Residents spoke out in opposition at the Annapolis City Council meeting this past week after a study focused on Forest Drive and Eastport recommended a “village” style of development and a variety of other policy and zoning changes to reduce vehicle traffic and increase economic growth.

Eastport resident Greg Walker, who has spent years researching city traffic woes, said the study shows the intersections along the corridor have significant problems with “E” and “F” grades while the city standard is set to a “D” or higher.

The study shows those intersections are failing, Walker said, adding that the study has “good meat” in it, but it fails to consider how bad traffic would be if all the Forest Drive projects were built out.

“It is critical to have [that data],” Walker said. “This study shows us this whole area is failing.”

The comments came at an Annapolis City Council hearing on the Forest Drive/Eastport Sector Study.

A resolution considered by the council would make the study an amendment to the city’s 2009 comprehensive plan, a document that guides development throughout the city.

The study itself is a 175-page report detailing recommendations for the Forest Drive corridor and Eastport area. The city council does not vote on bills the same day as a public hearing.

Upon reading the draft report, Alderman Ross Arnett, a Democrat representing Ward 8, sent an email encouraging residents to speak against the study. The plan recommends development although residents have complained about traffic being their most important issue, Arnett said.

“They should throw it in the trash and start again, or they should go back and rethink,” Arnett said. “It is why Steve Schuh is no longer county executive. He didn’t listen to his electorate.”

Former county executive Schuh lost the race to Democrat Steuart Pittman in November after Pittman campaigned on county development.

The Forest Drive/Eastport Sector Study recommends zoning, policy and development style changes along the Forest Drive corridor and the Eastport area. Forest Drive has been a common topic at city council meetings as residents vent frustrations about the road’s traffic, especially during accidents. Forest Drive is a county road but connects both city and county residents.

At its core, the study recommends the city pursue “village” like projects. This means denser residential developments linked to grocery stores and other retail stores inside communities that promote walking and biking. To accomplish this, the plan recommends a variety of zoning and policy changes to meet this goal.

“Under current regulations, there is a significant amount of development capacity in this portion of the City,” the study states. “This plan attempts to change the character of that possible development, not necessarily to encourage more development.”

These types of developments reduce the reliance on cars, thus limiting the impact on local roadways and encouraging financing of public transit options, according to the study. That vision is but one part of the study that also includes demographic data, traffic analysis and other recommendations. The city’s Department of Planning and Zoning has recommended the study’s approval.

These village-type projects are common as developers look to create long-term and denser residential areas that mix living, working and shopping. The most vocal opponents of these projects at Council meetings — both city and county — say the increased density of those projects congests city roads.

Eastport resident Bill Reichhardt asked the council to defer a decision on the study because of concerns about city traffic analysis. The comprehensive plan already calls for changes to that analysis, but it was never implemented, he said.

“This is an exercise in adopting something that will not be implemented for another 10 years,” Reichhardt said.

Former alderman Jared Littmann spoke on behalf of SOFO Annapolis, a nonprofit representing businesses in the south Forest Drive corridor. He said the study has good recommendations on the changes to tree buffers, but worried the study doesn’t have enough details on how those changes could be implemented.

Planning Commission chairman Bob Waldman asked the council to consider passing the resolution as the study has important traffic analysis, recommendations to change city zoning laws and lays the groundwork for the next comprehensive plan.

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approving the study.

“What we have now is a zoning code that is antiquated,” Waldman said. “We need you to fund that department to come up with a modern zoning code. The study does not recommend more population than is already zoned.”

ccook@capgaznews.com