Annapolis Capital Punishment

The following was sent out by Alderman Ross Arnett to constituents.

Ward 8 Residents

A Special Meeting (i.e., Public Hearing) of the Annapolis City Council will be held on January 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Below is the agenda for the meeting with the sponsor and brief description. I have added comments in italics and underline after a few of the items (NOTE TO CP Readers--some of this formatting was lost in the publishing process...contact Alderman Arnett if you need to see this in its original form)


Note that there will be a legislative portion to the agenda as well. The two items to be taken up are shown at the end of the agenda shown below.


Also, at 6 p.m. there will be a Council Work Session to discuss the Annapolis LightHouse Shelter for the Homeless. The public is invited to attend.


PUBLIC HEARING



O-06-07 Review Time for Legislation [Moyer] – For the purpose of limiting to 180 days the time allowed to the planning process for review of legislation: making the review of all non-planning legislation, including resolutions, by all committees, boards and commissions subject to the current 120 day referral limitation; clarifying that City Council members may submit legislation to the City Council before zoning map amendments and City Code amendments are submitted to the Planning Commission; requiring the review by the Planning Commission of legislation amending Title 20. The primary purpose of this ordinance is to speed legislation through the committee and Commission processes and to Council action. At this point, I am supportive of this ordinance. Too many actions take a year and in some several years to get through the system.



This ordinance also includes a clarification that City Council members may submit legislation to the City Council for zoning map amendments. While I agree that we have this power, what remains unclear is the process of notification of property owners and I will probably submit an amendment to make that notification process clear, i.e., that owners must be notified of any pending action.


O-24-07 Sandwich Board Signs [Moyer] – For the purpose of specifying when and where sandwich board signs are permitted. I need to hear from you on this issue. So far I’ve heard a mixed message, some feeling that these sign are all right, others find them to unsightly and blocking pedestrians.


O-27-05 The Boundaries of the City [Moyer] – For the purpose of including Federal property within the boundaries of the City; and matters generally relating to said City boundary. This Ordinance is an example of the need for O-06-07 in that it was first introduced in 2005. The impact of this Ordinance is to increase the population count for the City and thus our draw on federal and state allocations of dollars and other benefits. I will be watching this to be sure that it doesn’t also bring adverse consequences.


O-56-07 Green Buildings [Moyer] – For the purpose of requiring that certain new construction and major modifications to various buildings and single family homes shall meet certain standards as established by the Green Building Council; defining various terms. As the Ordinance title indicated, this is a requirement for all new construction to meet LEED standards for energy and environmental performance. There will be increases in the cost of building resulting from this legislation, but offsetting energy savings down the road. The overall intent is to help save the environment.


O-57-07 Updating Areas of Committee Responsibilities [Arnett]– For the purpose of deleting Title 19 as a responsibility of the Environmental Matters Committee since Title 19 has been rescinded; to add Title 22 as a responsibility of the Rules and City Government Committee since Title 22 was just recently added to the City Code. This is housekeeping legislation recognizing changes to the City Code.


O-58-07 Lease of City Property: Boat Shows in 2008 through 2012 [Moyer, Shropshire, Israel, Finlayson, Cordle, Arnett, Hoyle]– For the purpose of authorizing a lease of certain municipal property located in the general harbor, Dock Street and Edgewood Road areas to United States Sailboat Show, Inc. and United States Powerboat Boat Show, Inc., bodies corporate, for a certain period of time in October of each of the calendar years of 2008 through 2012 subject to certain terms, provisions and conditions, for the purpose of conducting boat shows; and all matters relating to said lease. As the title indicates, this Ordinance extends the Boat Show leases.



O-60-07 Residence Requirement for Members of Historic Preservation Commission [Israel] – For the purpose of requiring that any entity applying or receiving a grant from the City must demonstrate a match of 50 percent of the amount of which it is requesting by non-governmental sources. Public hearing on O-60-07, Residence Requirement for Members of Historic Preservation Commission, will not be heard tonight since it has not yet gone before the Planning Commission


O-61-07 Grants for City Funding.[Stankivic] – For the purpose of requiring that any entity applying or receiving a grant from the City must demonstrate a match of 50 percent of the amount of which it is requesting by non-government sources. I will await public hearing and committee opinions on this Ordinance, but at this point I don’t favor this action. The City does not have the facilities or the funds to provide a lot of the social services provided by our grantees.



O-62-07 Leasing of City Property – New Year’s Annapolis, Inc.[Moyer] – For the purpose of authorizing the City to lease certain municipal property to New Year’s Annapolis Inc. (NYA) for five New Year’s Eves beginning December 31, 2008; approving the provision of City services to NYA for less than full costs. I really need to hear from you on this one. I’m not sure that I feel it is a City function to provide this service, and we know that the private sector has failed to make this work.


LEGISLATION


O-04-08 1st R. Variances for Subdivisions [Arnett]– For the purpose of moving the authority for granting subdivision variances from the Planning Commission to the Board of Appeals to comply with the Annotated Code of Maryland and a recent court decision. This is a fix to our code in response to a court case finding error in the way we handle lot subdivisions. It had been done by the Planning Commission and the Court found that this function should reside with the Board of Appeals.


R-03-08 2nd R. Civil Service Classification and Compensation [Moyer] – For the purpose of approving Civil Service classifications and compensation as recommended in the March 2005 Classification and Compensation Study (“Study”) commonly referred to as the Hendricks Study. I did not find the Hendricks study to be very professionally competent or helpful. The effect of the study is to raise the pay level for certain employment categories to bring them up to the level of comparable workers in other areas.



BUSINESS AND MISCELLANEOUS


Appointments


Next City Council meetings:

Monday, February 11, 2008, City Council Chamber - 7:30 p.m.

Monday, February 25, 2008, City Council Chamber - 7:00 p.m.


As always, you can call me [410 295-9743] or send an email [EastportRoss@aol.com] if you have questions or concerns.


Ross Arnett, Alderman, Ward 8