Annapolis committee delays vote on pilot to install green roofs on bus shelters

The Annapolis Environmental Matters Committee postponed action Wednesday on R2‑25, a one‑year pilot program to install green roofs on city bus shelters and collect environmental data.

Jackie Gall, deputy city manager for resilience and sustainability, briefed the committee on the proposal, saying the pilot would include installation, maintenance and data collection and that “it would cost about $5,000 for each green roof” in preliminary research but that local costs would likely be higher. Gall said she recommended budgeting “around $40,000 at least for this project.”

Gall told committee members that the Department of Public Works would likely handle routine maintenance and that the first six months would require more intensive care—watering, weed removal and plant replacement—before maintenance needs decreased. She also said the city lacks the instrumentation and experience to do the monitoring in‑house and that “it would make much more sense for an outside consultant” to gather ambient air, stormwater and water‑use data; hiring such a consultant was not budgeted in the current proposal.

Committee members raised several concerns that prompted the postponement. Alderman Mason said the fiscal impact note “is not complete” and worried the $5,000 figure was not comprehensive. Several members questioned whether the city owns all shelters, which affects whether the program could be implemented or whether negotiations with private shelter owners would be required. Marcus Moore, director of transportation, said his office had identified about 7–12 shelters that the city owns and that he and staff would provide a list of candidate locations.

Other questions centered on measurable benefits and staffing. Alderman Arnett asked how much runoff a small shelter roof could control and whether alternatives such as solar panels might deliver greater economic value. Alderman Narnett and others said the program’s public‑education value could be important but that maintenance demands and unclear cost estimates made approving the pilot premature.

Alderman Finlayson moved to postpone consideration of R2‑25 and the committee approved the postponement by voice vote.

The committee asked staff to return with more information at the next meeting: complete and reconciled fiscal impact figures, a list of specific candidate shelter locations and their ownership status, structural assessments for each candidate shelter (to identify required improvements), a maintenance plan and cost estimate, and an outline of the proposed public‑education signage and consultant scope for data collection.

For now, the pilot remains under study; the committee did not change the ordinance text or adopt a budget. Staff said they would coordinate with procurement and the sponsor to provide the requested documentation before the next meeting.