Proposed RV park at NSA Annapolis raises environmental concerns from area residents

More than 60 Anne Arundel County residents voiced concerns Wednesday evening about increased water runoff and diminishing habitat for wildlife that could result from a proposal to build a new recreational vehicle park at Naval Support Activity Annapolis.

Advertised as a public scoping meeting to gather input from area residents on the proposed 35-to-50-pad RV park, some anticipated a town hall format where they could openly voice comments. What they found, however, was a series of informational displays on the project and opportunities to speak with those involved. — a setup that provided information and answered questions, but still fell flat to some residents who attended.”]

The concept of a new RV park has been in the works for awhile, said Capt. Chris Schwarz, Naval Support Activity Annapolis commanding officer. A smaller 14-pad RV park currently sits on the North Severn Complex, but aging infrastructure and increased demand has spurred the need for expansion.

“Annapolis is a tourist destination; it is a place that people like to go, with the Naval Academy right here,” said Daniel Calhan, fleet and family readiness director with Naval Support Activity Annapolis. “We have several midshipmen families that will travel as a whole family in an RV to visit their mids while they’re here, go to football games during the football season and come for commencement.”

Since the pandemic, RV camping has become a popular recreational pursuit, Calhan said. There aren’t many RV parks in the area, he added, though some sites are available at Fort Meade and Solomons in Southern Maryland, as well as near Ocean City on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

A new site would add infrastructure to support modern RVs that need a stronger power supply, as well as meet the requirements of the Architectural Barriers Act, which ensures that buildings constructed with federal funding are accessible to people with disabilities. The project received congressional approval in December.

Two sites on the property will be analyzed in an environmental assessment, as well as an option to not construct a new park. Options being considered include Greenbury Point at Possum Point, a grassy field with trees located adjacent to the Mill Creek Marina, and North Severn Complex at Beach Road, a grassy clearing bordered with trees that’s adjacent to existing support buildings. Both options likely would mean some tree clearing and the addition of an acre of impervious surface, such as concrete or asphalt.

The environmental assessment is required under the National Environmental Protection Act to evaluate existing conditions and the potential impacts of a new project.

A draft assessment is expected to be available for public review this fall. If no significant impacts are found, a final draft will be published next spring, followed by a request for proposals. A start date for construction has not been confirmed. Costs for the two options were not discussed.

Mark Feffer, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who lives in Cape St. Claire, shared concerns about the proposal’s impact, particularly with fertilizers and chemicals, more traffic in the area and increased impervious surfaces.

“[I] would hate to see it mistreated,” he said.

Arnold resident Jessy Oberright runs the Greenbury Point Biodiversity Project, a citizen science effort that documents animals, plants and fungi there. Her chief concerns lie with protecting the species that call the conservation area home.

Adding more impervious surfaces to the land would impact stormwater runoff, she said, and the light and noise pollution that modern RVs bring worry her, too.

“A conservation area is supposed to be an area of safety and respite for these animals who are every day losing more and more of their habitat, like foot by foot, project by project,” she said. “And when I look at Greenbury Point as a whole … it’s being chipped away.”

Randy Rowel Jr., a resident of the nearby Mulberry Hill community who served as the first Black chairman of the Annapolis Environmental Commission, expressed frustration about the Navy’s lack of outreach to the area’s Black communities and the “inequitable” format of the meeting. Anne Arundel County Council member Lisa Rodvien, an Annapolis Democrat, said she was disappointed in the format as well, but appreciated the information shared.

Though Jesse Iliff, executive director of the Severn River Association, isn’t worried about sewage or sanitation problems arising from the RV park if constructed, the impact of more impervious surfaces on the surrounding waterways is concerning.

“More impervious surface means more runoff, and faster, hotter runoff in the summertime — or faster runoff all the time,” he said. “That’s bad for water quality.”

Oberright and Iliff both said the North Severn Complex at Beach Road option as a better alternative, pointing to its proximity to an existing building that could be renovated for a comfort station and its distance from the water.

Sue Steinbrook, an Annapolis resident and co-founder of the Save Greenbury Point conservation group, also worries about incremental developments without proper environmental assessments, but the difference in public access to officials when compared to the proposal to develop a new golf course on the land came about was apparent.

“Tonight is a really good show that Capt. Chris [Schwarz] wants to work with the community,” she said Wednesday. “Just him being here means a lot and that he wants to work with us … is a step in the right direction.”