Date:
Source: A Message from our President Karen Brown
“Death by a thousand cuts”
I would regularly hear these words from Bill Schmickle when he chaired the Historic Preservation Commission. A long-standing and respected Annapolitan and published author on issues relating to preservation and politics, Bill often spoke about the incremental effects of small, inappropriate decisions, resulting in an erosion of the integrity of the district.
These words come to mind as we examine the fast tracking of O-14-25 that quietly introduces a ‘pop up’ zone in the heart of the historic district. The Planning department insists that this is not spot zoning, but call it what you will – as written, this ordinance would permit a discrete set of parcels on Dock Street the ability to add an additional 15 feet of construction on 25% of the roof.
There are several reasons why this is bad planning – just take a look at the public testimony before the Planning Commission last month and Rachel’s assessment. We believe a change of this magnitude should be considered thoughtfully, holistically, by our future civic leaders, not introduced in the remaining three months of the mayor’s term. We strongly advocate for removing this provision from O-14-25 when it goes to City Council Monday for a public hearing, and if you agree, please let your elected officials know. Help us eliminate this lasting ‘cut.’
Speaking of Annapolis’ future, summer days at HA have been enhanced with several forward-thinking young minds – eight interns from five colleges. Their collective optimism is contagious and their desire to both learn and share new ideas gives us hope. We put together a cohort of three bright scholars of urban design, architecture, and policy to help us articulate and visualize change at City Dock. Here are a few guiding principles of note:
- Change is inevitable and can be a good thing (think resiliency). The goal is to manage change in a way that retains character, human scale, and feeling.
- New construction in the city dock area will be roughly 3-4 feet higher than existing due to the ‘new floor’ set to comply with flood insurance regulations.
- There is already room for growth within the existing height regulations.
- The last time an over-scaled hotel was built in the 1970s, all seven wards banded together and passed the height and bulk ordinance that still exists today. This ordinance has governed the scale and massing of all construction in our nationally significant historic district for over 40 years.
- The height and bulk regs have been effective in protecting the sense of openness we enjoy both to and from the water at City dock, fueling heritage tourism, community character, and our tax base.
With this exercise, we are reminded that our work is perennial, that it is important, and it is all about the next gen. Together we are stewards for our Annapolis.
