A few issues stood out at the September 23 meeting of the St. Michaels Commissioners, but none generated more discussion than the future of the town’s historic district.
The Historic District Question
The town is still relying heavily on a historic-property inventory completed in 1986, and Town Manager Don Richardson argued that the age of that information, along with inconsistencies between the town code, historic district boundaries, and Historic District Commission guidelines, creates opportunities for mistakes and possible legal challenges.
Richardson stressed that he was not proposing an immediate expansion of the historic district. Asked directly whether expansion was the objective, he replied, “It is not the objective.”
That did not eliminate concerns from residents outside the current district. Several said their worry was not simply the proposed inventory, but what might happen once the town identifies additional historically significant properties. Residents questioned whether that could eventually lead to additional regulation by the Historic District Commission.
The commissioners ultimately stopped short of approving an inventory study. Instead, they unanimously asked staff to return with information about its possible cost, scope, geographic coverage, timeline, and who might conduct it.
ADUs: Workforce Housing or Seasonal Housing?
A second debate emerged over accessory dwelling units, commonly known as ADUs.
Maryland legislation requires municipalities to allow ADUs in residential zoning districts, which means St. Michaels must adjust its current zoning rules. The draft discussed by the commissioners would allow an ADU to be as large as 75 percent of the principal residence and would limit some local density and parking restrictions.
The issue for commissioners was whether those units would actually help solve the town’s workforce housing problem.
One commissioner noted that under the town’s existing definition of a long-term rental, someone could potentially rent an ADU for four months during the peak tourist season. “These ADUs are not necessarily helping for workforce housing,” the commissioner said. “They could also be used as seasonal rentals.”
There was discussion of requiring nine- or twelve-month leases, although another commissioner pointed out that St. Michaels also has seasonal restaurant workers, interns, and others who need housing for shorter periods. The commissioners unanimously sent the proposal to the Planning Commission for further review.
Large Events May Cost More
The commissioners also began reviewing changes to the town’s fee schedule, including what large public events should pay during the busiest months of the year.
One proposal would significantly increase peak-season fees for events attracting 2,000 to 5,000 people or more. But what began as a fee discussion quickly expanded into questions involving parking, food trucks, tree removal, stormwater management, and other costs associated with events.
Rather than settle those questions that night, commissioners agreed to schedule a special work session before their October 14 meeting to go through the fee schedule in greater detail.
And a $90,000 Tree Bill
One smaller item also caught the Spy’s attention.
A resident asked about a $90,000 fee that a developer faced for removing trees from a development site. Richardson said the town had declined to waive the fee and that the applicant had since indicated it would either pay the fee or perform the required mitigation work itself.
And in a small bit of inside baseball, the Spy itself made the meeting. During public comment, one resident noted that poor audio quality has made it difficult for the Spy to cover St. Michaels meetings as fully as those in other towns, and suggested the town improve its microphone system. We will take that as encouragement to keep listening, even when listening is not always easy.
Watch the full meeting here
