> A package of five bills will attempt to make it easier to build and redevelop city properties
>Baltimore leaders introduced a package of bills Monday aimed at making homes easier to build and rehabilitate as the city undertakes an ambitious effort to turn the tide on its thousands of vacant homes.
>The legislation, engineered by several members of the City Council and endorsed by Mayor Brandon Scott, would roll back restrictions on development density, allow people to build closer to their property lines, and do away with requirements for off-street parking if approved.
>Unveiled at a joint news conference in the City Hall rotunda, Councilman Ryan Dorsey, the driving force behind the legislation, said the bills would help the city grow its population and reverse some of the damage from decades of overly constrictive — and racist — housing policies.
>“Nothing stands more clearly in our way than our own laws of prohibition and division,” Dorsey, a third-term Northeast Baltimore Democrat, said. “The bills being introduced today are the first, modest step to correcting course.”
> The most sweeping bill proposed Monday would allow multifamily housing of two to four units in city residential districts that currently only allow single-family living. The number of units would be dependent on the square footage of available living space in a building — 1,500 square feet would limit a developer to two units, while 3,000 square feet could be divided into up to four.
>A separate bill introduced by Dorsey would remove a requirement within city building code that structures over three stories must have two internal staircases and a passageway that connects them.
> Eliminating both rules would allow for more units and make it easier for builders to finance rehabilitation projects, officials said.
>“Baltimore is ready to build smarter, fairer and we’re cutting the red tape,” Scott said, “helping to bring our zoning and building code into the 21st Century and putting the needs of our residents first.”
> Another bill, introduced by Councilman Zac Blanchard, would remove a requirement for off-street parking. Dorsey pointed to parking requirements for small vacant lots in the city’s dense Mount Vernon neighborhoods. Such requirements make development of the lots difficult, he said, and potentially more expensive. And the current requirements frequently aren’t enforced.
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> A package of five bills will attempt to make it easier to build and redevelop city properties
>Baltimore leaders introduced a package of bills Monday aimed at making homes easier to build and rehabilitate as the city undertakes an ambitious effort to turn the tide on its thousands of vacant homes.
>The legislation, engineered by several members of the City Council and endorsed by Mayor Brandon Scott, would roll back restrictions on development density, allow people to build closer to their property lines, and do away with requirements for off-street parking if approved.
>Unveiled at a joint news conference in the City Hall rotunda, Councilman Ryan Dorsey, the driving force behind the legislation, said the bills would help the city grow its population and reverse some of the damage from decades of overly constrictive — and racist — housing policies.
>“Nothing stands more clearly in our way than our own laws of prohibition and division,” Dorsey, a third-term Northeast Baltimore Democrat, said. “The bills being introduced today are the first, modest step to correcting course.”
> The most sweeping bill proposed Monday would allow multifamily housing of two to four units in city residential districts that currently only allow single-family living. The number of units would be dependent on the square footage of available living space in a building — 1,500 square feet would limit a developer to two units, while 3,000 square feet could be divided into up to four.
>A separate bill introduced by Dorsey would remove a requirement within city building code that structures over three stories must have two internal staircases and a passageway that connects them.
> Eliminating both rules would allow for more units and make it easier for builders to finance rehabilitation projects, officials said.
>“Baltimore is ready to build smarter, fairer and we’re cutting the red tape,” Scott said, “helping to bring our zoning and building code into the 21st Century and putting the needs of our residents first.”
> Another bill, introduced by Councilman Zac Blanchard, would remove a requirement for off-street parking. Dorsey pointed to parking requirements for small vacant lots in the city’s dense Mount Vernon neighborhoods. Such requirements make development of the lots difficult, he said, and potentially more expensive. And the current requirements frequently aren’t enforced.
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