The long-time chairwoman of Annapolis’s Historic Preservation Commission was removed from her position by Mayor Gavin Buckley. Sharon Kennedy has served as the commission’s chairwoman since 2003. She recently came to a disagreement with Buckley over the fate of a mural illegally painted on the side of a restaurant owned by the mayor; Buckley insists this incident had no bearing on his decision. He has also declined to reappoint Kim Finch, a colleague of Kennedy, whose term has ended.
The announcement was made just hours before Buckley’s decision to alter height and bulk regulations for new construction in City Dock, one of the city’s most historic districts and home to numerous historic inns and stores. The loosened restrictions will allow the implementation of the 2013 City Dock Master Plan. This plan is likely to cause more friction between the Historic Preservation Commission and the mayor’s office. Opponents of the new regulations believe they are part of a plan to build a controversial boutique hotel in the district. Some renderings of the hotel show a building well above the previous height restrictions. Buckley has repeatedly made statements that signal his opposition to an excessively tall hotel development.