OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Environmental Matters Committee Meeting - July 9, 2026

City Council — Thursday, July 9, 2026
BodyAnnapolis, Maryland
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, July 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 43:08

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

Good afternoon, everybody.

0:05

I'm calling to order viral matters committee meeting for July 9th.

0:10

And you're gonna do roll call, Alderman Holly, present.

0:14

And Alderwoman Conte is not yet here.

0:19

Um, but we're gonna get started.

0:21

So do have an approval motion to approve the agenda.

0:25

So moved.

0:26

I'll second all those in favor.

0:29

Aye.

0:30

Motion carries.

0:32

And approval of a minutes to have a motion to approve the minutes from June 11th.

0:37

So moved.

0:38

Second.

0:38

All those in favor, please say aye.

0:40

I aye.

0:41

Motion carries, thank you.

0:45

ID 5 26 planning zoning development update.

0:48

Mr.

0:48

Meekins, please join us.

1:03

Thank you, Alderman Savage.

1:05

Good afternoon.

1:06

How's everybody doing?

1:07

Doing great, fine.

1:08

Good.

1:09

I trust that you received a copy of the uh spreadsheet that uh you typically get.

1:15

Yes, thank you.

1:30

So uh Mike Meekins, senior planner for current planning.

1:34

This is uh more or less the quarterly update that I present to the environmental matters committee with uh current projects, major projects that are happening in the city.

1:45

Um, and just to give you rundown once again, um everything in blue.

1:49

There's pretty much no change from the last report.

1:53

Uh everything in white with red text is the updated um, or is the uh are the updates for that specific project.

2:05

Oh yeah.

2:16

All right, so I'll uh as usual go down the list and uh please stop me if you have questions.

2:21

Um so the uh the first one is actually Bay Village uh two Bay Village Suites, which is uh a 105 unit uh independent living facility uh in the Bay Village, I'll call it campus, uh uh adjacent to Bay Ridge Road and uh at the intersection of Edgewood Road.

2:44

Um this application was seen or heard excuse me before um the planning commission uh back in 2020-ish.

2:54

And unfortunately, the applicant um the application uh expired uh the approval expired from the planning commission.

3:05

So they had to basically do a reboot of that application, and that recently happened uh last Thursday night.

3:14

It was heard before the planning commission in a virtual hearing and it was approved.

3:20

Um the opinion is being drafted uh and is will be available once it's finished.

3:26

Did anything change as far as the either from the planning commission or from the applicant?

3:33

It was pretty much a ditto of the exact same uh the exact same approval.

3:38

The one thing I might add uh is I think that there was a grease interceptor that was moved, so uh pretty minor, but um uh they just had to go through the process again, okay.

3:54

Yeah, I really don't have any concerns about it.

3:58

I did get some I did get contacted by some folks in the county, uh down on the neck.

4:05

Um, but I tried to explain that nothing's changed.

4:11

I personally had no interest in relitigating anything that's already been decided.

4:15

I'm glad that the large trees protected it.

4:18

It might be worthwhile if Brian Adams hasn't looked at it in a while just to assess the health of that tree, but um otherwise it I don't have any concerns.

4:28

So they had a uh they had a arborist actually recertify um with the new documents that they submitted, recertify the tree's health, and it's in good condition.

4:40

Okay.

4:40

So that's a positive.

4:42

Yeah, that was one of the big ass we had last time is just to have them work around that tree, and they they did incorporate it into their whole um, you know, um, I think the whole direction they're going with that senior center.

4:55

Yeah, I so they did do a refresh on with a couple of the documents.

4:59

One being the uh assessment of the tree, the other um was the uh reassessment of the uh traffic uh traffic study by the same traffic group that did the original.

5:12

Basically everything was the same.

5:15

So um they are in for uh both building and grading permits and they are like at the finish line for those.

5:22

So unfortunately they kind of stumbled here uh prior to getting their approval, so they had to go through this process, and I think uh, you know, development as what I what I understood was they're hoping to get started in the fall.

5:37

So, only thing I wanted to add, I guess, because I did notice this time around that they had an excess of parking.

5:45

If there's any leverage we may have to get them to remove a couple of those excess spots to put in, I don't know, tree or vegetation of some kind might be nice.

5:54

Yeah, a table even.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████62%
Environmental Protection███████████████20%
Active Transportation████████████16%
Water And Wastewater Management█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Environmental Matters Committee Meeting - July 9, 2026

The Environmental Matters Committee of the Annapolis City Council met on July 9, 2026, to discuss city development projects and environmental initiatives. The meeting began with roll call and unanimous approval of the agenda and minutes from June 11, 2026. The committee received updates from Senior Planner Mike Meekins on current planning and development projects and from Deputy City Manager Jackie Giled on sustainability and energy programs. The meeting adjourned after reaching a hard stop at 4:15 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Agenda Approval: Moved, seconded, and carried unanimously.
  • Minutes Approval: Minutes from June 11, 2026, were approved by voice vote.

Discussion Items

  • Planning & Zoning Development Update (ID 5-26): Mike Meekins presented the quarterly update on major projects.

    • Bay Village Suites (105-unit independent living facility): Approval expired and was re-approved by the Planning Commission on July 2, 2026, with minor changes (grease interceptor moved). The applicant recertified tree health and traffic study. Permits expected to be finalized, with construction starting in fall 2026. Committee member Alderman Savage noted no concerns but suggested evaluating excess parking for green space.
    • Loss at Eastport Landing (redevelopment of Eastport Shopping Center): Grading and building permit applications submitted at end of June. Review deadlines: grading by July 30, building by July 20. Permits needed by October 16, 2026, to avoid expiration. Estimated construction completion 1.5–2 years after permits.
    • Rocky Gorge/Athens Project: Appeal of director's decision to expire project was postponed from July 7 Board of Appeals meeting; now tentatively set for September 2026.
    • West Village (161 West Street): SDP approval expired and was re-approved December 4, 2025, with a change in sewer connection. No questions.
    • Thomas Somerville Property (plumbing warehouse in Parole): Second iteration of minor site design review comments issued; applicant meeting with DPW next week. Building and grading permits already submitted but paused pending SDP approval. Expected groundbreaking in fall 2026.
    • Pipeline Projects (Work Sessions): Four projects in early stages: 245 West Street (townhomes), Robinwood redevelopment (residential townhouses and multi-story), Bay Ridge Road/old CNC liquor site (townhomes), and Annapolis Seafood site (Royal Farms fresh market concept with EV chargers, gas pumps scaled down). Committee members raised concerns about gas station proliferation, road width standards, and code barriers. Alderman Savage stressed the need for common-sense code adjustments and better communication with council.

  • Environmental & Sustainability Update: Jackie Giled presented updates on transportation and clean energy initiatives.

    • Solar Initiatives: City working with Anne Arundel County and Resilience Authority on solar strategy; three city sites under consideration for roof solar. LED lighting upgrades at no cost through BGE's Empower Maryland program: pilot completed at Forest Drive fire station (May 13), next targets: DOT stand center, Eastport fire station, ballparks, parking garages. Program ends September 2026.
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory & Climate Action Plan (CAP): Final edits underway; includes graphics and recommendations tailored to Annapolis. Appendix compares old CAP (2006) accomplishments. Target completion by September 2026.
    • Residential Solar: City partnering with Solar United Neighbors for cooperative solar installation program open to residents and businesses.
    • Electric Streetcar Feasibility Study: Six proposals received by June 12 deadline; selection expected in next couple of months.
    • City Ferry Pilot Project: Revised RFP for hybrid electric-diesel ferry drafted; landing sites (Hawkins Cove, Carrs Beach) under consideration. Local match of $525,000 partially funded ($250,000 from marina permit fees). RFI for operator to be released in two weeks.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken on discussion items. The committee accepted the updates and noted future actions.
  • The planning department will continue processing permits for Bay Village, Eastport Landing, and Somerville projects.
  • The sustainability team will finalize the Climate Action Plan by September 2026 and continue LED retrofits.
  • The streetcar feasibility study selection is pending; ferry pilot RFI will be issued soon.
  • Committee members raised concerns about gas station proliferation and road width standards; potential future legislative action may be considered.

Note that the agenda and minutes were not provided; the summary is based solely on the transcript. The transcript indicates the meeting had a hard stop at 4:15 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody. I'm calling to order viral matters committee meeting for July 9th. And you're gonna do roll call, Alderman Holly, present. And Alderwoman Conte is not yet here. Um, but we're gonna get started. So do have an approval motion to approve the agenda. So moved. I'll second all those in favor. Aye. Motion carries. And approval of a minutes to have a motion to approve the minutes from June 11th. So moved. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. I aye. Motion carries, thank you. ID 5 26 planning zoning development update. Mr. Meekins, please join us. Thank you, Alderman Savage. Good afternoon. How's everybody doing? Doing great, fine. Good. I trust that you received a copy of the uh spreadsheet that uh you typically get. Yes, thank you. So uh Mike Meekins, senior planner for current planning. This is uh more or less the quarterly update that I present to the environmental matters committee with uh current projects, major projects that are happening in the city. Um, and just to give you rundown once again, um everything in blue. There's pretty much no change from the last report. Uh everything in white with red text is the updated um, or is the uh are the updates for that specific project. Oh yeah. All right, so I'll uh as usual go down the list and uh please stop me if you have questions. Um so the uh the first one is actually Bay Village uh two Bay Village Suites, which is uh a 105 unit uh independent living facility uh in the Bay Village, I'll call it campus, uh uh adjacent to Bay Ridge Road and uh at the intersection of Edgewood Road. Um this application was seen or heard excuse me before um the planning commission uh back in 2020-ish. And unfortunately, the applicant um the application uh expired uh the approval expired from the planning commission. So they had to basically do a reboot of that application, and that recently happened uh last Thursday night. It was heard before the planning commission in a virtual hearing and it was approved. Um the opinion is being drafted uh and is will be available once it's finished. Did anything change as far as the either from the planning commission or from the applicant? It was pretty much a ditto of the exact same uh the exact same approval. The one thing I might add uh is I think that there was a grease interceptor that was moved, so uh pretty minor, but um uh they just had to go through the process again, okay. Yeah, I really don't have any concerns about it. I did get some I did get contacted by some folks in the county, uh down on the neck. Um, but I tried to explain that nothing's changed. I personally had no interest in relitigating anything that's already been decided. I'm glad that the large trees protected it. It might be worthwhile if Brian Adams hasn't looked at it in a while just to assess the health of that tree, but um otherwise it I don't have any concerns. So they had a uh they had a arborist actually recertify um with the new documents that they submitted, recertify the tree's health, and it's in good condition. Okay.

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