The Baltimore County Council on Monday night passed legislation to tax vacant structures and direct the revenue to funds that help find housing and fix up vacant buildings.

The law will take effect July 25.

Baltimore County has about 500 structures that are registered with the county as vacant, and 31 that are deemed unfit for habitation or other authorized use. The measure allows the county to tax such properties at a rate of $10 per $100 of assessed value. One-half of the revenue will go to the Neglected Property Community Fund, which the law is establishing, and the other half will go to the Housing Opportunities Fund to help residents find affordable housing. Based on those 31 properties, the county estimates it will collect $700,272 when it begins to assess properties after the bill takes effect, according to the fiscal note provided to the County Council.

Pete Gutwald, director of permits, approvals and inspections for Baltimore County, said the number of uninhabitable buildings had already risen to 51 between the time he prepared his testimony and the time he delivered it last week at the council’s work session.

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An abandoned building on Back River Neck Road in Essex sat vacant for years before Baltimore County finally tore it down. A new law would let the county tax vacant structures in hopes of getting owners to make repairs more promptly. (Wesley Lapointe/The Baltimore Banner)

“That funding allows us to go ahead and do the repairs or raze the building, and the other half will go to housing opportunities,” Gutwald said.

Like many other jurisdictions, Baltimore County struggles to remove vacant properties or penalize the owners because judges are often giving extensions and owners file suit to delay teardowns.

Recognizing the problem, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 2 this year to let local governments establish a sub-class and set a special rate for vacant and abandoned property. Baltimore County has been working on such a structure for months.

Kevin McDonough, president of the Rockaway Beach Improvement Association in Essex, wrote the council to support the new tax. McDonough, along with Sussex Community Association President Leah Biddinger, has taken up the cause of identifying vacant properties, reporting them and staying on the county to make sure they’re removed.

“While generally speaking, we never advocate for new taxes — we believe this tax is appropriate, warranted and in the best interest of our citizens and community,” he said. “It will ensure owners of derelict properties pay their fair share to offset the negative impact that their neglected properties have on our communities. Additionally, it will provide incentive for owners to not allow properties to sit vacant and derelict.”

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Kevin McDonough, president of the Rockaway Beach Improvement Association, inspects an abandoned residential property that has been occupied by squatters at times. He hopes the new vacant structures tax will encourage owners to take better care of their properties. (Wesley Lapointe/The Baltimore Banner)

Baltimore County Code Enforcement Chief Adam Whitlock’s department includes 25 inspectors. Whitlock understands community frustrations over longtime derelict properties. Enforcement has largely been about bringing properties back into compliance and not about imposing penalties for past violations, a policy that infuriates community activists.

Last January, the administration of County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. announced a new law to create a process for identifying vacant structures and tearing them down. That, Whitlock said, coupled with the tax, should cut down on vacant properties. Baltimore County has a shortage of affordable housing, and the ability to turn vacant properties into habitable ones should help alleviate that, too, county officials have said.