Annapolis economic development office highlights small‑business grants, maritime apprenticeship and permitting reforms

Hope Stewart, small minority business enterprise liaison in the Office of Economic Development, Planning and Zoning, told the Economic Matters Committee the city is continuing targeted support for small businesses and working to shorten permitting timelines downtown.

Stewart said the office is finalizing a $75,000 grant agreement to support the Inclusive Ventures program run by the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation and that staff are addressing permit issues for businesses on Main Street, Maryland Avenue and other downtown corridors. “We are working with a law office to finalize a grant agreement to give $75,000 to the Inclusive Ventures program, which is being run by Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation,” Stewart said.

The committee heard details about workforce and program funding. Alderman Gay noted the Inclusive Ventures grant was his initiative and asked staff to coordinate follow‑up. Gay also pressed staff to use previously allocated funds for an economic development kickoff and guest speaker before the end of the fiscal year. Stewart said she would coordinate with the alderman and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation and that the city’s small business administration advisors could assist.

The committee discussed the maritime trades apprenticeship, a program that received an initial $50,000 investment in prior years and which committee members said they want to continue funding. “We finally loosened up and got the initial $50,000 that we put in 1 or 2 years ago,” the committee chair said when summarizing prior funding. Alderman Savage and others asked Stewart to report back on how much additional funding could be made available without increasing the overall budget; Savage said he would explore an amendment or a group economic matters amendment to continue the program.

Stewart and planning staff also outlined a permitting innovation package aimed at reducing time and cost for small businesses, particularly those adaptively reusing existing downtown buildings. Planning staff described recent operational changes: the hiring of a second building plans reviewer and an effort to define what makes a “complete application” so applications fail review for missing information less often. The staffer said a streamlined checklist is being piloted and that the package could be ready for committee consideration within about 30 to 45 days. “One thing we’re doing is establishing what makes for a complete application,” a planning staff member said, and added the office is testing a checklist proposed by the new architectural plans reviewer to speed reviews.

Staff also noted that some code and permitting requirements come from state and federal regulations, which can complicate local review. The committee discussed making pre‑application and pre‑permit meetings more accessible; staff said the city already offers pre‑application meetings over Zoom on several Wednesdays each month and will keep using outreach to brokers and applicants as part of the approach.

Committee members raised operational concerns. Stewart said the economic development liaison role is currently a one‑person office; the position has been advertised and interviews are expected within weeks, with the hiring goal by or before June. Stewart also mentioned ribbon cuttings and small business events: a ribbon cutting was scheduled for Vintage Vibe Finds at 40 Hudson Street and another earlier in April for Blowfish Poké at City Dock.

Several aldermen asked staff to bring business groups—such as the SoHo group and Maryland Avenue and State Circle Business Association—into a future committee meeting to discuss downtown needs. The committee also discussed data tools (Placer.ai was mentioned) and the idea of consolidating foot‑traffic data so all departments can access it.

The committee took no formal vote on funding during this session; members asked staff to return with budget options, program cost estimates and a permitting package for a future meeting.