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WARD 7 NEWSLETTER
Alderman Rob Savidge · City of Annapolis · September 24, 2026
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| MARK YOUR CALENDAR |
| Sat, Sep 26 |
36th Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival — Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, noon–7 PM
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| Sun, Sep 27 |
West Annapolis Oktoberfest — Annapolis Street, 11 AM–4 PM
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| Mon, Sep 28 |
City Council Special Meeting — public hearing on O-15-26; final votes on O-17-26, O-22-26, the union agreements, R-28-26, and R-33-26 · City Hall, 7 PM
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| Wed, Sep 30 |
“Finding Your Nonprofit Identity” workshop — Pip Moyer Recreation Center, 9 AM–4 PM, free (details below)
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| Wednesdays |
Dinner Under the Stars on West Street — through Oct 21, 4:30–11 PM
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| Wed, Oct 21 |
Anne Arundel County Affordable Housing Symposium — Crowne Plaza Annapolis, 8:30 AM–2 PM, $25 (details below)
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| Oct 25–Nov 1 |
Scarecrow Stroll — West Street, Maryland Avenue, Main Street · Great Pumpkins carving Thu, Oct 29
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| Sat, Oct 31 |
Day of the Dead celebration — Maryland Hall, 3–8 PM (Hispanic Heritage Month events below)
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Last Meeting Recap — September 14
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The Council came back from the August recess with a full agenda. The short version:
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O-9-26 — Committee referrals: passed unanimously. My ordinance fixing how legislation reaches the Council's standing committees, including making sure environmental chapters of the code actually reach the Environmental Matters Committee, passed with a compromise package the Mayor and I worked out after the July debate. The Mayor withdrew his two-committee cap, the committee-of-the-whole provision became an option rather than a mandate, and my amendment requiring a majority Council vote for referrals beyond the automatic ones was adopted. Not every disagreement ends this way, and I appreciate that this one did. |
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O-14-26 — Art in Public Places Commission: passed unanimously. The omnibus amendment I moved, which consolidated ten amendments from Alderwoman O’Neill, Alderman Huntley, and me after a working session with the arts community, keeps decision-making with the Commission itself rather than a single department. The Commission has nine members, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council, with a preference for one member from each ward. The first five appointments are on Monday’s agenda. |
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CA-2-26 — Elections Board expansion: back to committee. My charter amendment expanding the Board of Supervisors of Elections from three to five members was ready for a final vote, but a colleague had a late amendment that the committee had not reviewed. Rather than debate it cold on the floor, I moved to send the amendment back to the Rules and City Government Committee. The legislation itself has been reviewed repeatedly by the Elections Board and the Office of Law, and I expect it back before the Council soon. |
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The Council also ratified the AFSCME Local 3162 agreement covering clerical and technical employees, adopted the FY27 pay plan, closed the public hearings on the Charter preamble, rooming houses, the Resilience Authority, and the Art in Public Places extension, and heard the Zoning Unlocked Phase 2 presentation from Planning and Zoning, which drew about a dozen public speakers. That zoning work will come back as legislation, and I will walk through it in detail when it does. |
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Monday, September 28 — What’s on the Agenda
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7:00 PM at City Hall, in person. Televised on local cable, YouTube, Facebook, and the City website. Submit written testimony anytime at www.annapolis.gov/testimony. The full agenda is on Legistar. This is a special meeting, but it runs like a regular one: public hearing, consent calendar, first readers, and final votes. |
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Ceremonial items
The evening opens with a citation for Dick Franyo, marking the Boatyard Bar & Grill’s 25th anniversary in Eastport, followed by a proclamation for Economic Development Week.
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Short-term rental moratorium update
Planning and Zoning Director Chris Jakubiak will give the Council an update on the short-term rental moratorium. As many of you know, I voted against the moratorium, and I will be listening for where the underlying policy work stands. The related fine schedule, R-33-26, is up for a final vote later in the meeting (see below).
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Public hearing — your chance to weigh in
You can testify in person Monday night or, if you cannot attend, submit written testimony in advance at www.annapolis.gov/testimony.
O-15-26 — Cottage food businesses as home occupations (Alderman Schandelmeier, co-sponsored by Alderman Huntley and me). Maryland has allowed small home-based food businesses, known as cottage food businesses, since 2012: baked goods, jams and jellies, candy, dry mixes, and other foods that do not need refrigeration, sold under a state license with a $50,000 annual sales cap and labeling rules. State law leaves it to local zoning to say whether they are allowed, and the City’s home occupation rules were never written with them in mind, so the legal status of a home baker in Annapolis has been murky. This ordinance expressly permits cottage food businesses as a home occupation, keeps the existing ban on commercial food preparation and catering from home, and adds one practical rule: no fats, oils, or grease down the drain, with the Public Works Director able to require a grease trap where there is a problem. The Planning Commission recommended approval 6-0. This is a small change that lets people do legally what many already do carefully.
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Consent calendar and grants
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Five appointments to the Art in Public Places Commission. With O-14-26 now law, the Mayor has nominated the first five members of the reconstituted Commission, each recommended by the Commission’s interview committee: Julien Jacques (Ward 5), McShane Glover (Ward 1), Leah Weiss (Ward 3), Kaitlyn McQuaid (Ward 2), and Joan Brady (Ward 2). I have no objection to any of them. None of the five is from Ward 7, and the code now expresses a preference for a member from each ward, so if you have an arts background and an interest in serving, let me know. |
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SA-3-27 — Homeland Security grant. The Office of Emergency Management’s federal Urban Area Security Initiative grant came in at $899,985, about $220,000 more than budgeted, and this supplemental appropriation books the difference. The Finance Committee recommended it favorably. |
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Final votes Monday (second readers)
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O-17-26 — Right to park in front of your own driveway (Alderman Smith-Brown, co-sponsored by Alderwoman Contee, Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson, and me). City code today makes it a violation to park in front of any driveway, including your own, even though state law already allows it with the consent of the owner or occupant. Several of you have been ticketed for exactly this. The ordinance lets the legal occupant of a home, or a guest with the occupant’s permission, park parallel to the curb in front of that home’s driveway, where the driveway serves a single dwelling and the street allows parking on both sides. Occupants keep the right to have an unauthorized car towed. I wrote about the background when the public hearing was held in July.
I have three amendments. Amendment 3 removes a provision that would have let cars park within the red curb markings near a driveway, which the City Manager’s staff report flagged as ambiguous next to fire hydrant and emergency access markings. Amendment 4 creates an administrative fix for the residents who keep getting ticketed: a legal occupant who receives a driveway citation can petition the Director of Transportation within 20 days, with the citation and proof of legal occupancy, and if occupancy checks out the citation is voided. A denied request does not extend the deadline to pay or contest. A fifth amendment to the ordinance, which I have asked the Office of Law to draft, responds to a different problem I hear about from cul-de-sac residents: some want to park perpendicular to the curb, which the code prohibits, and others want that prohibition enforced. My amendment would let the residents of a cul-de-sac petition the City and, with a majority of signatures, obtain authority to park perpendicular on their circle. It creates a path for the streets that want it without imposing it on the ones that do not. I intend to push for these changes and to support the legislation, pending any input from you. |
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O-22-26 — Art in Public Places transition period (Mayor Littmann). In February the Council temporarily dissolved the Art in Public Places Commission and moved its duties to the Planning and Zoning Director while the Commission was restructured. That restructuring is now done: O-14-26 passed on September 14, and the first five members are being appointed Monday. But until those members are confirmed and the Commission is actually meeting, there is a gap, and this ordinance extends the transition so the gap is covered. In July I questioned whether the extension was necessary; with the timing now clear, I am inclined to support this legislation, pending any input from you. |
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R-24-26, R-25-26, and R-26-26 — Union agreements for FY2027 and FY2028 (Mayor Littmann). These three resolutions ratify two-year collective bargaining agreements with AFSCME Local 3406 (general City employees, including bus drivers and Public Works crews), IAFF Local 1926 (firefighters), and UFCW Local 400 (police officers). The headline terms are 2 percent cost-of-living adjustments in each year (for police, 1 percent plus a 1 percent increase in starting pay in the first year), along with standardized limits on compensatory time, updated overtime and on-call rules, and, for the fire department, a new promotional assessment process. I have no quarrel with the agreements themselves.
My question is about the money. The City’s own impact reports put the combined new cost for this fiscal year at approximately $992,500: about $126,500 for AFSCME, $270,500 for fire, and $596,000 for police. Of that, only about $191,500 is identified as absorbed within existing department budgets. The reports do not say which fund or budget line covers the remaining roughly $801,000, or whether it was already built into the budget the Council adopted in June. The Finance Committee took these up on September 24, and if that answer was not provided there, I will ask for it on the record Monday, including whether a budget transfer or supplemental appropriation will be coming. |
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R-28-26 — Fee waiver for the Military Bowl Parade (Mayor Littmann). Every year since 2018 the Council has designated the Military Bowl Parade a Major Special Event and waived the City’s costs for security, cleanup, and related services, this year up to $20,000. The parade is December 28. I support the waiver; the parade is a long-standing civic event that brings people downtown. I do have two amendments, and they are about what a Council resolution should and should not say. As introduced, the resolution carries the name of the bowl game’s new corporate title sponsor, a mortgage company, eleven times. Amendment 1 adds two clauses putting the code’s fee-exemption factors on the record and stating that the title sponsorship is a private agreement between the Military Bowl Foundation and the sponsor, to which the City is not a party. Amendment 2 strikes the sponsor’s name from the resolution wherever it appears. The Council is waiving costs because of the parade’s public benefit, not to promote a company that has no role in the City’s decision, and the record should say so. I am inclined to support the resolution, pending any input from you. |
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R-33-26 — Fines for short-term rental violations (Mayor Littmann, Alderman Schandelmeier, Alderwoman O’Neill). Short-term rental violations are currently fined at the same $1,000 rate as long-term rental violations. This resolution raises the maximum to $5,000 for both a first offense and for repeat or continuous violations. I agree the fine should go up. My issue is the structure: a flat ceiling treats a first offense like a tenth and removes the incentive to fix a problem early. My Amendment 1 sets the maximum for an initial violation at $2,000, double the current fine, and leaves repeat and continuous violations at $5,000. That keeps the escalation that I relied on as a City enforcement officer: a real first penalty, and a much larger one for anyone who does not correct course. Alderman Thorp has a second amendment adding a statement of intent to the resolution. If my amendment passes, I am inclined to support the resolution. If it fails, I will have to think hard about the flat $5,000 structure. |
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Being introduced Monday (first readers)
First reader is introduction only: no debate and no final vote. Each of these goes through committee review and a public hearing before it comes back for a decision.
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O-29-26 — Outdoor dining update (Alderman Thorp; I have signed on as a co-sponsor). The permanent outdoor dining program has been running since April 2025, and this ordinance makes the adjustments a first year teaches you. The one most people will notice: as the code stands, restaurants may only serve patrons who are seated, which means a customer standing in an outdoor dining area with a beer is technically in violation. That was an absurd result, and it caused a great deal of confusion. This ordinance allows restaurants with seasonal parking lot dining areas to serve standing patrons. It also clarifies which department issues each type of permit, sets standards for barriers and planters that fit the surrounding neighborhood, tightens seating and occupancy limits, and lets the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board enforce alcohol rules in outdoor dining areas. I have asked for several amendments: extending the standing fix to the Market Space dining area, which the introduced version does not cover; requiring barriers that actually look good and prohibiting construction-style barriers rather than calling them “not preferred”; and making sure the Fire Department raises any seating limits during the special exception review rather than cutting seating afterward, below what the Board of Appeals approved. |
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O-28-26 — Transportation fine waivers (Alderwoman Allsup-Johnson and Alderman Schandelmeier). Today there is no formal process for the City to waive a parking or transportation fine, even when there is a good reason to. This ordinance lets the Director of Transportation, with sign-off from the Mayor or City Manager, waive a fine in four situations: a City employee on City business, a third party the City invited on City business, or a documented emergency (medical, vehicle breakdown, or a police or fire order to move) that physically prevented compliance. It separately lets the Council waive fines by resolution under guidelines the Council adopts. I support the concept, especially given the volume of complaints I have received about tickets from the downtown parking system. I have sent the Office of Law a set of questions on how it would work in practice, including how waivers interact with payment deadlines and court dates, and how the program is reported back to the Council, and I expect to propose some refinements before the final vote. |
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O-27-26 — Water service line inspections (Mayor Littmann). New federal lead and copper rules require the City to inventory the material of every water service line, including the portion on private property, by November 2027. The City has no record of lead service lines ever being installed here, and the County banned lead water lines in 1936, but the rule still requires each line to be physically checked. This ordinance authorizes Public Works staff or contractors, with credentials and reasonable advance notice, to enter a property to inspect the line material and, where required by law, replace it. I have no issues with it. |
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O-26-26 — Relettering the residential parking districts (Alderwoman O’Neill). The City’s five special residential parking districts are numbered 1 through 5, which people routinely confuse with the wards and with the downtown parking tax district, none of which share the same boundaries. This ordinance relabels them Districts A through E. It changes no boundaries, no eligible streets, and no rules. No issues. |
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R-34-26 — Annapolis Main Street Advisory Task Force (Alderman Huntley). The City’s Office of Economic Development has been running the Annapolis Main Street Program on an interim basis since July 1. Both the state and national Main Street programs require an independent advisory board, and the City does not have one. This resolution creates a temporary task force of 7 to 13 members, drawn from downtown merchants and property owners, nearby residents, the Naval Academy, St. John’s College, and people with preservation and nonprofit expertise, to advise the interim program and stand up a new independent nonprofit to run it long term. As a member of the Economic Matters Committee, which the resolution consults on appointments, I have no major issues with it and plan to offer two minor amendments. |
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R-35-26 — City water for 3020 Arundel on the Bay Road (Mayor Littmann). This one is on the Annapolis Neck peninsula, close to home for many of you. The owner of a home at 3020 Arundel on the Bay Road, just outside the city limits, wants to cap a private well and connect to City water (no sewer). City code requires any water connection outside the City to be approved by a written agreement adopted by Council resolution, and that is what this is. I have no major issues with the connection itself. I did notice that the resolution says Public Works will not grant final approval until it is satisfied the connection will not reduce water flow to neighboring properties, which reads as if that finding comes after the Council votes rather than before. I have asked the Office of Law about the sequence, since I would expect the Council to have that answer in hand before it acts. |
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Community Updates
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Free trees this fall
The City’s Comprehensive Plan sets a goal of 50 percent tree canopy by 2050, and the simplest way to get there is one yard at a time. Every fall the City partners with the Arbor Day Foundation to give trees to residents at no cost, and this year’s campaign is open now. Reserve your free tree here; trees go until they are gone. The City’s Urban Forestry page has details on its other planting programs. If you have space for a tree, please take one.
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Annapolis will keep protecting the Bay
The federal government this month revoked the executive order that, for the past 15 years, coordinated the multi-state cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay. The City responded quickly: Annapolis will continue its work to meet the Bay’s pollution limits (the “pollution diet”) and limit runoff into the Bay and its creeks, through the City and County wastewater plant upgrades, stormwater retrofits, and watershed restoration projects already underway. As the Environmental Matters Committee chair and someone who has spent a career on stormwater and stream restoration, I will say plainly: the science and the obligation have not changed, and neither has the City’s commitment. I will be watching for any effect on federal funding for local projects.
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Autumn in Annapolis
The City has published its fall events roundup. Highlights: the 36th Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday, September 26, noon to 7 PM; the West Annapolis Oktoberfest on Annapolis Street on Sunday, September 27, 11 AM to 4 PM; Dinner Under the Stars on West Street every Wednesday evening through October 21; the Great Pumpkins on display downtown from October through November 2, with carving on October 29; and the Scarecrow Stroll along West Street, Maryland Avenue, and Main Street from October 25 to November 1.
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Hispanic Heritage Month
The City is hosting and taking part in a series of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations this fall; the full schedule is posted by the City’s Hispanic Liaison. The one to circle: the Day of the Dead celebration on Saturday, October 31, 3 to 8 PM at Maryland Hall.
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Free workshop for nonprofits and community groups, September 30
The Mayor’s Office, Fragrance of Grace Ministries, and Restoration Community Development Corporation are hosting a free full-day workshop, “Finding Your Nonprofit Identity,” on Wednesday, September 30, 9 AM to 4 PM at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center. It is built for grassroots leaders, faith-based groups, neighborhood associations, and small nonprofits: grant strategy and fundraising, board governance and planning, setting measurable goals, and direct access to regional funders. Registration is free; contact Adetola Ajayi at 410-972-6257 or [email protected].
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That solar co-op mailer is real
A Ward 7 resident forwarded me a mailer about a solar purchasing co-op that carried the City’s logo and asked whether it was junk mail. I checked with City staff: it is legitimate. Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that has run co-ops around the region for about eight years, has expanded to Annapolis, and the City encourages the program without contributing to it. The idea is that residents who want to own rooftop solar pool their buying power to get a vetted installer at a group rate. There is no upfront cost to join, and every participant gets an individual site visit before deciding anything. The City has put up a Going Solar page with the details and a staff contact for questions.
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Affordable Housing Symposium, October 21
The 4th annual Anne Arundel County Affordable Housing Symposium, “Opening Doors, Bridging Divides,” is Wednesday, October 21, 8:30 AM to 2 PM at the Crowne Plaza Annapolis. Speakers include Housing Secretary Jake Day, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, County Executive Steuart Pittman, and Mayor Littmann. Registration is $25 at chasehomeinc.org/housing-symposium.
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Thank you, as always, for your engagement.
— Rob
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