Link Roundup

Maryland Court of Appeals votes 5-2 to overturn the most controversial part of Maryland’s antiquated ground rent law, according to the Baltimore Sun.  Hopefully this loophole won’t result in people losing their homes again, as reported a few years ago in the Sun. Here’s an older post about Baltimore’s ground rent controversy, with links to the Sun’s older articles. (Thanks to Reader Rusty for the link!)

BCFD rescued a man from his burning home Wednesday (next door to a boarded up vacant owned by HABC), thankfully there were enough personnel and equipment available.  If the City has its way, and is able to cut the fire department’s budget by $10 million, I have to wonder how many people will have longer wait times during emergencies. (Thanks to Reader Rusty for this link, too!)

Photographer Eve Morgenstern has a photo exhibit of abandoned homes in Oakland, California.  Beautiful, don’t you think?

Slums around the world — before and after.  Communities really can come together to improve the lives of the poor, in meaningful cost-effective ways.  They just don’t do it in America — the richest nation in the world.  Very odd. (Thanks to reader RMS for the link!)

Baltimore City will now collect styrofoam for recycling.  While this is better than nothing (hence all of the junk in the harbor) — we’d prefer the city implement a ban on polystyrene, as they did in Portland, Oregon.

Speaking of bans — we’d also like to see a ban, or a fee for the use of, plastic shopping bags.  If you haven’t been to DC lately — in the neighborhoods where the bag fee is enforced, the streets are incredibly clean.  No bags in the street!

The default rate for first and second mortgages increased slightly in September, according to a report issued by S&P.

A Severn title company owner was sentenced for his mortgage scams, according to the FBI.

Working paper available for download: The Impact of Vacant, Tax-Delinquent, and Foreclosed Property on Sales Prices of Neighboring Homes (From the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland).

A Letter to Mayoral Candidates

Dear Candidates,

We’ve been hearing a lot from you lately about your “plans” to lower Baltimore City’s property taxes.  But what we haven’t heard is how you plan to make up the lost revenue.  The city has no money (at least that’s what the residents are told) — so if you’re going to cut one of the few sources of revenue we have — what’s coming down the pike for those of us who pay taxes?  That money is going to have to come from somewhere — tax hikes elsewhere?  City income tax?  Extra sales tax?  Increased fees for City services?

So…here’s your chance to answer this question in a reasonably well-read public forum — send us your thoughts.

An extra question for Catherine Pugh:  I understand creating a commission to study the City’s property taxes…but what about  this man (and failed mayoral candidate) makes him remotely qualified to head such a commission?

Looking forward to hearing from you,
BSLW

Link Roundup

Milton Tillman and his son have struck a plea deal with the feds, according to the Maryland Daily Record.  Tillman Jr. is throwing himself on the sacrificial altar so his son can plead to a simple misdemeanor and serve no jail time.  You can also read more about the Tillmans here, and in the Baltimore Crime blog (scroll down to “4 Aces”).

The deadline for public comments on the draft zoning plan for Baltimore City has been extended until February 15, 2011.  You have the opportunity to shape how the city looks — make sure your voice is heard!

A group of property owners have banded together to stop the State Center development project from moving forward — with a lawsuit.

What does your neighborhood really look like?  Use this cool map to find out.

Columbus, Ohio now has a Slumlord Watch — check it out, and if you know people in Columbus, send them the link and tell them to get on board!

A Baltimore City housing inspector is in deep trouble for accepting bribes, according to Peter Hermann in the Baltimore Sun.

It’s almost the end of the year, and the time many of us make our end of the year charitable contributions.  In no particular order, we’d like to offer a few options if you’re in the mood to give:

• Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
• St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center
• Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake
• Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service
• Community Law Center

If you know of other nonprofits we should look at, please let us know!

City Amends Lawsuit Against Wells Fargo

Baltimore City has amended its lawsuit against Wells Fargo, citing property tax loss and a drain on city services like police and fire.  The suit was originally dismissed in January by Judge J. Frederick Motz, who cited the City’s criminal culture and lack of accountability as part of the vacant housing problem.

Yesterday’s Maryland Daily Record article on the lawsuit contained some strong quotes from Wells Fargo’s attorney, Andrew L. Sandler.

“The city of Baltimore has been consistently better at issuing press releases than it has been at litigating this case,” said Sander, of BuckleySandler LLP in Washington, D.C. “We expect to defeat this action as we defeated the last one.”

According to the article, the City claims that out of 163 foreclosures by Wells Fargo in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, 80 homes remain vacant.  Frankly, when you compare that number (and subsequent loss of property taxes and drain on city services) with the total number of vacant structures in Baltimore City (close to 40,000) and the number of vacant structures that are owned by the City (approximately 1/3 of all vacants in Baltimore) — the lawsuit seems less of a warning to Wells Fago, and more of a cheap ploy by the City.

We’re not seeing the logic in the lawsuit, especially when you consider the legal fees involved.  Hopefully Judge Motz will once again rule on the side of common sense.

MDE Issues Enforcement Actions Against 10 in Baltimore City

The Maryland Department of the Environment issued enforcement actions against 9 property owners in Baltimore City for lead paint violations.  A total of 47 properties were out of compliance and a total of $270,250 in fines were assessed.

• Tonya D. Horton – 2 affected properties, $45,000 for alleged violations.
• Israel Cason – 13 affected properties, $64,000 for alleged violations.
• Adedayo Babatunde – 3 affected properties, $50,000 for alleged violations.
• Daisy Realty, LLC – 11 affected properties, $40,000 for alleged violations. (Registered Agent for Daisy Realty, LLC:  Murray B. Green, 12094 Longlake Drive, Owings Mills, MD 21117)
• Sonia Kundrat and Lisa Gallagher – 2 affected properties, $7,000 for alleged violations.
• Carrie T. Williams – 3 affected properties, $37,500 for alleged violations.
• Thaiwru Britt and Dexter Hazel – 1 affected property, $15,750 for alleged violations.
• Russell O. Page – 3 affected properties, $5,000 for alleged violations.
• Diebold Hughes and Barbara Hughes – 9 affected properties, $6,000 for alleged violations.

In addition, MDE fined one lead inspector for being out of compliance with state regulations:

• James T. Blue – $25,000 for alleged violations.

You can read the entire press release here.

City To Sell Local FOP Lodge Over Tax Dispute

According to WBAL Channel 11, Baltimore City is trying to sell several properties that have overdue tax bills, including a local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 building.  According to the report, the FOP building is the subject of a water bill dispute, and FOP members are shocked at this action by Baltimore City.

In February, the city notified the union’s lawyers that they weren’t connected to that metered account. The city apologized for any inconvenience, but less than a month later, the FOP is listed in the tax sale.

Read the full story here.

Maryland Morning: Land Bank Canned, Senator Della on HB1096/SB889

You can listen to Senator Della talk about the split-rate property tax bill on today’s Maryland Morning.  We’re thrilled to have his support, and hope Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake follows Senator Della’s and the City Council’s leadership on this issue.  Baltimore City residents, you deserve better!

Listen to Senator Della’s piece here (scroll down to Senate Bill 889: Baltimore City – Property Taxes – Vacant and Uninhabitable Real Property, For:  Sen. George Della (D – Baltimore City)

Tuesday’s Maryland Morning topic was the Land Bank, and the fact that the Mayor has killed Baltimore City’s land bank bill (link opens a PDF).  This was also reported in the City Paper earlier this month.

If you listen to the Maryland Morning pieces, the theme of the day seems to be transparency, oversight, and accountability — three things that have not existed in our city’s government for quite some time.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake Opposes HB1096/SB889, Despite City Council Approval

We recently received a copy of a memo (link opens a PDF) sent to the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee from Diane Hutchins, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations for Baltimore City.  In the memo, she asks the Committee to oppose HB1096/SB889, the split-rate property tax for vacant and uninhabitable structures.  If you remember, this measure was brought before the City Council, and received unanimous support.

In her letter, Hutchins claims “The Housing Code Enforcement (HCE division of Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development is now poised to dramatically and quantifiably increase its capacity to compel redevelopment of blighting [sic] properties.”  We’d certainly like to know what changed from a week ago…a month ago…a year ago — why is it only now that the City claims to have the capacity to deal with the problem of vacant blighted homes?  And does the City really have this ability, or is the City feeling the pressure from the scrutiny we and other groups have brought to this issue?

Folks, the bottom line is that we need this tax.  We need to send a very clear message to slumlords that there are consequences to leaving their properties to rot while the rest of us have to deal with the mess they leave behind.  Some of these slumlords have been doing business in Baltimore for well over 20 years — and the City is suddenly ready to address the issue?  We’re not sold.

Email Diane Hutchins and let her know that we need this bill!  Taxpaying law-abiding property owners should not have to pay the same property tax as someone who is constantly being hauled into Housing Court for violation after violation.  diane.hutchins@baltimorecity.gov .

Update on the Tax Credit

Just received an email from reader PPNA Matt — according to Jim Kraft’s office, the tax credit amnesty period goes back to October 1, 2004 (90-day eligibility period prior to 1/1/05) .  We did receive a couple of emails about the amnesty date, so hopefully that will clarify things.

8 N. Ellwood Avenue: The Saga

We received an email from one of the neighbors who has been watching 8 N. Ellwood Avenue go from bad to worse, and thought it would be interesting to share this with our readers, as we think there are several lessons to be learned from this.

When I moved to this block in July 2005, the house was relatively quiet. A middle-aged man, James Sidebottom, was living there at the time. He seemed friendly enough until around early 2007 when several prostitutes and their drug-dealing pimps moved into the property. The situation got worse around Memorial Day of 2007 when they were constantly hanging outside the property during the wee hours of the night. One of the most interesting conversations that my wife and I heard at this property was when a hooker shouted out at 7AM one morning, “F**k you bitch! Everyone knows that I give the best p***y on this block!” The police knew that the situation was bad enough that they ended up raiding the house on two occasions in August and October 2007. The second raid resulted in the arrests of Mr. Sidebottom and a prostitute, Ayanna Murray for CDS possession. Sidebottom was given 2 years probation, but the charges against Ms. Murray were dropped.

After the raid I began working with the state’s attorney’s office for housing code enforcement to have a drug nuisance suit filed. After a few months of trying to get the police to send their raid paperwork to the SA’s office, we were finally able to get the tenants evicted in February 2008. I spoke with the owner, David Rotz, a few weeks after the eviction (while he was securing the property). He basically said that the tenants had done so much damage to the property that there was no way that he could afford to fix it. Before the raid occurred, I learned that Sidebottom was not paying his rent, yet the Rotzes would not evict him or the other illegal tenants because they feared retribution.

James Sidebottom had several drug arrests dating back to 1988, but was relatively clean between 1999 and 2007. As I mentioned before, he was friendly until the time that the hookers moved in. My theory is that he fell off the wagon sometime in 2006 or 2007, and his supplier made a deal with him to give him drugs in exchange for agreeing to let the hookers live at the property.

The most glaring problem here is with the enforcement of our laws. A landlord wants to get his tenant out, but can’t do it because of fear? What does this say about the legal system in Baltimore City? Charges are dropped, probation is handed out like candy on Halloween, and in the meantime — the neighbors are stuck with a nuisance house. Where’s the justice for the decent people who live on this block? While we commend this neighbor for getting involved, it shouldn’t have to require half the neighborhood and countless emails and phone calls to get our State’s Attorneys to indict and convict our criminal element. We have nuisance property laws on the books — hold your elected officials accountable! (Yes, the position of State’s Attorney is an elected position.)

As for the property owner, this home has been vacant for over a year, and it’s creating yet another nuisance (and eyesore) for the surrounding neighbors. This is only one of many stories we hear about speculative investors who move into a neighborhood and then can’t (or won’t) fulfill their obligation to the community, with regard to safety and quality of life issues. With little or no restriction, this story is repeated over and over again, in neighborhoods across Baltimore. We hope the City takes this home away from Mr. Rotz and hands it over to someone who actually wants to be part of this thriving neighborhood and will fix up the house to live in.