Save Annapolis Coalition Summarized in YouTube Video

An influential group of business leaders and residents have created a YouTube video to draw interest in their coalition.

The Save Annapolis Coalition's latest campaign, set to booming instrumental music, lays out the views of several of its key members—including former Annapolis  Mayor Ellen Moyer and historian Jane McWilliams.

"The long-term economic prospect for this city really is in historic preservation and the maritime industry," Moyer said at the start of the video.

"It feels like home for people from all over the globe. If you remanufacture this, make it look like something that it's not, you're going to lose that," said downtown shop owner Jeff Schaub.

The coalition has said it wants a more comprehensive master plan for the City Dock area of downtown Annapolis before any changes are made. It also wants a more in-depth plan for parking. In an eight-hour City Council public hearing on proposed changes to City Dock, coalition members came out in force, testifying well past midnight.

The group became mired in controversy after a developer who intended to redevelop the former Fawcett Boating Supply store downtown into a retail shop pulled his plans, citing opposition from downtown residents like the coalition.

Annapolis Mayor Josh Cohen has spoken against the coalition in the past, calling it "the No Club," in a July 18 editorial for The Baltimore Sun. He met with the group in June shortly after the Fawcett site developer walked away from his plans. But judging from the July 25 public hearing, opposition to City Dock renovation plans still seems strong among coalition members.