Annapolis Welcome Center Clears Legal Hurdle As City Dock Project Advances

ANNAPOLIS, MD — It's full steam ahead for the Maritime Welcome Center at the Annapolis City Dock after its approval process was found legally sound by the Appellate Court of Maryland.

The court's decision affirmed a September 2025 ruling by the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, which determined the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission followed applicable zoning laws and historic preservation guidelines when signing off on the welcome center.

Weighing in on the decision, city attorney Anthony Kupersmith said in a statement that the ruling confirms HPC's decision "was objective and legally sound in its review."

"The Court’s decision validates HPC’s careful application of development standards and guidelines," Kupersmith said.

"Our work to be responsible stewards of the historic district requires adhering to a fair and legal process. I’m grateful for our legal team’s work to confirm those standards were fully met."

The legal challenge filed by the nonprofit Historic Annapolis centered around whether the Maritime Welcome Center should be classified as an independent structure or an addition.

The center, which makes up one part of Annapolis' flood prevention efforts, will be connected to the historic Burtis House through a glass hyphen.

"We respect the Court’s decision, and we are grateful to the Appellate Court for its careful and thorough review of the full record," Ann Covington, chair of the Board of Trustees of Historic Annapolis, said in a release.

"When a commissioner acknowledges on the record that a private applicant might be treated differently, the public deserves to have that question reviewed. The court confirmed that this was a fairly debatable issue, and that the Commission had the discretion to decide it either way. That is exactly why these decisions matter, and why public advocacy at every stage of the process matters."

Related:

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• Annapolis Gallery To Close Over City Dock Headaches

The latest challenge was one of several pushbacks connected to the costly City Dock project, which has served as the root cause for many business headaches in the downtown area.

To date, several storefronts, such as Bitty & Beau's and the Annapolis Marine Art Gallery, cited City Dock construction in their decision to close.

A partial City Dock opening is expected in July 2027, with completion by 2028.