Annapolis · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in City of Annapolis public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
FY 2027 Position Classifications and Pay Plan
Money shuffled to cover cost-of-living raises under new union contracts was replaced from capital reserves, so sidewalk and City Dock projects keep their funding — 'it nets out to zero,' per the finance chair.
Outdoor Dining Regulations Update (O-29-26)
Two first-reader bills would cut red tape for shop owners — no more permits for sidewalk signs — and let food trucks serve historic district special events.
Electric-Hybrid Ferry Proposal
Five operators responded to the ferry RFI, suggesting weekend-first service with possible deficits in year one. The committee discussed funding it partly through the sustainable mobility services fund and using the boat for events and charters; RFPs for the vessel and landing sites are ready to advertise.
Expanding the Board of Supervisors of Elections
The bill grows the elections board from three to five members to fix quorum problems and add unaffiliated-voter representation. The committee's amendment shifts appointment power from the council to the mayor with council confirmation and sets a 10% threshold for third-party seats — a change that split the committee 2-1.
Fire and Harbor Security Grants
Federal grants will add three cardiac monitor defibrillators, up to 15 AEDs, and a remote-operated underwater search-and-rescue vehicle deployed off the city's new fire boat — a capability not otherwise available in the immediate area.
Annapolis Main Street Program management transition
The city took the Main Street program in-house from the Downtown Annapolis Partnership and needs a governing body to satisfy state requirements. A 13-seat task force will guide the program — covering holiday lights, flower baskets, vacancy reduction, and eventually a downtown brand — until an independent organization takes over around fiscal 2028.
Tenant Eviction Notice Requirements
A $1,000-per-day fine backs up the compassionate eviction-process ordinance O-30-26. Because sheriffs are present at evictions, city staff expect enforcement to be more practical than typical proactive code enforcement.
O-17-26: Right to park in front of residential driveways
Residents can currently be fined $200+ for parking in front of their own driveways. This bill would let legal occupants and their guests park there, with a new appeal process and a temporary exemption for certain Ward 8 streets expiring December 31, 2027.
Affordable Housing Community Updates
A $12,000 state grant, with a $3,000 city match, would help pay for preconstruction of a resiliency hub serving the New Harbor House and Eastport Terrace communities.
Fines for tenant eviction process violations
New first-reader legislation would set eviction notice requirements, regulate how tenants' belongings are handled, and attach a fines schedule. Both landlords and tenants have stakes in how this is written.
Rooming houses in private homes (O-11-26)
Renting out a room in your own house for 90 days or more is currently illegal in Annapolis — punishable by a $1,000-a-day fine — even though short-term rentals are allowed. The simplified bill just says it's legal, removing an enforcement tool that sponsors said has been targeted disproportionately at minorities and providing the city's cheapest unsubsidized housing option.
Resilience Authority membership and director appointment changes
The bill updates membership rules and director appointments for the joint city-county Resilience Authority, which has secured over $80 million for local projects. The committee recommended it but flagged a legal question — whether the city can add council confirmation of appointments without matching county action — and asked the law office to resolve it before the council votes.
Collective bargaining agreements for FY2027–2028
The new union contracts' cost-of-living increases are being funded through a fund transfer, with the diverted pay-go money replaced by capital reserve. One member was briefly alarmed the money appeared to come from $200,000 in sidewalk projects before staff explained the mechanics.
Annapolis Police Department summer safety and crime plan
APD doubled its weekend-night presence over the summer by putting detectives and administrative staff in uniform. The result: crime down 6% overall, property crime down 10%, traffic accidents down 15–16%, and over 443 days without a gun homicide.
FY25 Urban Area Security Initiative grant projects
A late-arriving $900,000 federal grant funds bomb squad gear, a new robot, vehicle barriers, and emergency planning. Because federal litigation delayed it a year, the city had to fund three emergency management salaries from the general fund, and grant rules bar using the award to reimburse them.
Citywide Strategic Planning Process
The city is hiring consultants to build a 'community plan' co-owned by government, nonprofits, businesses, and residents — not a traditional city strategic plan. Several aldermen feel the council was sidelined and want the process to go through the council formally.
Parking reform work group — Phase 1 recommendations
A community forum October 8 drew 28–30 participants who ranked residential access and enforcement, clear parking information, and affordable employee parking as top priorities. Employee $5 parking programs already exist at Gotz Court and Park Place — the push is to expand locations.
Spa Creek Bridge maintenance
The 1946 Spa Creek Bridge broke down twice during July's heat wave, snarling traffic. State officials confirmed the failures were operator error, not heat damage, and the bridge is not slated for replacement — so expect continued vigilance and occasional disruptions on an 80-year-old drawbridge.
Short-Term Rental Moratorium
Planning & Zoning reported 65 unlicensed short-term rentals remain, with enforcement hampered by staffing, technology and the legal citation process. Preliminary ideas include a zoning-based framework, annual rental-day limits, higher fees to fund enforcement, and possibly capping the total number of rentals citywide. Final recommendations and community input sessions are still to come.
APD has no ongoing relationship with ICE
Multiple speakers reported ICE vehicles at Pitt Moyer Rec Center and Truxton Pool — Pitt Moyer is a polling place and ballot drop box location. Speakers urged the council to bar ICE from city property, as Anne Arundel County's executive has done by executive order.
Denied posthumous citation for activist Phil Ateto
Mayor Littmann denied a ceremonial citation for the late activist Phil Ateto, saying Ateto's language toward him crossed into antisemitism. Dozens of residents demanded the decision be reversed, while a few Jewish residents defended it. Two aldermen called for a transparent, council-wide citation policy so the decision doesn't rest with one person.
Short-term rental enforcement and fines
The city wants to raise short-term rental fines to up to $5,000 because current fines aren't deterring unlicensed rentals. A fight over how much discretion to give the enforcement director left the resolution without a committee recommendation.
Robinwood redevelopment — 236 units
The Robinwood redevelopment at 1305 Tyler Avenue goes to the Planning Commission October 15 with 236 total units, up from roughly 150 today. Aldermen pressed whether an adequate public facilities analysis was required and on forest conservation plans.
Snow equipment replacement funding
The city needs about $102,250 for snow plow blades but is pulling it from Public Works salary vacancy savings instead of the fleet budget, which was centralized and no longer covers it. Members questioned the budgeting logic and whether streets and traffic repairs lose out, but forwarded the transfer so blades can be bought before winter.
Warming center relocation to Robinwood
The winter warming center moves from the Pitt Moyer Center to the Robinwood Recreation Center this season — farther from support services, so the chair is pushing for bus passes for patrons. The site has about two years of life before planned redevelopment, and officials are already scouting the next location.
Peak-time medic unit funding
AFD landed two federal grants — about $165,000 for cardiac monitors and AEDs and $100,000 for an underwater rescue robot — and is launching a paramedic-only hiring pilot with county funding help.
Zoning Unlocked Phase 2
Residents, including two lawyers, blasted staff's legal claims about nonconforming downtown buildings and urged the council to hold off on upzoning until the city's housing study is done. One speaker said a public meeting drew 140 opponents, not 75 as reported.
Current Development Projects Update
The mayor ordered planning staff to review how the city notifies the public when revised plans are resubmitted, after the Eastport dealership's approved facade changes drew 17 opposing letters and zero in support.
City Audit on Track for December 15
Finance Director Ajayi reported the books are closed on time and auditors' 283 documentation requests are being met — a turnaround praised by the committee after last year's troubles.
State of Spa Creek 2025 data
The Spa Road site was a landfill and incinerator and later a public works yard, leaving metals and organic compounds in the soil and groundwater. A $4 million federal Brownfields grant will fund cleanup, and officials say the project could be the best thing to happen to Spa Creek in a century.
Capital Improvement Program Projects, Including Sidewalks
Alderwoman O'Neill flagged that the city is juggling 97 capital projects this year and asked the city manager's office for better visibility into whether the Spa Road timeline — including a promised traffic study — is realistic given staffing.
932 & 935 Spa Road properties
The west side of the property is planned for a partnership with the Housing Authority to add workforce housing, but some aldermen want caution: residential remediation costs more, giving away public land is hard to undo, and a citywide housing plan is still in the works.
Annapolis Mobility Action Plan (safety and mobility plan)
The city's bike, pedestrian and micro-mobility coordinator updated the committee on safety efforts for people walking and biking.
City Dock flood protection
The mayor reported City Dock is on budget and ahead of schedule: Naval Academy gate reopens by December, boardwalk by March, grand opening July 2027, with phase two running through spring 2028.
Annapolis Gardens
The committee was scheduled for a discussion-only update on the Annapolis Gardens project.
O'bery Court redevelopment (Pennrose)
The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the O'bery Court redevelopment with developer Pennrose — one of Annapolis's long-running affordable housing efforts.
FY 2027 Fees and Fines Schedules
Three companion budget resolutions were scheduled for final votes: what residents pay in fees for city services, what fines apply, and the city's position classifications and pay plan. Amendments the Council made on June 1 were to be incorporated.
Forest conservation rules updated to match state law
O-16-26, sponsored by Alderman Savidge, would bring Annapolis's forest clearing and reforestation rules in line with Maryland's updated Forest Conservation Act, with several amendments filed. Developers and tree advocates on both sides had a hearing scheduled.
Admiral Oaks redevelopment (Enterprise)
The committee was scheduled for a discussion-only update on the Admiral Oaks redevelopment with Enterprise.
Street lighting and smart traffic signals
The city was set to accept $408,500 in Maryland Energy Administration grant funding to convert 628 outdoor lights to LED and conduct an energy-efficiency audit, including a BEPS Action Plan for the Pip Moyer Rec Center. Lower-energy LED lighting can trim the city's electricity bills over time, and no local match was required.
Forest Conservation Program Overhaul (O-16-26)
Amendment five would require newspaper and website notice when a forest conservation plan is approved, on top of the state's new requirement to mail adjacent owners 20 days before approval. Members debated whether the burden should fall on applicants or neighbors, and whether print newspaper notice is still worthwhile.
Resilience & Sustainability Program Update
The city's Resilience & Sustainability office shared its monthly reports through March 2026, covering its ongoing climate and environmental work.
Maritime Apprenticeship Program
The committee was scheduled to hear updates on the Maritime Apprenticeship Program, which trains local workers for careers in Annapolis's maritime industry.
Parking contract cost increases and transit funding shortfall
The city needs another $573,400 to cover parking and transportation costs this year — nearly $500,000 of it just for the SP+ garage contract, plus money to cover transit running a deficit and pricier fuel. An alderman wants a full report on the parking contract before the next meeting.
Safe Streets & Roads Funding (SA-22-26) and Fire Defibrillator Grant (SA-21-26)
Two supplemental spending items were scheduled: $842,900 total for the Safe Streets & Roads traffic-safety project using federal grant money plus city reserves, and $21,378.50 matched to buy another defibrillator unit for the Fire Department under the state EMS grant.
Safe Streets & Roads Project Funding
The city's bike/ped coordinator took questions on making streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Committee members want written goals, city-level improvement recommendations, and quarterly progress reports.
Undelivered Ballots Inquiry
Alderman Smith-Brown wants the County Board of Elections to appear at the July 2 meeting to address reports that about 500,000 ballots were not received by constituents.
Parks maintenance staffing
Parks Chief Dillard asked to convert two part-time maintenance positions to full-time at $34,000; the request was rejected in the proposed budget. Thorp wants the committee to find funding elsewhere for the additional parks maintenance staff.
Environmental Matters Budget Priorities
The committee questioned staff about how environmental dollars should be prioritized in the city budget. What gets funded here could shape tree planting, resilience projects, and sustainability programs residents see in their neighborhoods.
Mooring requirements in City waters
The ordinance would measure the 75-foot spacing between moorings from the mooring itself instead of the moored boat, confirm all transient mooring balls are city-owned, and give the Harbormaster authority over vessel types and lengths. It affects boaters using Spa, Back, and Weems Creek mooring areas.