We're good.

Okay.

Good evening, everybody.

We're going to get started.

The regular meeting of the Annapolis City Council on Monday, December eighth, twenty twenty-five.

We'll be called called to order at six PM.

At this time, we will have a moment of silence to allow everyone to silently prepare themselves for the work ahead of us tonight.

Yes, sir.

For the first time, Mayor Littman.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Present.

For the first time, Alderman Smith Brown.

Present.

For the first time, Alderwoman Also Johnson.

Present.

Alderman Shandelmeyer.

For the first time, Alderwoman Conte.

Present.

Alderman Savage.

Present.

And for the first time in the last one tonight, Alderman Thorpe.

Present.

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney, would you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

The next item of the agenda is approval of the agenda.

Very good.

At this time, I would entertain a motion to approve the agenda.

Is there well?

Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

So moved.

Thank you.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

And any news?

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney, would you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

The next item of the agenda is business and miscellaneous, beginning with ID one eighty-four twenty-five, proposed closed session.

Very good.

Thank you.

Uh at this time, I would entertain a motion to move pursuant to annotated code of Maryland General Provisions, Article Three O Five D seven to go into closed session.

So moved.

Okay for a second.

Thank you.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, Madam City Clerk, would you please call the roll?

Yes, sir.

Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley?

Aye.

Alderwoman O'Neill.

Aye.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Alderwoman Although Johnson.

Aye.

Alderman Shandelmeyer.

Alderwoman Conte.

Aye.

Alderman Savage?

Aye.

Alderman Thorpe.

Aye.

Okay.

We are now in closed session.

I'd ask all those who might still be in the room that are not supposed to be in the room to please exit.

What what would you like to take a short break?

I wasn't planning on it.

Okay.

I just we're out of building about here.

But whatever you want to do.

Okay.

No.

Would you like a break?

Okay.

We're going to be in recess for five minutes as we recon before we have a lot of people who are not going to be able to do that.

We will resume our special city council meeting.

Uh Mr.

City Attorney, uh, would you please present the next item on the agenda?

Sure, Mr.

Mayor.

The next item on the agenda is ceremonial items beginning with CD City Council citation ID one eight one twenty-five, Annapolis Police Foundation.

Okay.

Well, would those individuals who are here for the presentation come to the front?

Testing.

Thank you though.

Yeah.

Um, turn around.

We're gonna face the uh audience here.

So thank you all uh for being here today.

The Annapolis Police Foundation is a very wonderful uh organization that serves so many purposes and serves our community so well.

So we're thrilled uh to be able to offer this citation to you.

I will now read it.

The City of Annapolis City Council citation on behalf of the residents of the city of Annapolis, we are pleased to confer upon the Annapolis Police Foundation this City Council citation in recognition of outstanding service to the community through programs that uplift mentor and create meaningful opportunities for young people.

You have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that Annapolis youth thrive.

The citation goes on, but I'm gonna spare you from reading all of it at this moment.

But it is presented to the Annapolis Police Foundation on this day, the eighth day of December twenty twenty-five, the first citation of this new council signed by the mayor and all the city council members.

Congratulations and thank you for your continued effort.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I invite representatives of the Annapolis Boat Show to come forward.

And some familiar faces.

Those of you who've been down there recently know it's all torn up, but it's all for a good cause.

And we're really excited about the end result.

Um it's gonna be a lot of work, and the city council, department of public works, and whiting turner have been working really well with the boat shows.

We're very interested in what it will look like next fall, but um, we know it's gonna be great, and we're all up to the task.

We had two great shows in 2025.

We had some flooding, hopefully the last flooding for the boat shows for the first day of the Power Boat Show, and we had some terrible forecasts and terrible weather for the sailboat show.

But even still, we had two great shows, and this year's check to the city of Annapolis is almost $35,000 more than last year's check, which we're not hearing a lot of that.

So imagine this is one of those really, really big publishers clearing house checks.

It is a really, really big check.

It's $564,320 and eighty-one cents.

So this is our way of thanking you for helping us put on the best boat shows in the country and for putting up with the mess we make of your traffic and thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Ewanson.

Thank you very much.

Of course.

Thank you again, Miss Ewanson.

Uh, Mr.

City Attorney, can you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir, Mr.

Mayor.

The next item on the agenda is petitions, reports, and communications, beginning with update from the mayor.

Thank you.

Uh, good evening and welcome.

I'd like to offer congratulations again to both our returning and our newly sworn-in council members.

This is our first uh meeting of the newly seated council, and our only meeting in December at this point.

Subject to change.

I'm grateful to each of you for your commitment to serving the residents of Annapolis.

With more than half of this body new to the role, I ask for the public's patience as we learn to work together, navigate the legislative process, and get right to work for this community.

Tonight we have two pieces of legislation on the agenda, and as a gentle refresher for our recent on our from our recent training on Roberts Rules of Order, First Reader is simply the stage where we agree to hear the merits of a bill and listen to all perspectives for and against.

It's not a vote on the substance, which comes later after committees and this body have had a chance to deliberate.

In my inaugural speech, I promise to make Annapolis work, and this begins with the legislative process.

Starting today with each piece of new legislation will be referred, each piece of new legislation will be referred only to the committee or committees that the code dictates.

Members of this body are, of course, encouraged to attend and participate in any city council committee meetings.

Making our process more efficient will also help legislation move faster through the process.

We are a new council.

We are not bound by tradition.

We have an opportunity to make positive changes, and this is a simple, low-hanging step that benefits both our work and the city staff.

Alongside my gratitude to members of the Annapolis Inauguration Committee for their work on the swearing in ceremony, I want to acknowledge the city staff who work to support the event from legal and public safety to OEM's CERT volunteers.

Thank you all.

We are proud to announce that the Annapolis inaugural committee raised more than 12,000 in contributions to donate to the Anne Ronald County Food Bank in Annapolis.

We are proud to partner with Food Bank CEO Leah Paley on this effort.

Thank you to all who contributed and attended.

It was a beautiful way to begin our term.

As part of our transition efforts, we have hired consultants, due East partners to help us navigate our 100-day plan.

The origins of this plan came from the public.

In addition to our ongoing efforts to listen to Annapolis residents, we are now listening to City Department directors and city staff at all levels.

We have heard from departments about their relationships to the community, their department's ability to handle emergencies and day-to-day services.

We've also heard the challenges, outdated systems and processes that make their jobs harder.

In the new year, we will host more than a dozen structured roundtable discussions with staff to hear what's working, what's not, and how they believe we can do better.

Again, our goal with Annapolis Works is simple, but will take time.

An effective city government that delivers high quality services embedded in a customer service culture.

In their role, Dewey's Partners is helping with data analysis and assessment and strategic planning.

They have deep experience working with public agencies and local partners across the city of Annapolis and Arono County and the region.

We look forward to continuing their important work.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge the city, the work of the city staff and private organizations for making Annapolis a real holiday destination.

From small business Saturday and the lighting of the tree to free parking, midnight madness, and the New Year's fireworks, we are prepared to give residents and visitors a magical season.

Here's a sampling of what's coming up.

We have two more night nights of midnight madness, one this Thursday, December 11th, and the last one, which goes until 11 p.m.

on December 18th.

On Saturday, December 13th, the annual Kwanzaa celebration will take place at the Banneker Douglas Tubman Museum from 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

And on Saturday afternoon, the annual Army Navy game kicks off at 3 p.m.

in Baltimore.

Go Navy beat Army.

On Saturday, starting at 6 p.m., the Eastport Yacht Club Club's parade lights of parade of lights will take place with dozens of boats decked out and cruising up and down Ego Alley and Spa Creek.

We remind you, this is important.

If you've come to be this before and you have your traditions, city dock construction will impact some of your favorite viewing locations on the Annapolis side.

That said, we have numerous street end parks and restaurants to get a good view in both Eastport and downtown.

Please be mindful of residential areas of parking in residential areas.

The best bet is to park at park place for which in which we've priced at $5 for the night, and then you could take the free shuttle into downtown.

I believe there's an extra shuttle to make that way even shorter than normal.

We will also have a shuttle running from the bus stop on Monroe Street at Bay Ridge Avenue in Eastport.

The next night, Sunday, December 14th, join Chabad of Anaroma County for the annual lighting of the City Dock Minora at 545 p.m.

This event begins with a car parade from the Safeway on Forest Drive that departs at 5 30 p.m.

Please join us.

Also on Sunday, the Annapolis Fire Department's Santa Run returns, featuring antique fire engines, lights and sirens, and a cheerful parade of Santa's visiting throughout neighborhoods in Annapolis to collect new and unwrapped toys and gifts.

On December 26th, we have the Military Bowl parade with the famous Budweiser Clydesdales in downtown.

And on Saturday, the 27th, the military bowl game at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

On New Year's Eve, we'll wrap up 2025 with fireworks over Spa Creek at 9 p.m.

And just some closing uh points.

We're close.

A reminder that city offices will close at 3 p.m.

on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

City offices will be closed, and there is no transit service or trash pickup on Christmas or New Year's Day.

We wish everyone a very happy holiday season, filled with special time with loved ones.

We will see you back in the new year.

Happy 2026 Annapolis.

Now let's get on with our meeting.

Thank you.

And Mr.

Certy, City Attorney, would you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

The next item agenda's reports and presentations beginning with ID 18325, our presentation on the Annapolis U.S.

semi-quincentennial commission, also known as Annapolis 250 Commission.

Thank you.

Will those individuals making the presentation please come to the front?

the presentation please come to the front that was easy whenever you're ready uh good evening mayor lippman and members of the city council it's a privilege to present to you on the status of the Annapolis 250 Commission and we're here with many commission members who have uh organized a t-shirt which you can probably get yourself if you like called be revolutionary because that's one of the themes uh of our commission um we we've been very pleased to have a number of folks on our commission visit annapolis historic annapolis the arts council of anarondo county the Chesapeake Children's Museum uh the Chesapeake uh Crossroads Heritage and a number a number of others uh that have joined us uh in this endeavor for the last year and a half and I'm probably missing Marilyn Hall and the Historic Preservation uh committee as well maybe a few others hopefully not and our chair is Alderwoman Karma and Neil and we have embarked on uh getting ready to celebrate the birth of our nation in July 4th of 2026 and that of course starts before then some of our projects have included Paul Revere's ride uh working with Chesapeake Crossroads in the Maryland 250 commission which is very active on our commission we've also organized a passport I hope all of you have a copy of this and do you have one thank you and also participated in Historic Annapolis's rendering of the Peggy uh Stewart event which is historic Annapolis started off some time ago a lot of our programming is organized around three main pillars which is power of place we the people and unfinished revolution and that really uh says it all the last the unfinished revolution and what a lot of we're focused on as we go into 2026 we have some very exciting programming before July 4th first we have what we call the voices project which is focused on the pursuit of happiness which in 1776 meant something like civic virtue but today what does it mean and our project is going to bring together 250 voices in Annapolis for citizens to say what they think the pursuit of happiness means today and that will be a big part of uh our programming we also are partnering with art uh walk and uh public art endeavors including we hope the installation of a mural of George Washington and the Mills Hillman garage sometime in early 2026 a lot of this is in progress progress we have a schedule so as we move into the spring we'll be working with the garden clubs on May Day and also beautification during July 4th we've been assisted in reserving banner space and I just want to give a shout out to Felicia Nolan a city uh employee who really helps us greatly and is super well organized and responsive and we will also begin organizing focusing on July 4th on July 3rd we're gonna have uh the Hamilton movie we're partnering with St.

John's College to have a massive presentation of that movie on on their yard and then we'll move into 4th of July activities which are going to center on a lot of important programming because of the city dock construction a lot of that's going to center more towards the Statehouse and People's Park and we have some all day programming at People's Park including a program called Civil Disobedience which seems very appropriate but there'll be a lot of children programming and music and some multicultural events and starting with a dance event multicultural dance event at Maryland Hall after the parade we're organizing a concert on the Statehouse lawn uh facing out and then we hope to end with city fireworks but we don't know much about that yet so uh bringing a lot of different folks and programs together for July 4th and it's shaping up very nicely and oh what did I miss?

Oh Eastport got first of all I shouldn't have missed eastport because they really rock it on 4th of July and they're a big part of our programming and they are going to be jazzing up their parade including with uh fife and drum the children doing fife and drum we'll have the reenactors for George Washington and Lafayette and some other programming Judy you might want to add in those are the biggies those are the biggies we have George Washington a relative of George Washington who will be um giving a talk and we will have a marquee Lafayette again because you know he was waiting there for I'm loud enough that's all good and then we also have programming post July 4th because a lot of important milestones occurred we're gonna kind of put them all together and maybe George Washington really resigned his commission in 1776 at the end of the year but we'll figure all that out and there are some additional uh partnerships we have with Art Walk and some of the other organizations including some additional murals the city will look beautiful and we will have some really terrific public

That's all good.

And then we also have programming post-July 4th, because a lot of important milestones occurred.

We're gonna kind of put them all together, and maybe George Washington really resigned his commission in 1776 at the end of the year, but but we'll figure all that out.

And there are some additional uh partnerships we have with Artwalk and some of the other organizations, including some additional murals.

The city will look beautiful, and we will have some really terrific public art uh that's occurring and this very unique program involving uh voices.

So we're really pleased, and you know, we're really open to a lot of suggestions about how to do even more.

Joanne and Debbie, what we get.

Council members, any questions?

Alder woman, Alderwoman O'Neill.

Thank you.

Very quickly, I would like to say that the commission meets monthly on the first Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m.

Um if you'd like to get involved and be a part of planning or hear what's going on, please reach out and we'll make sure that you get on that invitation list.

It's every month, the first Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m.

Very good.

And then we have an event meeting that's the mic for a month.

Yeah, we have a July 4th subcommittee that meets monthly as well.

So you just shoot us a note.

That's been a lot of fun.

It's pretty active right now.

Thank you.

Any other council members?

Okay.

Well, on behalf of all of us, thank you so much for the presentation and good luck for the rest of your work.

We're all excited to see how it looks when it comes to a conclusion.

Thank you, Mayor Littman.

Um, the next item on the agenda is comments by the general public.

First person we have uh on the uh sign-up sheet is Casey Johnson.

Would you please come to the podium and start with your name and address?

Can you hear me okay?

Uh so my name's Casey Johnson.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you this evening.

Um, I am actually a resident of Annapolis um coming up on one year.

Live at 244 Prince George Street.

Um, and just wanted to share a little bit of um our my husband's and our experience here in Annapolis um in the short term.

We've um so I graduated from the Naval Academy, and both of my daughters graduated from the Naval Academy as well.

And when they came down here to um to school, my husband and I were renting properties.

Um we rented probably a half a dozen times, and then we loved it so much, and we realized that this was really where we wanted to be long term.

Um, we actually bought uh a place on Fleet Street.

So we actually own a home on Fleet Street that we did a combination of short-term rental as well as our home and a place for us to share with our children.

And we enjoyed it so much that we then bought 244 Prince George Street, and we have actually now turned the 30 Fleet Street property into a full-time short-term rental property.

And um, and we've really that rental um was sort of our entrance into coming to Annapolis, and we really enjoyed it so much that we ended up staying and buying another property.

And I just really feel like it's been a good experience for us for the last 10 years, and I'm really very disappointed to see Annapolis wanting to change so many of the rules and regulations and limitations.

Um, I understand, you know, building community.

I obviously want to build community on Prince George Street where I live, but my neighbors are actually short-term rental owners, and we get along with them just fine.

Great, they come down a lot and they rent a lot as well.

So I just really um with the restrictions that have already been put in place.

I just would ask that um the city council take a pause and not introduce any new changes until we really have the opportunity to have maybe some more discussion as a as a community um to figure out what is the best for Annapolis because I think I think both can work.

Well the next person is I believe it's Megan Moore.

Please come to the Modi podium and start with your name and address.

Uh Annapolis, Maryland.

So uh first off, uh congratulations to you, Mayor Littman, and to the NSIR City Council.

Um, I see some familiar faces, and I'm hopeful that your new energy will help unite the city and uh move us all forward.

Uh a bit about my background and why I'm here.

I was born in downtown Annapolis, and I've lived here for over 50 years, a resident of ward one for 42, and I made a slight, slight uh move over to Ward 8 for like five or six years, but I'm back here now.

So my family ran a retail gallery on Main Street for more than 40 years, and I owned a running shoe store there for over a decade.

I now manage and own um a small short-term rental business, um, which also includes the first legally licensed one in 2011, way before Airbnb even existed.

With a business background, I worked closely with inspectors and the finance office to ensure full compliance and actually helped establish standards for inspections and tax collection.

Mary Emmerich reminded me of that today uh on the phone as we did an inspection, so that was kind of timely.

In 2019, I joined many owners, managers, and residents to help City Council draft legislation that was enacted in January of 2020.

Its core goals were proper licensing, tax collection, and requiring local property managers to address neighborhood issues.

Six years later, despite the city paying for host compliance, roughly half of these properties still remained unlicensed.

Those of us who have followed every rule are now facing the consequences of bad actors and of responsibilities that haven't been enforced.

The newly passed legislation did not acknowledge the long history of responsible operators, and the last minute removal of any grandfathering was especially disappointing.

To be clear, I'm not opposed to reasonable regulations, enforcement, or even a moratorium.

I'm simply asking that responsible operators be included in future discussions.

We have substantial insight and really meaningful data, especially on fiscal impact that should be part of this conversation.

In over 14 years, I've managed over 40 properties and generated over 750,000 in taxes.

In that time, I've received only one call about an issue.

And it turned out to be nothing more than a switch trash can.

In closing, I'll be emailing each one of you to offer a meeting, either at my Cathedral Street office downtown by phone.

We can have an email discussion to answer any questions that you might have from our perspective or from our side.

I look forward to hearing from you and we'll continue to attend future meetings.

Thank you very much.

The next person.

The next person to speak is Sean Dignon.

Please come to the podium and start with your name and address.

Good evening.

My name is Sean Degnan.

I'm the owner of iTrip Annapolis.

We're the largest short-term rental property manager in the city.

We currently manage more than 70 homes in Anna Rundle County and the Eastern Shore, 45 of which are licensed STRs within Annapolis.

Since 2021, our owners have contributed $381,517 in occupancy taxes.

Revenue that directly supports city services and helps fund uh amenities that residents and visitors rely on.

I want to be very clear.

Uh, as Megan said, we fully support enforcement against illegal STRs, and we absolutely support responsible operation of legal ones.

But a 12-month moratorium on new licenses does not achieve either of these goals.

Um instead, it penalizes the very homeowners who are trying to follow the rules while doing nothing to stop illegal operators who were never seeking licenses in the first place.

Just recently, you know, you passed the 10% density cap approved on the second reading immediately before the election.

Um while the community was aware that a density cap was under consideration, what nobody expected was the last minute amendment that eliminated grandfathering protections for existing licensees after two years with your lottery system that you're going to put in.

You know, this change was made without proper public notice and without meaningful opportunity for community feedback.

So I'm glad to hear you say tonight that you're not going to be voting on the uh on the moratorium tonight.

That uh it's your if you pass on the first reading, it would have been more of the same, but I'm glad to hear you're not gonna do that.

You know, I would say before we had any opportunity to observe or measure the impact of this new ordinance, um, we're already considering yet another major restriction.

The ink is barely dry on the density cap, and there's simply no data to tell us whether it's working or not.

So, you know, some of this is gonna happen naturally.

The numbers, the STR numbers are gonna decline naturally as people due to these, a lot of these regulations are gonna end up selling their homes.

Um that decline will come at a cost, though.

Lower property values, reduced property tax revenue, and fewer lodging options for visitors.

If STR supplies are artificially suppressed, hotel rates are gonna spike, and many travelers are gonna take their hard-earned tourism dollars elsewhere.

And by the way, this is not just about the property owners.

Annapolis thrives on tourism, and Navy families depend on STRs when visiting their mids, returning for commissioning week, reunions, football games, etc.

Many Navy Academy parents and alumni also own these homes and are deeply invested in this community.

These families are not outsiders.

They're part of the fabric of Annapolis.

A moratorium at this point is premature, reactive, and unfair to taxpayers and homeowners who follow the rules.

I respectfully urge the council to pause, allow the newly passed ordinance to take effect, and give it time to work before layering on additional restrictions that may cause more harm than good.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Susan Wheatley.

Please come to the podium and start with your name and address.

My name is Susan Wheatley.

I live at 159 Monticello Avenue.

I did not come here tonight to talk about short-term rentals.

Um, although I feel that maybe I should have.

So I tell you, the young people, the young people of this city are incredible.

And we had one gentleman came yesterday from Crofton and said, When is your next event?

I'm bringing friends.

So uh, and many young people, Annapolis High School, Broadneck High School, and they're just showing up.

So again, congratulations, our stake in the ground.

50% tree canopy by 2050 in the city of Annapolis.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next person to speak is Andy Penka.

Please approach and start with your name and address.

Good evening, Mayor, Council.

Uh, congratulations to all of you.

My name is Andy Penka.

I'm the property owner at 140 Charles Street.

Uh, a lot of the stories that have been told before this intertwine with my own.

I bet none of you had on your bingo card, you'd have a 51-year-old male from Indiana talking at your city council meeting tonight.

But um the good Lord put us in the same spot at the same time.

Uh my wife and I have a our oldest son attends the academy.

Um, he's a first-y, so he's getting ready to graduate.

Uh we showed up to Annapolis for the first time in 2022 to drop him off.

And um, for those that have either attended the academy, been around the academy, had children, nieces, nephews.

It's a special place.

Uh and as such, the city of Annapolis is also a very special place.

Um, similar to the first uh young lady that came up and spoke.

Uh, we enjoyed our time in Annapolis uh such and so much, such that we chose uh to take our hard-earned dollars.

Uh my wife and I grew up in the Midwest and um were born with the Midwestern work ethic, uh, have saved, invested our money, and chose to take a decent amount of our money and invest it in your city, in your property.

I pay property taxes like every single long-term resident here, and in fact, I pay more than the people that live here permanently because I don't have the homestead exemption.

And I'm glad to do that.

Why?

Because we enjoy coming here.

We enjoy spending our disposable income in your city.

More so, I enjoy being able to share that experience with people that get to come and do it not as frequently and maybe not uh in the same manner that we get to given our son attends the academy.

Uh so my request to you is to think about um and look at those of us that sit outside of your state and your city that own property, uh, not as faceless individuals that are merely out to earn a dollar.

Uh make no mistake, I'm a capitalist and I enjoy making money.

And I don't mind having other people pay my bills uh to help me invest in property here.

But that's not what it's all about.

I know neighbors on both sides of me.

I know David and Kelly Minty very well.

They look out for me, I look out for them.

Harry and Kay, who used to live on the other side of us, who recently sold 40 plus year residents in that home for the last several months.

Kay had a lot of physical dis challenges getting in and out of the house.

Harvey did as well.

When we were here in town, almost every single visit, I'd hear a knock on my door and be Harvey asking me if I could help him out.

I did not say, sorry, Harvey, I'm a short-term property owner.

I can't help you out.

No, I helped him out every single time because I view myself and our property as a member of the community.

So as you consider the ordinances, what you're going to do moving forward, I would just think holistically.

Uh, and then if you choose to carry forward with very restrictive measures, I'd also make sure that you're running the math and understanding the impact.

I am a client of Miss Moore.

Uh, the reason I hear the buzzer going off.

Uh, I'm a client of Miss Moore.

The reason we chose to go with Miss Moore.

Please wrap it up.

Because she's lived here for 50 years and she's done this and she knows the city and we trust her.

If you choose to clamp down, there are hundreds of jobs that are going to go away that are associated with taking care of these short-term rental properties, tax revenue, dollars, and more importantly, probably for the permanent residents, you'll see property values, I suspect see a short-term dip.

Because I think a number of folks that have invested and chose to invest here.

Thank you, Ms.

Thank you for your time.

I appreciate you listening and wish you all the best of luck and have a very merry Christmas.

Thank you.

The next person to speak is Rachel Robinson.

Please approach and start with your name and address.

Good evening, Rachel Robinson, 18 Pinkney Street.

Uh, good evening, Mr.

Mayor and uh members of City Council.

I'm Rachel Robinson, Vice President of Preservation at Historic Annapolis.

On behalf of HA staff, our board of trustees, members, and volunteers, we would like to congratulate each of you on your recent inauguration, and we thank you for your service to Annapolis.

We look forward to getting to know the new members and working with all of you to further preservation in our historic but vulnerable city.

HA would like to thank the returning council members who removed damaging language in 01425 prior to passage, especially Alderman Huntley, who represents the historic district and ward one.

Unfair and unwarranted piecemeal zoning would have threatened the integrity of the historic district height limits.

Looking forward, we want to continue to be the city's partner in realizing a reenvisioned city dock and do all that we can to support the completion of critical resiliency through flood barrier protection and stormwater management.

HAA is the steward of 13 properties, mostly owned by the state of Maryland, and including two at City Dock.

We know firsthand the vulnerability of these 18th century properties and remain steadfast in our support of resiliency at City Dot.

We are grateful that Mayor Littman understands that historic preservation is not about freezing Annapolis in time, but managing physical change, promoting environmentalism and sustainability through adaptive reuse, and reinforcing economic development through heritage tourism and thriving local businesses.

Annapolis attracts visitors and residents because of the way it looks and feels.

That's a direct manifestation of historic preservation over the last 75 years.

And when Annapolis works for locals and property owners, it works for everyone.

We invite you to call on Historic Annapolis as your partner and resource in the care of our city.

And we look forward to having each of you spend time with us walking the historic districts, historic district and our other characterful neighborhoods.

I invite everyone here and listening to visit the Museum of Historic Annapolis at 99 Main Street to learn about and honor four centuries of Annapolis history and her people, especially as we launch the celebration of America's 250 in the new year.

We look forward to working together with you to ensure that Annapolis continues to be a special place today, tomorrow, and for this generation and for future generations.

Thank you and congratulations.

The next speaker is David Ewing.

Please approach and start with your name and address.

Thank you.

Please start with your name and address.

David Ewing.

We have water Annapolis water source, and we which we pay a lot of water tax, more tax than the city resident would pay.

But that's another issue.

My issue here is history.

And uh historic preservation is like uh life everybody in that where I grew up.

Historic preservation is so it's just part of the everybody's life, just everywhere.

I grew up a few miles from where Washington crossed the Delaware to start the Battle of Trent.

And uh uh spent many, many uh much of my time in Philadelphia, and that's where I really got inspired because Independence Hall and all the other historic buildings there just uh inspired me as a boy, and uh the uh when I was teenager, I read Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, which I recommend to any everybody because uh it changed my life and uh uh turned me into a dissident because uh when he was a young man in Philly, he uh started a group called the Free Thinkers Club, which uh would uh complain about everything and try to fix things and he devoted his whole life to public service and you know it's made Philadelphia what what it became, the great city it became.

But but my interest is history, and I'm uh let me give me a little background on me.

Um uh I worked in television and film for 40 years uh in New York, uh, Philadelphia, uh Washington and Los Angeles, and uh focused on my turned my interest in history into making working on documentaries and news specials about historical subjects.

And I've been I was very lucky to work for some of the top companies and with some of the most amazing people uh you could imagine uh worked with Walter Cronkite, Ted Koppel, uh David Brinkley, among others, and uh managed to win some awards, but uh the main thing is uh doing subject matter that count that made a difference or tried to make a difference and uh when I moved from New York to Annapolis in uh 2000, uh we'd already had our condo in uh Dreams Landing before that.

But uh, I uh yeah, I founded a company baside productions, and I've had your comments, Mr.

Ewan.

Oh, I didn't get to my main point.

Can I make one?

I just say it quickly.

I want to know, I want to ask a question to the whole council and to our new mayor.

Why have you approved the Maritime Visitor Center?

Because I think it's a it's a huge mistake.

And I hope that it never gets built.

And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that it doesn't get it.

Okay.

Thank you for your time here today.

The next person to speak is Jessica Packler.

Please start with your name and address.

Hi, my name is Jess Packler, uh 506 President Street in Esport.

And I uh also wasn't here specifically for this, um, but then I decided to speak.

I'm here because of the role that esports playing in the 250 celebrations, which is going to be awesome and revolutionary.

Um, but um, and I wanted to say congratulations to everyone for being here.

I'm really looking forward to the next four years and to new beginnings and new changes.

Um and to that matter, I am glad to hear that you are not going to be moving forward on the moratorium tonight or doing any voting on that other than the first reader, because I think that it's time, as everyone else has said, I don't own a short-term rental, but maybe I'd like to own a short-term rental.

We are in a in a state in our in our universe and our world and our country, and in our personal economic economy here in Annapolis, where we there are it's not a great time to be.

And so if in six months my husband and I decide that you know what's going to be able to make us not have to sell our house is to be able to stay in our house or in one month if we want to do that, or if something not just me, anyone else, we should be able to go forward with that, not a moratorium that's basically from from what's been put out based on the fact that people haven't been following up within city government within the city government following up on the unlicensed unlicensed renters.

That shouldn't be the problem of the people who own their homes in the city of Annapolis.

I know that there are certain parts of certain wards.

I live in one of those wards where STRs are a big concern.

I also know that there are certain wards like mine, where a very small group of people that represent a very privileged part of the community have very strong opinions about short-term rentals, but that doesn't represent the opinions of the rest of the ward, and it doesn't represent the opinions of the rest of the wards.

So making decisions that are based on what part of ward eight or part of ward one want when short-term rentals can be incredibly helpful to people elsewhere in the city and even elsewhere in Eastport.

And for those of us who have lived on in some of the middle range, middle income, we talk a lot about middle income.

And I know you know Brooks has talked about the missing middle and that type of thing.

Not everybody in middle income wants to live in a duplex.

Not everybody.

People want to be able to live in a middle income family in their single family homes and short-term rentals offer that opportunity.

And given what's going on in our economy, given what's going on in our community as a whole, doing a moratorium without taking time to let the laws that were just passed make their way through without giving time for your management of the city, which is why we all voted for you, was because you were gonna bring a business management to the city to work through the problems that planning and zoning is having with the licensing and the lack of licensing, and to put all the rest of us who, as somebody said, are homeowners who deserve to own our homes and deserve to be able to do what we want with our homes within the the region, the the registr the regulations for a whole year is just too much.

I understand.

I'm finishing.

So please take a break, let things get going, let your work happen within the management and let the residents of Annapolis, all of us, not just two wards or parts of two wards, have a say in what happens in our city.

Thank you and congratulations on your new time.

Is there anybody who did not sign up but would like to speak during the general comment period?

Okay, seeing no motion the chambers, I declare the comments by the general public closed.

Mr.

City Attorney, will you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

The next item on the agenda is consent calendar.

Okay.

Uh is there any objection to the consent calendar?

No.

Seeing none, I would entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar.

So thank you.

Uh Madam City Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Yes, sir.

Mayor Littman.

Aye.

Alderman Huntley.

Hi.

Alderman Smith Brown.

Aye.

Caldwoman Alistair Johnson.

Aye.

Ald Miss Chandelmeyer.

Aye.

Aldwin McConty.

Aye.

Colin Ms.

David.

Alderman Thor.

Hi.

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney will please present the next item on the agenda.

Sure.

The next item on the agenda is business and miscellaneous items beginning with ID 17525.

The next item on the agenda is business and miscellaneous items beginning with ID 17525, 2026 City Council meeting dates.

I would entertain a motion to accept ID 175-25.

Is there a first is there a motion?

So moved.

Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

Is there any discussion?

Alderwoman O'Deal.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um there is discussion.

I want to point out.

Do we have the wrong date originally for the MML conference?

Thank you.

All right.

I was going to say otherwise we change it.

Um the other point of uh order that I would like to bring up is Monday, December 28th special meeting.

Um is that a pardon fast date?

It was Monday, December 28th.

Is that your saying?

Correct.

Yeah.

Um is your uh motion are you?

My motion would be to strike that date as a special meeting date.

Okay.

Second.

So you said December 28th.

December 28th.

Okay.

Is there uh any discussion on the motion to amend okay?

All those in favor of the motion, please say aye.

Aye, aye.

Aye.

Any nays?

Excuse me, not friendly.

The motion passed.

Thank you.

Any further discussion?

Good catch.

Thank you.

Uh I'll entertain a I'm sorry, we already have a motion.

Uh I think we're ready to vote.

Uh I we will now take a vote on the meeting dates as amended.

Madam City, uh, Madam Clerk, will you please take a roll?

Thank you.

Please hear a motion to adopt the motion as amended.

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

Any further discussion?

Okay.

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Okay.

Do we need a roll call?

Okay.

Thank you.

Appreciate your patience.

Uh we have sorry, don't we have the other yes?

Yes.

Mr.

City Attorney, will you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir, Mr.

Mayor.

The next item on the agenda is ID 17625, 2026 City Council work session dates.

Okay.

So we're on ID 176, Mr.

Mayor.

ID 17625.

Approved.

ID 176.

So moved for ID 17625.

Thanks for the vote on second.

All members.

Mr.

City Attorney, please present the next item.

Yes, sir.

The next item on the agenda is legislative actions beginning with first reader.

Beginning with resolution R 4725, standing committee appointments for the 2026-2030 council term.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 4725 on first reader?

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

Is there any discussion?

Okay.

Alderman Gentleman.

Thank you, Ms.

Mayor.

Uh this is obviously uh time sensitive.

Um and since this is non-controversial and time sensitive, do we intend to suspend the rules to pass the committee assignments and uh along with everything going through the budget process tonight?

I was not going to uh ask for a suspension of the rules.

Uh certainly if council members want to uh suggest that and um it would entertain that.

I do believe that since this along with audit committee appointments and budget timelines are very procedural, uh, and we do need to get our committee assignments up and running very quickly.

Uh I am going to make a motion after we go through our discussion uh and hearing my colleagues' opinions for rule suspension because I do think us getting our committee assignments formalized would be very advantageous to us.

Okay.

Is there a second?

Yeah.

Okay.

And so just to clarify for where we are, we have uh the uh this is the resolution to make committee assignments in the normal course of things.

This would then come back in January for approval.

And so what the motion is is to we instead of wait until January that we consider the resolution today for a final vote so that the committees could be established.

Okay, so for the clarification, thank you, madam clerk.

Before we can consider suspension of the rules, first we need to adopt the resolution on first reader.

So any further discussion on the resolution to adopt on first reader.

Yes, Alderwin Huntley.

Um I just to the point that was made by Alderman Channemeyer.

I I would just divorce the budget timeline, which I think is less sensitive from the committee, which is sensitive.

Thank you.

Any other discussion on the motion for first reader?

Okay, seeing none.

Uh all those in favor of adopting R 4725 on first reader, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Any abstains?

Okay.

Now we'll entertain uh the motion if you'd like to make it again, just so we can be in the right order.

Uh I would like to make a motion to suspend the rules on R 4725, uh standing committee appointments for the 2026 to 2030 council terms so that we can vote to make sure that our committee assignments are finalized this evening so we can get our assignments finalized.

Okay.

Is there a second?

Second.

And again, just for point of clarification for those uh new to the council.

This motion requires a unanimous approval to pass if it passed.

Open to discussion.

Is anyone who would like to comment?

Alderman Savage.

Uh yeah, um so I'm I'm fine with this motion.

Um I guess unless somebody has some concerns they want to raise as far as the appointments.

Um because but I think ultimately it's it may be I think it's good to do.

It's not gonna make too much of a difference in that we're probably not gonna have committee meetings in December anyway, but we could this way if we decide to.

Um so yeah, I don't have any major issue.

Alderman, thank you, Mayor.

I think if we have them finalized, we can get our official scheduled dates on the calendars and a routine set up.

And I'm not eager to meet around the holidays, but uh I am eager to get my January meeting scheduled.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Thank you.

Alderman Thorpe.

Uh Mr.

Mayor, with all due respect to Alderman Chandelmeyer, I think it would be bad precedent um or bad action on the first meeting for the new city council to abandon our rules.

Um, I think there is already discussion uh about where our uh the meeting schedules are, and while I I don't expect a whole lot of public interaction or public engagement to you about the committee assignments, there very well might be, and I would uh not support abandoning the rules in order to expedite this for reasons I don't see that would expedite any.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Acting Finance Director.

Does the finance committee are there any pending supplemental appropriations that have been waiting for a constituted finance committee?

Yes.

For the record, acting finance director Jake Trudeau, the answer to that question is yes.

So it would be beneficial for the finance committee to be able to meet sooner rather than later to get that money move, right?

I cannot recall the details of the um budget revisions that are in queue at right now.

Um but there may there may be a grant uh that's that's required or that we want to add to the budget, so I I can do some research and get back to you if that's okay.

Thank you.

So uh before we move to vote, I'll just share my view on this.

Um I do agree with the instinct of uh Alderman Thorpe of not suspending the rules whenever possible.

Um to me, this is more of a will of the the council, the um Alderman and Alder uh women here, and so it's to your preference is how I would go along.

I'm gonna vote yes on this so that you all can at least have the choice and be and make the choice in your hands.

Given um aside from the issue of suspending the rules, I do think it is better than not to have the committees established as soon as possible so that you can all start discussing discussing meeting dates and establish uh when you're gonna meet and start building those relationships.

And should something come up that requires any committee uh work, I think it is better to have the committees established.

So I I do think it is better to have them established sooner than later.

It was not my preference to suspend the rules, but since someone else uh did that, I'm gonna go to vote yes and leave it to you all to decide what you want to do.

I think we should just take take the vote so we to move on.

Uh all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All those against no okay.

The motion fails.

Mr.

City Attorney, will you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

The next item on the agenda is resolution R 4825 audit committee appointments for the 2026 to 2030 council term.

Thank you.

Uh thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 4825 on first reader?

So moved.

Is there a second?

Thank you.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any against?

No posed.

No abstains.

All those in favor say aye.

I'm sorry.

I mean we just said that.

Sorry.

I'll get with it.

The motion carries.

Thank you.

Mr.

City Attorney, will you please present the next item on the agenda?

Sure.

The next item of the agenda is resolution R 4925.

Budget process timeline for fiscal year 2027.

Is there a motion to adopt R 4925 on first reader?

So moved.

Any seconds?

Second.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

All in favor.

Is there a second?

All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

And no abstentions.

The motion carries.

Mr.

City Attorney, will you please present the next item on the agenda?

Yes, sir.

The next item of the agenda is resolution R 5025, establishing a 12-month moratorium or short-term rental licensing.

Thank you.

Is there a motion to adopt R 5025 on first reader?

I move.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

Is there any discussion?

Alderman Savage.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um a few things.

Just I'm not going to get into the merits.

Uh we'll save that for um later on in the process.

But I do want to at least provide some explanation on why I'm voting no this evening.

Um I think some traditions are worthwhile following.

And in this case, we traditionally don't have anything of much substance in our first meeting of a new council in December.

And that is partially because as we got into with the committees, they um still have to come back for final vote next month.

And so that and holidays, that means our committees are only gonna have they're gonna have so in total we have 90 days to review something before it comes back to the council.

And um in this case, we're losing 30 days because we won't be able to set up our first committee meeting until uh later in January.

So I guess I would request if this passes that um colleagues be sympathetic if if a committee does need some additional time, it's gonna come back to us after that 60 days.

Well, 90 days total um for a vote.

So if the committee requests it, um I hope it will consider giving them some additional time.

Um so that's my my big concern along those lines.

I just want to make sure it does go to the proper committee.

So can you verify what committee this is getting referred to?

Sure, Mr.

City Attorney.

It's gonna go to uh finance and the planning commission, I believe.

Okay, finance and planning commission.

Um, can you check short-term replica codes in chapter 17?

I think that should also include economic matters.

Give us just a second so we can check that, please.

Cynthia, you can you pull that up.

If we we can give the um Mr.

City Attorney a moment to get clarification and see if there's any other comments, but we'll come back to it before we vote.

I had one other uh request because for resolutions, we have to make a they don't default to go to public hearing, but given the amount of testimony that um we always get for short-term rentals.

I would like to just make a motion that this goes or request.

I don't know if it needs a motion or just request, but I would like request that it goes for the I believe it's just a request, and certainly I I'm fine with that and agree with that.

That concludes my comments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

While we're waiting, we'll take uh more comments.

Altimate alder woman O'Neill.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I just want to say two things about the moratorium.

Um, as the sponsor of this.

Um one, I do understand the time constraint um that the 90 days would put us under, and would wholeheartedly look for more time if needed.

Um but the second reason um I actually put this forward was due to the fact that even though we did pass other legislation um 1725 in October, um, there was significant amount of uh public testimony that said that they were not interested in that passing um because of their unmiss knowledge or un satisfactory clear understanding of exactly what that was doing to uh short-term rental.

Um furthermore, there's two points to the moratorium, and that is current licensees would have it the opportunity to renew under the moratorium to current licensees as we heard from earlier today, would actually have that ability to continue to renew under the moratorium, as well as um owner occupied, um, which it appeared that most of the people that came before us tonight uh during public comments were also owner occupied.

So those two instances would um they would be able to keep their licenses.

Um my constituents overwhelmingly um are concerned about what it's doing to their neighborhood, which is why I what short-term rentals are doing to their neighborhoods, which is why I asked for the moratorium to further study um and really take a close look at our enforcement, our policy, and the way we handle short-term rentals in the city um across the board.

So um many municipalities are going to different zones and really looking at the zoning of it, and I just think this gives us the opportunity to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alder Woman.

Do we have an answer on Alderman Savage's question?

Yeah, we've got anyone else want to buy the same attorney more time?

Alderman, Alderman Huntling, please.

I'd be more than happy to discuss why I think it's important for this to ref be referred to committee and where which committee I think should be referred to.

So resolutions are not required by code to go to any of our committees, I don't believe.

But uh, if we were to be amending Title 17 with an ordinance, then a legislation will get referred to the economic matters committee.

And since this is dealing with an issue that is within Title 17, my belief is that it should be referred to the economic matters committee and rather than finance.

Uh is that's that's my preference.

But obviously, we defer to what the city attorney is.

Yes, Mr.

Mayor, I have one addition to that.

Um that that is an interpretation, but I would say with respect to um the section on standing committees, uh any ordinance or resolution waiving or reducing the city fees shall be referred to the finance committee, which is why I said finance initially, because the moratorium does change the fees because those folks would not be, you know, it would be a moratorium on fees at this point.

But it's not changing the fees, not changing, but it's uh uh waiving or reducing the waiving the moratorium, it's uh reducing, I think it's an effect on fees.

Is there flexibility to um to uh send it to economic matters rather than finance?

Well, the the question is does the residents since the resolutions don't normally go uh except in this instance, um it's really on the the council to decide, I think.

Okay.

Was there any other comment?

I thought I couldn't tell if you were waiting to speak.

Oh no, no, no, I was just reference what the code said Title 17, it does say economic matter.

I think that makes sense to me as well, and I will uh assign it to the economic matters committee for further input and recommendation to the full council.

Okay, I think we're ready to go to excuse me a second.

And so we're just clarifying that there are two referrals, one to economic matters and one for public hearing.

Alderman Thorpe.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um, I would like to uh make an observation about the emotion that was showed today on the STR issue.

Um very strong feelings, and and uh during my campaign, I I heard that emotion, it's strong on both sides.

And uh in the Navy, when you have a safety problem, you do a safety stand down.

Otherwise, you just continue to get the same thing over and over again.

And while this isn't safety, I think it's culture, it's our town.

And so I think it's important um to take a pause um to have the city staff do what I think a lot of people on both sides of this issue have asked for, as you've as you've advocated, and really get a handle on using data, get a handle on what is the short-term rental situation in our city so that we can make logical, informed and and decisions that will be based on fact that both sides of the issue can agree that that the decision was made on facts and not as some people have alluded to, some thinking on either side of the issue.

So I I applaud uh uh the initiative and I intend to support it.

Thank you, Alderman Thorpe.

Any other discussion?

Okay.

I'd just like to share my thoughts on it.

This is something that I came across uh over and over during the the past few years in conversations that there is a lot of feeling from many, many residents across the city that there are too many short-term rentals.

I'm not uh denigrating past work by previous councils to do the work, uh, but it's loud and clear to me from the residents that uh we now represent that the work is not done.

There are a lot of unlicensed short-term uh short-term rental license uh uh operators, and I don't believe that the best result is to get all of that license.

This legislation as uh drafted specifically excludes, as all the woman O'Neill pointed out, a resident occupied STRs.

It excludes um uh renewals for anyone that's in good standing, and it excludes uh certain time periods that are uh uh recognized as exceptions to the rule, namely the um the boat shows and the uh commencement of the Navy uh the Naval Academy.

And so I certainly support the resolution and I uh thank Alder Woman O'Neill for introducing it and uh look forward to hearing a healthy and vigorous debate over how we should proceed.

This, frankly, I think is the easier step of once we have a moratorium place that begins then the hard work of working on a more permanent solution so that we could get some definity of what the rules should be in place going forward.

And so for all those reasons, I intend to support this on first reader.

I will now take the vote.

All those in favor of the uh resolution on first reader say aye.

Aye.

All those against any abstentions?

The motion carries.

Mr.

City Attorney, would you please present the next item on the agenda?

Mr.

Mayor, the agenda is complete.

Is there anything else for the good?

Uh anything else for the good of the order?

All the woman O'Neill.

Always thank you very much.

Um, two things.

Um, one, um, there is an exercise being done by Office of Emergency Management tomorrow, um, starting at 8:30.

Um I'm gonna leave it as a surprise to know, really.

Um it's uh an exercise in going through all of the steps and all of the procedures that our office of emergency management um puts together to keep our city safe.

Um, I know that several of us are attending um at least part of the day, which is amazing.

Um so thank you very much to Director Simmons for putting that together and allowing us the opportunity to see firsthand all of the work that you do and all of the things that your staff puts in to our city.

So thank you.

Um I'd also like to say um there is uh currently a warming center going on for our cities, um, people who are in need of a warm place to sleep, and we have an opportunity to get some more information on that um as a council.

Um so I think it's really important for us to see um what the Office of Emergency Management does um along with their partner blessed in tech in taking care of those people that are searching a warm place and a warm bed to sleep in on a night that's cold like tonight.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Anything else for the good of the order?

All right.

Seeing uh no other items on the agenda, I would entertain entertain a motion to adjourn.

So is there a second?

Thank you.

Uh all in favor of the motion adjourned, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any against?

Any is saying the motion carries the meeting is.