Annapolis City Dock to be listed as endangered site
Mayor Gavin Buckley’s City Dock rezoning legislation has spurred the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name the Annapolis historic site as one of the nation’s top 11 “Most Endangered Historic Places.”
The national preservation group plans to announce the designation Tuesday morning at City Dock with Historic Annapolis. The Colonial Historic District of Annapolis has been listed in the National Registry of Historic Places as a landmark since June 1965.
Buckley’s legislation would rezone City Dock to accommodate a hotel proposed for City Dock by Annapolis businessman Harvey Blonder.
The rezoning would establish mixeduses similar to West Street while waiving Historic District height and bulk restric- tions if the project adheres to visual “performance controls” outlined in the not-yet-complete Cultural Landscape Report.
Removing those height and bulk restrictions sparked opposition to the mayor’s plan.
“To the dismay of residents and visitors alike, the proposed rezoning of the Colonial Annapolis Historic District opens the door for permanent loss of the area’s unique character,” said Stephanie K. Meeks, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in a statement.
This is the first time Annapolis and City Dock have appeared on the top11 list, which the National Trust has put out for decades, naming about 300 sites at risk of damage or destruction due to natural disasters, deferred maintenance and “inappropriate development proposals.”
The list is released each year to galvanize communities to protect historic sites.
Historic Annapolis president and CEO Robert Clark called for the city to reject Buckley’s rezoning proposal.
“The current rezoning proposal is not worthy of Annapolis and should be rejected,” Clark said in a statement. “The 11 most endangered listing is a formal recognition by the National Trust that ‘this place matters,’ and the proposed re-zoning is a serious and imminent threat to a place designated as one of America’s treasures.”
The city has maintained its historic status with careful development and curation through the Historic Preservation Commission. Buckley has been at odds with the commission — declining to reappoint its chairwoman and losing a court case against them as a private citizen after a mural was painted on one of his buildings.