Only 3 meetings remaining in this term. On Monday we will have five pieces of legislation up for a public hearing. Of particular note to some of you may be O-15-25, updating our Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) requirements.

2025 election updates

Primary Election results

Final results from the Primary Election are in! Due to an issue with an election judge misreporting the numbers on election night, the City just concluded auditing all of the ballots, and I’m happy to report that the totals from the audit reflect the same totals from election night, speaking to the accuracy of our election methods. You may have also read about the issues with the mailed ballots, but based on what I’ve been told that issue stemmed from an issue with the US Postal Service not properly handling election ballots and holding onto them in the Baltimore sorting facility. I have not heard of any other issues coming out of that, so it would seem that all ballots have been received and counted at this point. We will certainly give this close consideration when we get our post-election briefing from our Election Board. But to be frank, this does have me wondering about perhaps administering our own elections again instead of contracting with Anne Arundel County. After these snafus, I’d like to ensure we maintain complete control over our elections, and in my mind having direct control over our democracy is worth any potential costs resulting from such self-administration. This is what we used to do until former Mayor Pantelides partnered with the County on our elections.

Congratulations to Mayoral candidate Jared Littmann

I would like to congratulate Mayoral candidate Jared Littmann on his victory in the Democratic primary. He will next be facing Republican Bob O’Shea in the general election on November 4^th 2025.

General election reminder

Even though I was not on the Primary Ballot since it was an uncontested race, I will be on the November ballot and ask for your vote and continued support as I look to serve you for another 4 years.

Savidge Yard signs

If you would like a Savidge campaign yard sign in your yard, please let me know and I’ll get one to you soon.

Legislative action summary from last meeting

• O-31-25 - Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Bond Anticipation Notes – APPROVED (I voted “Aye”)

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Next Council meeting – 9/29/25 (agenda)

This meeting starts at 7pm and will be televised on local cable, YouTube, Facebook, and the City website.  You can submit public testimony at http://www.annapolis.gov/testimony. This will be an in-person meeting.

Public Hearings

• CA-2-25 – City Council Pay and Benefits Deadline For the purpose of allowing the City Council until the general election to finalize pay and benefits for the upcoming term. This modifies the Charter to give the Council more time to enact any Mayor-Council salary recommendations from the Salary Review Commission.
• O-15-25 - Accessory Dwelling Unit Requirements For the purpose of removing the residency requirement for property owners who have an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) on their residential property; defining "ownership" in Title 21; limiting short-term rentals to one of the two dwelling units on an ADU property; and generally related to Accessory Dwelling Unit requirements of Titles 21 and 17. This legislation seeks to remove the current code requirement that the owner of the ADU shall reside in either the ADU or the principal structure, and also clarifies that only one structure may be utilized as a short term rental, not both.
• O-18-25 - Re-Allowing Historic Duplexes in R2 Zoning Districts For the purpose of allowing duplexes to be built in R2 zoning districts, provided they resemble the existing single-family homes in the neighborhood; and generally related to R2 Single-Family Residence district requirements. This would allow duplexes to be built in R2 zoning districts, provided the architecture fits with the existing single-family homes in the neighborhood.
• O-38-25 - Exception to the City's Prohibition on Doors or Gates Opening Over Sidewalks For the purpose of allowing the Director of Public Works to allow exceptions to ? 14.20.090 of the City Code dealing with doors or gates opening over sidewalks.

Legislation being introduced on first reader

• R-42-25 – Compensation of Acting City Manager Victoria Buckland. This would officially extend the pay for Ms. Buckland to continue serving as the acting City Manager until we have a replacement for City Manager by the next Mayor/Council.

Legislation on second reader (i.e. final vote)

• O-19-25 - Regulation of Tours in Historic Annapolis – This legislation seeks to create a permitting regime for those providing tours, to ensure that shady out-of-town outfits don’t overwhelm the locals. I support, but it needs to get cleaned up a bit to address concerns from the small local operators. I believe this may get withdrawn. If it isn’t amended I may not support it on third reader. If you have any comments, please let me know.
• O-24-25 - Election Report Deadlines. This seeks to modify the election reporting deadlines. I’m wary of doing this in the midst of an election so I’ll likely vote against it, pending input from you.
• O-32-25 - Lease of City Property - 2031-2036 Fall Boat Shows – Our relationship with the boat show has gone very well and I see no issues with continuing the lease. Pending any concerns from you I intend to support this legislation.
• O-36-25 - Lease of City Property - 2031-2036 Spring Boat Shows - Our relationship with the boat show has gone very well and I see no issues with continuing the lease. Pending any concerns from you I intend to support this legislation.
• R-35-25 - 181 Prince George Street Sidewalk Easement – This would allow one particular house to store their trash out front in a wooden enclosure. I’ll largely yield to the Ward 1 Alderman for this, but we may refer it to Environmental Matters to take a closer look.
• R-36-25 - Fees for Clearing Snow and Ice from City Sidewalks – As you may recall, I’ve been working on beefing up our sidewalk clearing requirements, both for the City and residents. This would allow us to attach a fee when the City is forced to clear a sidewalk due to a negligent owner. Pending input from you, I am inclined to support this effort and have signed on as co-sponsor. Having accessible and safe sidewalks is a public safety issue for me.
• R-38-25 - Re-assigning Fiscal Year 2025 and Fiscal Year 2026 Community Grants – This swaps out one recipient of our community grants for another, due to it being revealed that one of them did not qualify after all. I intend to support, pending any concern raised by you.
• R-39-25 - Itinerant Merchant Sales in the Historic District for a Flea Market – I’m hesitant to allow flea markets downtown, but there is an amendment proposed that would require the downtown businesses to agree before one occurs. I’m inclined to support if amended, pending input from you.

Community & Political updates

Day of the Dead Oct. 11^th

Board and Commission vacancies

If you are interested in serving on an Annapolis Board or Commission, we have a number of vacancies. They include:

• Affordable Housing & Community Equity Development Commission – 1 vacancy
• Alcoholic Beverage Control Board – 1 vacancy
• Annapolis Conservancy Board – 3 vacancies
• Audit Committee – 2 vacancies
• Building Board of Appeals – 1 vacancy
• Civil Service Board – 2 vacancies
• Commission on Aging – 4 vacancies
• Education Commission – 2 vacancies (1 Ward 4, 1 at‑large)
• Environmental Commission – 1 vacancy
• Heritage Commission – 3 vacancies
• Human Relations Commission – 2 vacancies
• Recreation Advisory Board – 5 vacancies
• Transportation Board – 3 vacancies (Ward 4, Ward 3, 1 at‑large)

To see descriptions, see this website.