We love a good fight -- and downtown Annapolis seems destined to have one. A self-described business-friendly Historic District Association has been formed to challenge the intransigence of the decades-old Ward One Residents Association. "Consider this the opening shot of a civil war downtown between two formal groups who claim to represent the interests of historic downtown residents," Alderman Carl O. Snowden says.
We welcome the new organization and hope it will develop a voice as distinctive as the Ward One group. Surely, room exists for views that differ from the Ward Oners, whose members sometimes seem to have trouble separating their own backyard interests from those of greater Annapolis.
Carl Patty, who has lived in the city for three years, is a prime mover behind the new Historic District Association. He wants it to be more supportive of restaurateurs and the tourist industry, the state capital's economic bread-and-butter. "The Ward One Residents Association has some people entrenched in there for a long time and they're of a one-track mind against development," argued the former Oklahoma farmer who came to Annapolis to visit his sister, liked the town and stayed.
Tom Davies, who leads the Ward One group, is suspicious of the rival organization's motives. "What's their agenda? Are they forming this group just to attack the Ward One Residents Association?"
If the new Historic District Association hopes to gain a foothold, it must refrain from strident verbal assaults and instead help solidify an alternative vision for the downtown. Several recent squabbles -- ranging from bar-closing hours to the proposed widening of Main Street -- suggest Maryland's capital could use some new ideas on that score.
The thing that makes us squirm a bit about this fledgling group is its intent to make historic architectural review "more reasonable." That sounds innocent enough, but Mr. Patty and his supporters must remember that the aesthetics that attracted them to Annapolis didn't evolve spontaneously; they're the result of great political fortitude and vision. In fact, what riles some people about the Ward One association is when it cloaks NIMBYism behind the facade of preservation concerns.
The last thing Annapolis needs is two divisive residents' groups clawing one another. But if the fledgling organization inspires a broader activism and interest in planning the historic district's future, its contributions will be worthwhile.