Mayor’s Conversation Update

A report from the Mayor’s Conversation on Vacant Homes:

“You will probably not be surprised to know that the meeting last night was a bit disappointing. The heads of all the housing-related departments were there, and gave their spiels. Paul Graziano, Michael Braverman, Jackie Cornish, etc. It was interesting for a little bit, and then became excrutiatingly not-interesting. Then the public comment section started, which was of course mostly people complaining about individual problems with individual properties, at which point we left the meeting in order to save ourselves.

They were plugging the Land Bank a lot last night, which I support in principal, but am not sure about how it applies in real life. Haven’t they already had a Land Bank in St. Louis for something like 40 years? — and I’m not sure it’s produced any impressive results. I’d have to double-check that, but I think I’ve read that somewhere. And [another person] who joined me there pointed out that everyone was talking about rehabbing houses, which is good, but no one was talking about how to create a demand to get people back into those houses. Which of course, just gives you houses that look nicer but are still vacant.”

Unfortunately, this is what we expected from the meeting, although we did hope for a little more than neighbors complaining about neighbors, and the usual contingent of rehabbers who don’t seem to understand that the boom is over.  It’s wonderful to want to rehab homes, but as the person illustrated above — unless you have people to buy them, all you have are pretty vacant homes instead of ugly ones.  That doesn’t build healthy communities, nor does it help the tax base.

We’re solidly backing the Outer Harbor Initiative to help fix the “rest” of Baltimore.

Reminder: Mayor’s Neighborhood Conversation on Vacant Homes – OHI Signup for Updates

Don’t forget, the Mayor is having a meeting to discuss the problem of vacant homes in our city.  Please attend if your schedule permits, and ask questions.  This is an excellent opportunity to have your voice heard, especially if you’re a resident.

May 6, 2009
6:00pm * 8:00pm
Heritage High School on the Lake Clifton Campus, 2801 Saint Lo Drive, Baltimore, MD 21213

Also, if you would like to be kept informed about the Outer Harbor Initiative via email alerts, please sign up here.  You can also lend your support to this program, which would pave the way for homeownership by city residents.  It’s time we put the city’s resources in the hands of those who live here!

Outer Harbor Initiative Report

From a colleague who attended the hearing:

The Outer Harbor Initiative community development hearing took place Thursday, May 23 at City Hall, in front of a full council chambers. The two-hour meeting was met with a mixed reception from city officials and ended with discussions to take the initiative back to affected communities to further refine the terms of the legislation.

Councilman William Cole (11th District) sponsored the resolution. He was joined by fellow councilmembers Warren Branch, Mary Pat Clarke, James Kraft and Bill Henry. Officials from the Housing Authority testified that they supported the initiative’s goals, although had some reservations about the way the legislation in its current form might be implemented. The strongest opposition to the initiative came from Andrew Kleine, Chief of the Bureau of the Budget & Management Research, who testified that the city’s Finance Department could not justify the funding of a new initiative while other city programs were being cut in a slumping economy. Councilmembers Kraft and Henry also expressed strong concerns about how the initiative would be funded.

Mike Mitchell, director of Chesapeake Habitat for Habitat for Humanity, argued for the urgent need to take aggressive action on the 30 thousand abandoned properties in the city. He cited the success of the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor, suggesting that the same success could spread to neglected neighborhoods if the city had the resources to pursue speculators who are sitting on neglected housing stock.  In response to concerns about funding the initiative, Mitchell argued that the city would reap returns on its investment in the form of increased property tax receipts. Mitchell helped draft the Outer Harbor resolution and has been organizing supporters.

14 speakers were on hand in favor of the initiative, although not all were able to talk due to time contraints. They included a Habitat for Humanity homeowner who spoke of the benefits of homeownership, a local marketing expert who spoke about the effectiveness of promoting emerging neighborhoods via the internet, and a neighborhood activist who talked about ongoing efforts to revitalize the district around Patterson Park.

There were other questions about the initiative:  The suggested use of Tax Increment Financing for redevelopment efforts raised concerns. Councilmember Clarke repeatedly expressed worries about the intitiative interfering with community development block grant process, raising questions about a redevelopment she is supporting on Dumbarton Avenue in Pen Lucy. A number of questions were asked about which communities would be served by the initiative and how they would be identified. Councilmember Henry suggested that the name “Outer Harbor” was too restrictive, and should be changed to something more inclusive for neighborhoods across the city. Mitchell ended the hearing by calling for a broader array of neighborhood meetings to continue to discuss and refine the provisions of the proposal, using City Council and community feedback.

Updates on the initiative will be available at http://www.outerharborinitiative.com

Outer Harbor Initiative Update

A date has been set for the City Council hearing on the Outer Harbor Initiative.  Go to OHI’s website for more information, and support this important initiative!

Support Baltimore’s Outer Harbor Initiative

At first glance, we love the idea of the Outer Harbor Initiative. However, we’d like to make sure that the opportunities outlined in the initiative are strictly marketed to and are available for current Baltimore City residents.  At BLSW, we feel enough city resources (including money) and energy have been wasted on attracting out of town investors and residents from other cities.  We’re cautiously optimistic, and would like others to support it as well.

You can find information on the Outer Harbor Initiative here.