City Dock rezoning raises concern
Buckley revives issue but city council members have objections to the process
Several members of the Annapolis city council said last week they remain skeptical of a proposal by Mayor Gavin Buckley to rezone City Dock to allow mixed uses.
Five city council members said initially they do not support the rezoning, while the other three indicated they were looking to learn more about it — but would weigh negative feedback from constituents.
The mayor’s proposal would rezone an area between Dock Street and Prince George Street and along Ego Alley on both sides. Buckley has said the rezoning is necessary to implement the 2013 City Dock Master Plan.
But it also would make way for a controversial hotel at 12 Dock St., the current temporary home of the Annapolis Yacht Club. The yacht club will move back to its permanent home later this year after repairs to fire damage are completed. The former restaurant building, which has seen numerous tenants over the years, is owned by Harvey Blonder.
The legislation would also usher in redevelopment on City Dock — a prospect that has generated vocal concern among some city residents. Peter Fillat, the architect designing Blonder’s hotel concept has also put forth plans for City Dock including a spray park, beach and performance area.
Several residents attended a City Council work session Tuesday to hear planning and zoning staff explain the reasoning behind the suggested zoning.
Sally Nash, chief of comprehensive planning, said mixed zoning has led to “successful revitalization” with both public and private investment on West Street. The zoning allows more types of businesses “by right” than other commercial zoning and has more flexibility in uses as well as bulk regulations, she said.
Nash and Planning and Zoning Director Pete Gutwald said under the proposal, additional height beyond the Historic District limitations would be subject to a “visual impact assessment.” The assessment would help determine how a project could affect views from important city locations.
“There is a guarantee the viewsheds will be protected,” Nash said. “We have a requirement that the buildings be in harmony with surrounding buildings.”
Prior to the work session, Alderwoman Elly Tierney, Ward 1, said, “It’s clear to me (the legislation) is in parallel with the potential vacancy of the Yacht Club. Again, it’s not about the hotel or whether you like it or not — it’s about the process. ... I don’t want the development of Dock Street in the hands of one developer.”
Alderman Fred Paone, Ward 2, said he was “definitely” a no vote on the rezoning “unless things change dramatically.”
Alderwoman Shaneka Henson, Ward 6, said before the work session that she was “looking forward to learning more about why our planning and zoning staff thought it was the right way to go.”
At the session, Henson asked for clarifications on several parts of the legislation, and proposed having the developer fund its own visual assessment.
Ward 8 Alderman Ross Arnett said he believed the process was moving “way too fast.”
“[City Dock] is too important to try to rush while we’re facing a huge budget problem. Come back to me after we push past the budget. I’m more than happy to look at it in July,” he said.
Despite calls to slow things down, Buckley is pressing on, looking to move sooner rather than later on plans to get the current parking lot off City Dock.
Buckley said he believes those against the rezoning are “scared of any change in the town and they’re well within their right to fear change. I’m not saying I’m right and they’re wrong. But we can do better and I’m trying to make that happen through this process.”
Buckley said he does not support a 70-foot hotel, but a four-story one with a fifth floor set back from the street. The city would deny anything taller in the site plan review process, Buckley said.
He suggested the project could expand the city’s tax base by several million dollars and add at least 200 jobs.
If it passes first reader, the bill would have a final vote by late September at the earliest.
Any actual development is far off. If the legislation passes, it would need to go before the Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning Commission as well as a city council subcommittee before final approval.
“All of this is ideas,” Buckley said, “but what will be really frustrating for me is [if] in four years we’re all still looking at the same 150 parking spaces on the best real estate that the city has.”
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