First of all, I wanted to thank all of you that were able to join me at my re-election campaign kick-off. We probably had between 70 to 100 people join us throughout the evening. I am incredibly fortunate to have such kind-hearted and thoughtful supporters, and I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with you about the future of Ward 7. If you missed my remarks, you can view them on Facebook. And as always, I could use your financial support as we gear up re-election campaign.

And to my Eastport friends, I hear you loud and clear. And in light of my analysis and comments below on O-14-25, I will work to take a more transit-first approach to addressing parking and Traffic issues in the City, to at least get that planned out more properly before we start making too many drastic changes to density or parking. To that end, I will be requesting funding to look at extending the downtown circulator bus to Eastport, and potentially create an Eastport circulator that would connect Ward 7 to Eastport and downtown in a much more convenient and predictable manner.

As you may know, we are right in the middle of our budget season. Much to my colleagues chagrin, I will be putting forward dozens of budget amendments; some substantial some minor, but all working towards my vision for an Annapolis with sustainable mobility options. Here are some highlights:

• Create a Legislative implementation auditor
• Regional electric transportation system feasibility study in partnership with the County, focusing on West st (building off of a 2009 Study for West St)
• Bembe Beach sidewalk extension
• Deployable safety bollards downtown to enable safe pedestrianization of Main st & West st.
• Bay Ridge Rd-Ave-Eastport circulator shuttle study
• Numerous txt amendments to our CIP road projects to ensure they take a Complete Streets approach.
• CIP Complete streets supplemental funding project.
• Downtown outreach for economic vitalization through pedestrianization
• Bike parking infrastructure installation in City Garages
• Quick-build road safety improvements
• Old Fourth Ward and inner West Street Restorative Development
• Tyler Ave speed camera
• Council project manager
• Downtown-Eastport traffic circulation study
• Edgewood Rd traffic calming initiative
• Fare-free transit
• Mini-roundabout CIP addition
• Carrs beach annexation support (carry-over from last year)
• Bay Ridge Road diet (Carry-over from last year)
• Rec & Parks eco training
• City-County Forest Drive transit study
• And a few more that are still being finalized…

Also, note below a discussion about O-14-25, which seeks to increase density along Forest Dr. and other corridors for Planned Unit Developments. This is a Density-Driven Development approach, which I disagree with as it perpetuates traffic and parking impacts without a solution. I am much more of a supporter of Transit Oriented/Driven Development, which uses transit to fund and drive development, which also offsets and improves traffic and parking impacts at the same time (not to mention the environmental benefit to getting people out of cars). 

Lastly, here is a video put together by the Mayor called “8 Years 8 Wards”.

Legislative action summary from last meeting

R-2-25 – Demonstration Program to Build Green Roofs on City Bus Shelters – Postponed (I voted Aye)

R-15-25 - Friendship City Relationship with Frankston – Adopted (I voted Aye)

R-19-25 - Memorial Honoring the Life and Legacy of the Late U.S. Representative Parren J. Mitchell – Adopted (I voted Aye and amended it)

Stay healthy and stay safe,

Rob

Next Council meeting – 5/12/25 (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

• O-10-25 - Annual Budget and Appropriation and Property Tax Levy

Legislation being introduced on first reader

• O-6-25 – Clearing Snow and Ice from City Sidewalks - This legislation would build off our current code, which requires property owners to remove snow shortly after snow events, to allow the City to clear the sidewalks ourselves and recover the full costs of that beyond just the fine. I am a co-sponsor on this.
• O-8-25 - Chesapeake Children's Museum Lease Renewal Through June 30, 2030 For the purpose of authorizing a lease agreement with Chesapeake Children's Museum, Inc., a Maryland corporation, for City property at 25 Silopanna Road in Annapolis commencing on July 1, 2025 and terminating on June 30, 2030
• O-12-25 - Prioritizing Affordable Spending Through Expansion of Financial Advisory Commission Duties. This adds a "spending affordability" requirement to the Financial Advisory Commission's list of things to analyze. I'm not so sure about this legislation just yet. It adds potentially a lot of work to their plate, and a lot of the requirements seem subjective to me. I'll support on First Reader but I'm not yet decided beyond that.
• O-13-25 - Compensation of Mayor, Alderpersons, and City Manager. This would increase the City Manager's, Mayor's, and Alderpersons' salaries, following the recommended increases from the Salary Review Commission.
• O-14-25 - Implementation of Annapolis Ahead Comprehensive Plan, 2040. This Ordinance should really be called "Increasing allowable density for Planned Developments and height limit adjustment for City Dock." This legislation does two things: 1. it adjusts the height limits around City Dock to take into consideration accessory structures, and 2. increases the allowable density in Planned Unit Developments, in particular along our major corridors like Forest Dr, West St, and Parole.
  • While I'll likely support this on First Reader, I have strong concerns that this perpetuates the City's flawed (in my opinion) philosophy/approach to development: density-driven development. Density-Driven Development (DDD) leads to perpetuated and worsened impacts in the short term, such as traffic and parking woes. The alternative, which I support, is Transit Oriented/Driven Development (TOD). This latter approach (TOD) enables transit to lead the way with funding, by attracting private and government investment, which addresses the present infrastructure issues such as traffic and parking. In this case the transit is paid in part by the developers. This TOD approach would also gives us an opportunity to set up the TOD overlay districts, Tax Incremental Financing (TIFs) districts (using future tax revenue from density to pay for the infrastructure), and Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) with the developers. With the former approach (DDD), we potentially lose those opportunities. The idea with DDD is that the immediate density increase will increase tax revenue, but it's based on a rather steep hope that future elected officials will use that increased tax revenue to pay for the infrastructure improvements, instead of having it just go right back into the general fund (which is usually what happens). In my opinion this puts the cart before the horse and favors the developers over the current residents, and perpetuates development design of the past (heavy on parking lots and impervious surfaces since there is no transit alternative), as opposed to development looking towards the future. So on that end, if it was up to me I'd vote this down, but I don't think there is much hope of that being a successful effort or worth my time. Hence, I'm going to try to amend this legislation to make it more of a transit-supported development pattern, and as close to a TOD pattern as I can make it.
  • To further summarize, I am not comfortable agreeing to increased density unless we have a plan in place to address the traffic on these corridors; for example Forest Drive. As we have learned recently (with the exception of the downtown bus circulator) our bus system is only (and I'm not exaggerating) used by those of lower income levels, most of which do not even have drivers licenses or cars, and is focused on getting people to work rather than around town. While that's a needed service for them, it is not a transit system that will get people out of their cars to reduce traffic or environmental impacts. So, to that end, I will be proposing some budget amendments to draft such a transit plan for Forest Drive and West Street, and am also seeking funding to look at creating a regional electric transportation system in partnership with the County and State.
• R-22-25 - City Sponsored Special Events in Fiscal Year 2026 For the purpose of identifying City Supported Special Events in Fiscal Year 2026 and waiving certain related City fees for those events.
• R-24-25 - Confirmation of Human Resources and Integrated Technology Solutions Directors For the purpose of confirming the appointment of Patricia Hopkins as Director of Human Resources and Brian Paquin as Director of Integrated Technology Solutions; and consenting to compensate the directors.

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

• R-2-25 – Demonstration Program to Build Green Roofs on City Bus Shelters - For the purpose of requiring the City Manager to establish a demonstration program to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of green roof bus shelters; and to include that project in the Fiscal Year 2026 City budget; and generally related to the establishment of eco-friendly bus shelters. This Resolution basically expresses support for what would ultimately need to be a budget amendment, to install green roofs on a few of our bus shelters to see if it would be worthwhile doing on more of our shelters. We saw this type of technology being utilized on bus stops in Europe. I’m supportive of the Resolution, but will need to see the cost and maintenance details in the budget amendment before supporting it as a Capital Improvement Project.
• R-38-24 - Condemnation and Possession of Real Property at 245 West Street - For the purpose of authorizing the condemnation and possession of real property at 245 West Street in the City of Annapolis; removing a severe public health and safety hazard related to a blighted and vacant lot; and working toward construction of affordable housing on the same blighted and vacant lot.

Community & Political updates

Georgetown Rd sidewalk work

Please see the link above for details. The City is asking for your cooperation if you live on one of these streets.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and African Diaspora Festival - Sat., May 10

Bike to Work Event at City Dock on May 16

City of Annapolis Pools to Open for the Season on Saturday, May 24, 2025

Memorial Day in Annapolis: Parade on Monday, May 26

City has begun enforcement of the gas-powered leaf blower ban

Gas-powered leaf blowers are now fully prohibited in the City. Hopefully that will make our community a bit quieter, reduce air pollution, and improve worker health. If you see any violations, please take a picture, get contact information, and email it to [email protected]. We have informational flyers here.