you’ll have an opportunity to testify on one of my Ordinances tweaking the fence code, an ordinance dealing with police contraband disposal that I hope to amend to allow them to donate bikes to kids in need as opposed to auctioning them off, and also my legislation that would require food trucks to follow the same sign laws as our brick and mortar stores; in this case prohibiting those flashing signs you may see on some food trucks.

Lastly, as a reminder, I have scheduled a town hall meeting at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library for 6:00pm - 7:30pm on Monday, December 16^th (I apologize for the earlier time, but it appears the library has changed their hours slightly)

Stay healthy and stay safe,

 Rob

Monday’s meeting will be starting with a closed session on the lawsuit that has been filed against the City, in a seeming attempt to stop our efforts to protect it from climate change. I don’t know much about it at the moment, and we’ll see what I can disclose after our closed meeting. Slightly more on this below.

I am going to try to manually add three pieces of legislation to the agenda that are not on the final posted agenda. O-29-24 (Title 17 fence code update), O-30-24 (Title 21 fence code update), and O-36-23 (Forest Conservation loophole closure). You can get more information on all of these below. I have to manually add them to the agenda via a motion to amend the agenda because, while I had requested they be on the final agenda they were removed without my permission, so now I have to add them back on manually. Code requires they should have been on this agenda given where they are in the process, so they were removed in violation of our code. Regardless, that’s why you don’t see them on the final posted agenda.

As a reminder, I have scheduled a town hall meeting at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library for 6-7:30pm on Monday, December 16^th (I apologize for the earlier time, but it appears the library has changed their hours slightly)

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

A few things regarding this Monday’s Council meeting. Alderman Arnett and I are re-introducing our legislation that would create a task force to establish the need, then some recommendations if needed, regarding updating our Code on houseboats. I’ll write more below, but suffice it to say this is a much bigger issue than some of my colleagues seem to realize, and so there is much research we need to do before doing anything on this issue. And frankly, I don’t see why we are going to open up an entire can-of-worms that risks upsetting the monumental work we did a few years back to update our maritime districts, just to suit some investors who want to put houseboats on our waters and rent them as short term rentals. I don’t like the idea and I don’t want to waste any of our time. Unfortunately, that ship appears to be departing regardless of the concerns Alderman Arnett and I have (as the Aldermen with the most marinas), hence this task force to at least make sure we get the information we need.

On other issues, you’ll also notice legislation on outdoor dining. This is a Resolution that would extend outdoor dining and then sunset if my other legislation creating a permitting process for such dining passes.

I also think I promised you some more information on the delegation trip to Sweden. If you have thoughts on how you would like to hear the local lessons or takeaways that I took from that trip, please let me know. I have scheduled a town hall meeting at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library for 6-7:30pm on Monday, December 16^th (I apologize for the earlier time, but it appears the library has changed their hours slightly), and I’m thinking I may take the opportunity to go through some pictures and takeaways. I may invite the Mayor to that meeting as well. I have also started writing an op-ed for The Capital. What I’ll say for now is it was entirely worthwhile. We built connections with the State and County, which will prove quite essential as we seek to build a sustainable transportation system over here. I also made the pitch to a Swedish electric boat/ferry company to set up shop in Ward 7’s maritime district. They are looking to set up shop in the States, and obviously Annapolis would be a perfect place given our maritime culture and heritage and fit right into our plans to create a 100% renewable & clean public transportation system. Which, by the way, Stockholm has already accomplished! They are also at over 70% renewable/carbon-free for their entire transportation system in the City, both public and private. That is phenomenal! And quite inspiring! You know what this leads to; cleaner streets, cleaner air, quieter streets, and more people walking and cycling around the City. And when you have more eyes on the street you also make your streets safer, not to mention the increased foot traffic also brings more economic activity. Moving towards a more sustainable, carbon neutral City/society is a smart move for quality of life, healthier living, and a stronger economy.

Happy Halloween! Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

I recently returned from our City-County-State delegation visit to Sweden, to learn about sustainable mobility and carbon reduction approaches. They are, by far, the world leaders on those topics. We also visited an electric boat manufacturer which I am hoping will open up shop here in Ward 7. I have a lot to say about this trip and will post more next week. But for now, I point you to the County Executive’s weekly letter: Swedish Inspiration. I apologize for not getting you more information now, but I am feeling under the weather and am late enough with getting this newsletter out.

In other news, last week the Environmental Matters Committee discussed our ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. This was a long requested piece of legislation, as people have grown quite fed up with the noise and bad air they create, and I’m proud to say that we are among the early adopters in the State. Besides Montgomery County and DC, Baltimore City just adopted a similar prohibition. Our law takes effect January 1^st. What the Committee delved into was our enforcement process, as well as discussing a transition assistance program that we will provide to local businesses and residents to help ease the monetary cost. These are both in development so I’ll send you more at a later date.

That’s all for now. Happy for the beautiful weather but wish I felt better!

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Coming out of our August recess, the Council resumes Monday with a regular Council meeting. There are two pieces of legislation up for a public hearing, one is my Ordinance that would prohibit new drive-thrus, which emulates other jurisdictions and seeks to make our community safer for pedestrians and cyclists. This will also be the first meeting for our newest Council-member, Harry Huntley, who was appointed by the Annapolis Democratic Central Committee as Ward 1 Alderman, replacing Alderwoman Elly Tierney, who has moved out of the area.

September Town hall meeting

Alderman Arnett and I are holding a joint Ward7/8 town hall meeting on Thursday, September 12^th, 7pm at the Eastport volunteer fire company, at 914 Bay Ridge Ave. I’ll send more on this later, but please mark your calendars.

Stay healthy and stay safe,

 Rob

At tomorrow’s Council meeting, we will be holding a public hearing on a new piece of legislation that would establish a Tenant Displacement Fund, to help relocate lower income residents when/if their units are deemed unfit for human habitation. Also, we have two new pieces of legislation being introduced: one would help us become a Bird City, and the other would move forward with condemning an old gas station site at West St & Monticello so that the city can acquire it and install hopefully a public park and some affordable housing.

Also, we will be having a final vote on our Annapolis Plastic Bag Reduction Act, which mostly copies the County’s legislation at this point. And we will also be voting on a Resolution showing our support of the Eastport Choice Neighborhood Initiative Transformation Plan that would redevelop some older public housing as well as the old Spa Rd Public Works property into mixed use housing.

Lastly, just a reminder that the Council will be in recess during the month of August, so I may be slower than normal in getting back to you.

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Happy 4^th of July! I have details below on our City celebrations, details on Monday’s Council meeting, and our first water access plan draft that is out for public comment.

 Stay healthy and stay safe,

 Rob

Odor at treatment plant

I’m sorry to have missed this past Monday’s meeting on the Wastewater Treatment Plant odor issue, but our final Council vote on the budget was the same night, which I could not miss. I have spoken to a number of people about the meeting, including the Anne Arundel Director of Public Works, and will be including some information about the issue at the end of this email.

FY25 budget approved – Ward 7 wins big

We have voted to approve the FY25 budget. I’m happy to report that all of my amendments passed. Here is a list of what I was able to get accomplished:

1. Money for an additional social worker position – We clearly need to do more in our communities to help break the cycle of poverty and crime, and I believe that social workers are an important part of ensuring public safety.
2. Urban tree canopy funding – We have long had a goal of reaching our 50% tree canopy target by 2035. Unfortunately, we have determined that there is no way we can meet that target because our tree program was never properly funded when the goal was adopted. Even if we tried to catch up and planted the thousands of trees we need, they simply can’t grow fast enough to meet the target. Now our urban tree program will be a part of our Watershed Restoration Fund, ensuring that it is properly funded in perpetuity. This will also likely entail setting a new target year to meet our 50% canopy goal.
3. Noise camera pilot – I secured funding for a noise camera pilot on Tyler Avenue. Assuming we can get permission from the State to do so, this could help turn Tyler Ave into a “Quiet Street”, automatically fining vehicles who violate our existing noise restrictions. This is in response to complaints I’ve received about noisy vehicles racing down this road late at night.
4. Enhanced Bembe Beach Rd crosswalk – The crosswalk near Baywoods has long needed an upgrade with a push-button and flashing lights, even more so now that we are creating a new public park at the newly acquired Carrs Beach property.
5. Bay Ridge Rd “Road Diet” study – We will be soliciting a study of Bay Ridge Rd between Arundel on the Bay and Hillsmere Drive, to see what kind of “road diet” we may be able to put that roadway on. “Road diets” are helpful in that the goal is to create a road that is slower and more pedestrian and cyclist friendly. And once you create such a pedestrian friendly environment, you also get an economic boost because more people will be visiting your business; not just by car, but now by foot and cycle. As a part of this, we will look at reducing the lanes, installing bike paths, possibly installing street trees, narrowing the lanes to slow traffic, and possibly converting the signalized intersections to circles. If we are serious about having zero pedestrian deaths from vehicles, and creating safe routes to schools, we need to start looking at how to do that. My son bikes every day to school this way, and so I am very committed to looking to make it safer for him and other kids like him. If we can come up with a good study, and convince the County to partner with us, this could be a model for the rest of Forest Drive. Maybe we could finally change Forest Drive from our most dangerous road in the City to the safest. Imagine that!
6. Mini-roundabout study – We will be looking at doing conceptual studies at 4 intersections for possible conversions to mini-roundabouts: Georgetown Rd & Victor Haven, Forest Hills & Bay Ridge Ave, Bay Ridge Ave & Chesapeake (or Sixth), and Duke of Gloucester & Conduit. Mini-roundabouts are safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and automobile drivers, and also help to slow traffic down generally. We also save money by not having to supply electricity to the traffic signals. If this goes well, I’ll be looking to install some on Edgewood Rd (and yes, they can be designed to allow large trucks and boat trailers to traverse them). After Tyler Ave, Edgewood Rd is next on our list for traffic calming and road diet.
7. CIP text amendments – I adjusted many of our transportation-related Capital Improvement Projects to include analysis of converting traffic signals to circles before spending half a million dollars to upgrade them, installing trees when re-constructing roads, and incorporating bike paths in some street upgrades.
8. Reusable bags for low income residents – pretty self explanatory, but with a plastic bag ban likely to pass in the City, we need to offer free bags to those who need them.
9. Watershed fund overhaul – I’ve allocated funding to allow us to move towards a more equitable fee structure where “users” are charged by their actual impervious surface coverage. This will hopefully help us adequately charge large industrial or commercial users with large parking lots, to make sure they are paying for their poor runoff.
10. Carrs Beach annexation support – for whatever reason, the Carrs Beach community was never annexed into the City and is now completely surrounded by the City despite being in the County. Residents are looking to be annexed to given that they have old, failing septic tanks that are likely polluting our waterways. If annexed, they could connect to our water and sewer systems, pending adequate capacity. This money would help support them, if annexed, as far as helping with utility connections on a need basis.
11. AI street camera study – this would have us look at the feasibility of moving towards a street camera system that is somewhat monitored by AI. Currently our cameras are monitored by about half a dozen individuals, which come with their own human limitations as far as attention.
12. Other – we also approved funds for domestic violence outreach, field upgrades, minority business development fund, approved a children and family success grant, clay street community development fund, and set aside money to pay for the HACA pool for one season.

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob