The Anne Arundel County Council maintains existing lower density residential zoning in the areas of Annapolis, Arnold

The Anne Arundel County Council recently voted to maintain existing zoning for nearly a dozen properties in north Annapolis, disappointing a group of Black landowners who say they want to divide their land among their relatives.

As part of the county’s comprehensive zoning review for Region 4, which includes Severna Park, Pasadena, Arnold, Cape St. Claire and Gibson Island, Council heard from dozens of residents. The review is part of a once-a-decade rezoning for each of the province’s nine planning regions, which are distinct from Council districts.

Councilwoman Amanda Fiedler, a Republican who represented Arnold, proposed maintaining the existing lower-density residential development for nearly a dozen properties on Shot Town Road in Annapolis at the June 17 meeting.

Although longtime Black landowners who want to share their land with their families have spoken in favor of increasing housing density, the Council voted 4-3 to maintain the current zoning, with Council members Allison Pickard, Lisa Rodvien and Julie Hummer voted against.

Located in a small wooded residential neighborhood along Route 50 in Annapolis, most of Shot Town Road’s properties are currently zoned for low-density housing, often called RLD, which allows for one home per five acres. The county proposed upgrading these parcels to allow for one home per acre, or R1 zoning. However, not all property owners have requested a change.

Three of the properties have multiple zoning classifications: two include lower density residential, while a third is zoned for low-to-medium density housing with open space.

While some Shot Town Road residents expressed a preference to keep the zoning as it is, striking a balance between preserving the area’s natural resources and existing land use, some Black residents wanted changes that would allow more than one home per hectares possible.

For Keisha Ricks, Shot Town Road is all she knows. Her family has owned land there for generations, dating back to the 19th century.

“My grandmother left it to us as a family complex, where we remain today,” she said.

When Ricks’ grandmother subdivided the land, it was zoned for one house per acre. The zoning changed to lower density in 1989, which Ricks said “severely hampered” the family’s ability to develop on their own property, prompting her to request a reclassification.

“Building one or two houses next to what we have is not a problem – we can’t build a community, we can’t build a city,” she said. “We are just asking for additional lots so that we can continue our legacy of being on our property.”

Mary Daniels, who also lives on Shot Town Road, said the lower-density zoning was limited to the Black families who have called it home for generations.

“When my new neighbors talk about, ‘Let’s keep the RLD,’ I don’t think they think about the fact that our ancestors were on that property and it was meant to be a legacy,” she said. “And so when you limit from R1 to RLD, you’re saying, ‘No more inheritance.'”