Upcoming Housing Hearings Sept 17th

23-0363 Land Bank Authority will be heard Sept 17th at 10am. This bill creates a Land Bank to assist with acquisition and disposition of Baltimore’s vacant and abandoned properties. It is a tool used across the US and we want to bring it to Baltimore. In the coming days I’ll post more information about the Land Bank and the capacity it adds to DHCD and others to help acquire and dispose of vacant properties and vacant lots. Keep in mind we have over 13,000 documented vacant and abandoned properties and 20,000 vacant lots. Baltimore City owns only less than 1,000 of the vacant properties and about 1/2 of the vacant lots. We have amendments to the bill to make it stronger, more transparent, and efficient. In order to participate, you can sign up to testify here.

I will post further details on this link as we get ready for the hearing.

21-0077R Informational hearing on the Landlord licensing law. This is a chance for residents to talk about the challenges with landlords, and landlords to talk about the challenges with the current licensing system. You can testify here.