Letter to Editor: The Proposed Hotel/Restaurant Development at 98 Cannon Has Some Issues

While we are excited to learn about the preliminary plans of Urgo Hotels and Resorts for a much-needed new riverfront restaurant at 98 Cannon Street, we have questions and reservations about a concept proposal that includes a 42-room hotel in that small, environmentally sensitive and historic location adjacent to the Chestertown Marina.

We believe there are many issues that need to be identified early in the project review process and raised with the Chestertown officials and commissions that will be called upon to make important decisions.  These issues include previous legal and financial commitments, zoning, traffic and parking, and environmental restrictions that were imposed when the town acquired and upgraded the Marina. Following are our major questions and recommendations. We urge the town bodies with the relevant jurisdictions and expertise to address these matters in a timely and appropriate manner.

• Are there any financial or other obligations that Chestertown must observe with respect to the Marina bond and other funding agencies and sources that would be impacted by the proposed hotel plan?

Five Maryland and Federal government agencies and multiple private entities provided grants and loans for the purchase and improvement of the Marina property.  These funds totaled approximately $6 million and were intended to provide public access, use, and enjoyment of the Marina and waterfront facilities.  

Private funding of the Marina by individuals was provided to preserve the ambiance, utility, and historic purposes of the Port of Chestertown for maritime and related activity.  This understanding imposes important moral commitments on the town.  

We recommend a legal review of the funding, lending, and shared parking easement and covenant documents to determine if the proposed hotel plan in effect transfers exclusive use of the town’s land to the new owner, or in any other way interferes with the intended public access to the Marina and waterfront. 

2)  Does the Commercial Marine (CM) zoning designation disallow the hotel plan, and if so, is a variance required?

The zoning regulations embodied in paragraph 170-44 of the Zoning Ordinance dated February 13, 2012 state the following for the Commercial Marine District in which this property is located. 

“The purpose of the Commercial Marine District is to preserve waterfront land for traditional maritime activities, public access, boating and the inherent economic, cultural and historic contributions of these waterfront activities. . . . A significant objective of the district is to provide a mixed-use but primarily maritime environment that is harmonious in massing, height, and scale with the Historic District, and sympathetic to adjacent uses. In general, the district is intended for less intensive commercial marine activities related to tourism, vacationers, commercial or sport fishing, pleasure boating, and other maritime-oriented uses. Development in the Commercial Marine District is further constrained by the regulations governing the Historic District, laws pertaining to the hundred-year flood plain and Critical Areas, and stormwater requirements.”

The zoning ordinance lists eleven permitted uses for the CM district. Restaurants are listed as a permitted use, but hotels and inns are not. It appears, then, that a zoning variance would have to be granted before any plans for developing a 42-unit hotel could proceed.

We recommend a review of the uses of the waterfront that the funders of the Marina understood would remain in place.

We also recommend a review of the Commercial Marine zoning ordinance and its intentions and a determination of whether a zoning variance is required.

• Are there negative impacts on operations or access to the Marina, or on local residents, caused by the hotel plan?

Eliminating one of the entries off of Cannon Street, as has been suggested, would have a major negative impact on Marina operations since it would require using only the entry off of Front Street. Boat trailers, fuel trucks, and other large delivery vehicles would be forced to make several tight turns on a narrow street to gain access to the Marina and its ramp and to the fuel tank.  

The additional traffic flow and parking pressure on Front Street homes will be another significant problem. Only 45 parking places are shown in the hotel plan. This number appears to be insufficient to meet statutory parking requirements of approximately 76 for the combined hotel and restaurant patrons and staff. Even the 45 parking slots shown in the plan will essentially cede to the hotel/restaurant the use of all the town-owned parking plus the shared parking easement that was intended to serve both the Marina and the existing restaurant.  

It has been suggested that the narrow Front Street could be made one-way to relieve potential congestion. All Marina traffic would then have to use Queen Street to either enter or exit the Marina, putting additional stress on that street. Major events at the Marina and/or at Wilmer Park will exacerbate the parking and traffic problems. 

The owners of homes along Front Street will possibly be affected financially. A three-and-a half-story structure will dominate views of the waterfront area.  This change, combined with the parking situation, may diminish property values. 

We recommend a thorough analysis of the traffic management and parking issues to determine if they are manageable.  Impacts on pedestrian and bike access to the waterfront trail, Wilmer Park, and the connectivity of Washington College facilities to downtown should be included in this analysis.

We also recommend a cost/benefit analysis of the hotel project’s overall economic benefit to the Town, to include the Town’s added capital infrastructure and maintenance costs and the negative effects of this potential property devaluation.  

4) Are there any environmental implications of the hotel plan, and would DNR, MDE, or Critical Area regulations be imposed?

The land where the hotel will be sited is not stable. Without structural improvements, the added mass of the new three-story hotel immediately adjacent to the river could accelerate the sinking that is already occurring (an estimated 6-12 inches since 2019).  Stabilizing the new restaurant and hotel will very likely be an expensive operation requiring numerous 100-foot screw pilings.

The increased footprint of the hotel building may add to the area of impervious ground cover on the site and may impact stormwater management. 

Significant flooding on the Marina site has occurred as a result of natural tidal and wind phenomena, and the flooding is projected to occur more frequently in the future.  On-grade parking closer to the river could increase oil pollution to the river due to storm-water and flood-water run-off.  

We recommend an environmental regulatory review to determine whether an environmental impact assessment will be required and whether Maryland State agencies can be satisfied.

Wendy Culp
Aubrey Sarvis
Chris Havemeyer
Matthew Tobriner
Lucy Maddox