We are coming up on our 5th Council meeting remaining of this term. For Monday, note that we have a public hearing on O-14-25, which would increase density throughout our City’s major corridors, a Ranked Choice Vote (RCV) proposal coming from Alderman Huntley and I, and a final vote on a proposed property transfer to secure remediation money to clean up the contaminated Spa Rd properties. In addition, in the last section I have some updates on the ASPCA barking issue, Edgewood Rd crosswalk lighting complaint, and vegetative complaint on Bembe Beach Rd.
Re-election campaign update
Fundraiser Friday – Dessert & Port at Port Annapolis
I’m holding a Dessert & Port Tasting fundraiser this Friday, Aug 1, 7–9PM at Port Annapolis at the lounge above their pool. $75 for a ticket, only 30 spots, so act now! Join me for sweets, sips, and civic fun 🍷🍫 RSVP here.
Donation link correction
I apologize to all those who have had difficulty sending donations through my website. I believe we have the issue resolved now, so please donate at www.RobSavidge.com/donate
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-6-25 - Clearing Snow and Ice from City Sidewalks - Approved (I voted Aye)
- O-8-25 - Chesapeake Children’s Museum Lease Renewal Through June 30, 2030 - Approved (I voted Aye)
- R-27-25 - Renaming of the Noah Hillman Parking Garage - Approved (I voted Aye)
- R-30-25 - Five-Year Consolidated Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan – Postponed (I voted to postpone)
Stay healthy and stay safe,
Rob
Next Council meeting – 7/28/25 (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-14-25 - Implementation of Annapolis Ahead Comprehensive Plan, 2040 - This legislation has two major components: 1. it would increase the allowable density for Planned Unit Developments along our major (and some minor) corridors, including Forest Drive, Bay Ridge Rd, West St, Spa Rd, etc., and 2. it would raise the height limit for a block at the end of City Dock to enable a boutique hotel with roof-top dining. Let me get into these a little more…
For #1, I have concerns about this. I have concerns about any density increases that are not supported with an infrastructure solution to address the concerns I hear from so many of you on a regular basis: i.e. traffic on Forest Drive, safety concerns, and parking difficulties. I find it to be an abrogation of duty as a public official to simply approve growth without any real effort towards a solution. Yes, we approve plans and studies outlining this or that great idea, but when it comes down to actually choosing action and requiring developers to help, we often fall flat. While some on the Planning Commission may feel that these density increases are modest, the cumulative effect of even minor increases on an already packed road will create impacts. So what I'm trying to do about it is craft amendments that are more "transit-oriented development" as opposed to "density driven development". The issue with the latter is that we still have to endure the negative impacts with only the hope that future tax revenue will go towards solutions, and would be at 100% the taxpayers expense. My alternative is the transit oriented development. This is where we would get the developer on board to commit to Community Benefit Agreements to construct affordable housing and contribute to transit first, and also to implement tax incremental financing districts that would ensure that all future tax revenue goes towards the associated infrastructure. Do you support my concerns about density increases? Do you support the approach of Transit Oriented Development? Do you want mobility options besides just driving around town?
For #2, the height limit changes, the primary driver is a proposed new use that would be a boutique hotel. The idea is that the restaurants in this section have never done very well, and with our new City Dock redevelopment, bringing in more public amenities to that area (as opposed to just unusable parking spots for cars), we want to have a corresponding use that brings foot traffic to use those amenities and visit the surrounding businesses. Given the past failures, I'm open to trying something new. I will likely be proposing amendments to prevent any uses but rooftop dining, as I do not want any rooftop hotel rooms. I may also revisit the new height boosts to see if they need to be scaled back at all. That said, such height boosts won't impact our viewshed, given that there are nearby buildings already exceeding the height that are grandfathered in, and any proposed hotel would need to stay within the existing footprint. Do you support this potential use? What are your thoughts on bumping the height limits to allow for roof-top dining at the hotel?
- O-31-25 - Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Bond Anticipation Notes
Legislation being introduced on first reader
- O-32-25 - Lease of City Property - 2031-2036 Fall Boat Shows
- O-33-25 - Lease of City Property - Market House
- O-34-25 - FY 2026 Changes in Exempt Service Job Classifications
- O-35-25 - Ranked-Choice Voting in Annapolis City Elections - Alderman Huntley and I have introduced this legislation that would change our City elections (starting 2029, NOT this current election) to utilize ranked choice voting (RCV). This is utilized by a number of other jurisdictions around the country, including the State of Maine, New York City, and Takoma Park. The idea is that voters would rank their choices 1 through X, rather than just having a single vote. The benefits of utilizing RCV is that it ensure that someone wins with a majority, as opposed to a plurality. This can help to build unity behind the winner, and any effort to build more unity in this Country is in my view a worthwhile cause. The way it works is, if no one wins with a majority during the first round, the lowest vote-taker will be removed from the next round, with anyone who voted for that person as #1 having their votes shuffled so now their #2 gets sent to the top (since the #1 person received the least amount of votes and was removed from the list). Another benefit to this approach is it removes any potential "spoiler" argument, as it enables people to vote for their hopes and dreams as #1 yet still have their subsequent ranked choices being counted if their #1 doesn't win first round. This video explains it better than I.
Legislation on second reader (i.e. final vote)
- O-9-25 - Expanding Waterfront Uses in R4 General Residence (Zoning) Districts - The intention with this legislation is to allow dense development in the R4 District to provide for boat rentals and associated services for their residents. I plan on tweaking this to be restricted mostly to paddlecraft, at least for the on-land storage component, as I don't want random boats being stored on-land in residential areas. If you have thoughts on this for me, please let me know.
- O-19-25 - Regulation of Tours in Historic Annapolis - This seeks to take an approach I've seen in other Cities, to ensure that tour companies and guides are property regulated. The goal is to prevent larger companies from arriving and scamming our tourists or visitors on fake tours. This is why Cities like Philadelphia and NYC have such regulations. I am inclined to support this legislation but I think the sponsor is going to amend it to lesson the burden for small local companies. So at the moment I'll likely postpone, but I do intend to support the final product, pending any concerns from you.
- R-30-25 - Five-Year Consolidated Housing and Community Development Strategic Plan – I’m in general agreement with this, though I think it’s integration with our Comprehensive Plan could be improved. Regardless, I’ll likely support, pending any comments from you.
- O-20-25 - Sale of City-Owned Property at 932 Spa Road and 935 Spa Road. The purpose of this legislation is to get the Council to approve a temporary sale of City property on Spa Rd to the Resilience Authority so that they can secure federal money (that may run out quite quickly given the federal administration) to be used on remediation the contamination on that site. In the past, this property used to be Public Works facilities and before that a City landfill and incinerator. Our goal is to potentially build affordable housing, artist housing (part of our Arts District), or City facilities (office space or transit building of some kind). We spent two special Environmental Matters meetings, probably around 6 hours this past week, going over details and working through amendments. I’m ready to move forward with the legislation with the amendments from the Environmental Matters Committee.
Community & Political updates
SPCA barking issue
I have heard from a few people about excessively loud barking at the SPCA. We have reached out to them and I’m happy to report that they have already adjusted their hours, moved problem barkers to the old (rear) facility, and are looking at other sound barriers. If anyone is interested in a tour, they are happy to take residents on one through their facility. They do have a community meeting room in the basement.
Edgewood crosswalk light
I received a complaint about insufficient lighting at the Edgewood Rd crosswalk. I’m happy to report that the City worked with BGE to get this resolved.
Bembe Beach Road vegetation overgrowth
I am working with staff to ensure that vegetation overhanging the roadway along Bembe Beach gets resolved. There appears to be some finger pointing between the City an County. I’m still working on it…
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