BALTIMORE — The Baltimore City Council is considering several bills that could change housing in the city, with some neighborhoods expressing concerns about potential impacts on homeownership.
WATCH: Baltimore housing bills spark conversation over affordable housing options in city
The Planning Commission meeting on Thursday was packed with residents eager to hear about proposed bills, including several that are part of the city's Housing Options and Opportunity Package.
This collection of bills has support from the mayor and several city council members, including District 11's Councilman Zac Blanchard.
"So we want to see homeownership that is more attainable. We want to see rent that is more affordable. We want to reduce our homelessness crisis in the city. We want to reduce our vacant housing crisis in the city," Blanchard said.
One key change would allow single-family dwellings to be reconstructed for multi-family use or apartment-style housing, which has raised concerns among some Bolton Hill residents.
"But it's when you get into the 3 and 4 units, it's more likely to be an absentee landlord. Um, we find that things that typically aren't kept, kept up as well. There can be problems right now in the neighborhood; we have more than a dozen of what we identified as problem properties, all of which are associated with absentee landlords," said Doug Kelso, a board member of the Bolton Hill Community Association.
Kelso, who serves on the neighborhood's Zoning and Planning Committee, says residents don't disagree with the purpose of the bills but worry builders and landlords could find loopholes and take advantage of them.
Blanchard argues the city needs these housing changes to reduce vacancies and increase the city's population and believes homeowners won't be affected as much as they fear.
"I'll say, look at the cities that have gotten rid of exclusionary zoning, which is what we're trying to do, getting rid of exclusionary zoning, and what impact has that had on homeownership? It's basically nothing," Blanchard said.
Another bill sponsored by Blanchard would eliminate city parking mandates, meaning developers wouldn't be required to provide minimum off-street parking for new developments.
With limited city parking already an issue, neighbors believe an increase in housing options should come with more parking access.
"We don't object to the basic goals that Councilman Blanchard has; we just don't know that this is the right way to go about it," Kelso said.
The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for August 28.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
