Council seeking fixes for delays

Pursuing legislative solution for major construction projects in Annapolis

Annapolis City Council moved forward Monday with a potential fix to the legislative quandary that has been delaying major construction projects in Maryland’s capital.

A new ordinance sponsored by Ward 7 Alderman Rob Savidge would amend the city’s adequate public facilities ordinance, which requires the city to employ 3.2 police officers for every 1,000 residents in order to approve large projects.

For large developments to be approved in Annapolis, developers must ensure public services can be provided when the project comes online. The services cover such thing as adequate police and fire staffing, traffic control, recreation space and school capacity, among others. If a plan is found lacking in any of these areas, known as adequate public facilities, the developer is responsible for bringing the services in line with City Code before a certificate may be awarded.

Savidge’s bill, O-9-23 would amend the original public facilities ordinance, and states that if a 3.2-officers-per-resident ratio cannot be met, the chief may allow mitigation measures such as “security enhancements, including security cameras, the hiring of off-duty police officers, the hiring of private security, the hiring of contractual city police officers, or other measures approved by the Chief of Police and City Manager; or social services enhancements, including hiring of a private social worker, the hiring of contractual social workers, or other measures approved by the chief.”

The measure passed unanimously at its introduction Monday night. Mayor Gavin Buckley referred it to the city’s Rules and Public Safety committees.

The issue came to a head in November, when city officials began telling certain developers their projects were on hold because the city was below the 3.2 ratio. Like many departments coping with a nationwide police recruiting crisis, the Annapolis Police Department has not

been fully staffed for years.

In an attempt to satisfy the 2006 public facilities ordinance, Police Chief Edward Jackson began signing off on so-called mitigation plans, where developers would agree to steps they could take to limit the strain new projects might place on the police department, such as installing security cameras and hiring private security.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Cathy Vitale put the brakes on that practice in April 2022, when she ruled that the city’s public facilities law does not allow for such exceptions. Her opinion came in response to an appeal by two residents who successfully challenged the adequate public facilities certificate for The Lofts at Eastport Landing, a redevelopment project at Eastport Shopping Center.

Vitale rejected the developer’s plan to add 10 security cameras and hire private security guards. “The code specifies that there are no exceptions allowed for any projects,” Vitale wrote.

In what Ward 1 Alderwoman Elly Tierney described as a “surprise” move, Buckley began the meeting by withdrawing his own proposed solution to the public facilities dilemma from the agenda. His measure would have counted seven members of the Annapolis Fire Department who have police training toward the total number of “sworn officers” in Annapolis.

Neither solution is what Jackson asked for. At a Feb. 16 work session, the chief urged the council to stop tying police staffing numbers to population. For at least the past decade North American police departments have favored calculating police staffing based on other factors, such as total calls for service, types of calls and policing styles that best suit each community.

“We need to commission that study to explain what we should have in terms of numbers,” Jackson said at the work session. “We need a more realistic approach to say, ‘These are [the] numbers of men and women we need to have.’ ”

The chief added that ever since he arrived in 2019, no one has been able to explain where the 3.2 calculation came from.

At the same work session, land-use attorney Linda Schuett told council members that Annapolis is the only Maryland municipality that includes police staffing in its APF ordinance. Current guidance from the state planning department recommends focusing on infrastructure issues that developers can more easily fix, such as traffic flow, stormwater management and sewer capacity.

It was Savidge’s idea to consider adding social workers to the APF ordinance. He noted at the work session that his wife is pursuing a master’s degree in the field.

But his proposal doesn’t address another factor that developers and law enforcement experts feel can be key. “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design” standards, also known as CPTED, encourage thinking through ways that laying out a new community and even the layout of a business, can reduce crime.

At least two of the major projects delayed by the Annapolis APF want to see CPTED recognized as effective mitigation: The Willows, 58 income-restricted apartments on Forest Drive, and Parole Place, a 158-home mixed-use community planned for Solomon’s Island Road.

In a move that could signify that Jackson expects the council to pass a solution in the near future, he recently approved the APF certificates for both projects, after previously rejecting them.

Tara Stout, an Annapolis real estate broker involved in The Willows project, attended Monday’s meeting and praised the council for making progress on new legislation.

“We need to make some decision to decide whether The Willows can move forward or not,” Stout said. The project is slated to be financed by a package of state and federal tax credits, which require residents to move in by Dec. 31, 2024. “I think we reached a real milestone this week.”

Stout asked for city staff members to honor the chief ’s certificate and forward The Willows to the Planning Commission in March.

Other business „

The council honored Barbara Hopkins, the city’s first female police officer, who was hired 50 years ago this year. “Thank you for recognizing something that happened before you were born,” she quipped, after a tribute showed black-and-white photos of her on duty.

„ The council postponed taking a final vote to appoint Roslyn Johnson as director of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. Johnson attended the meeting, but Buckley only introduced her as his nominee rather than push for a final vote. Council voted 8-1 to accept the nomination. Ward 4 Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, a vocal supporter of former Recreation and Parks Director Archie Trader, voted “no.” Trader is slated to take a position with the Annapolis Police Department.

„ The meeting opened with an hourlong closed session described as a briefing from the city’s Office of Law.