A group of bills intended to increase housing density was advanced by the Baltimore City Council Monday despite concerns raised by several members of the council that the legislation would chase Black residents from the city.
The bills, which would allow people to build closer to their property lines and do away with requirements for off-street parking, were approved by the council on second reader — the first vote by the full council since the bills were considered in committee.
One additional vote will be required by the council at a future meeting to pass the legislation. The group meets again next week.
The council also gave final approval Monday to a bill that would eliminate a requirement for new buildings between four and six stories to have more than one stairway. That bill will head to Mayor Brandon Scott for his consideration.
All of the legislation is part of a package introduced by various council members but spearheaded by Councilman Ryan Dorsey that aims to increase Baltimore’s population by making development less restrictive. The bill package, which has the blessing of Scott, comes as the city undertakes a massive $3 billion effort to turn the tide on its thousands of vacant homes.
When the legislation was introduced in May, Dorsey said he hoped the new regulations could reverse some of the damage Baltimore has suffered from decades of overly constrictive — and racist — housing policies.
But it was concerns for the city’s longtime Black residents that drove much of the opposition to the legislation Monday. Councilman James Torrence, who represents a swath of West Baltimore, said the bills would usher in unfavorable development including methadone clinics into majority Black and brown neighborhoods.
Torrence also warned that the legislation would risk gentrifying Baltimore, pointing to New York City and Washington, D.C., as cautionary tales.
“We have no guardrails in place,” Torrence said. “When Black people leave this city, I want to make sure on this council record that I told you so.”
Torrence found an unlikely ally in his objection to the bills in Councilman Mark Conway. Last week, the two sparred publicly after Conway announced a bid for Congress in Torrence’s district. Torrence called Conway a “grifter.”
Conway said Monday the legislation puts the cart before the horse. The city should strengthen public transportation before taking away parking options, he said.
“In order to do this the right way, we need to be talking about a way to improve transit to make it more reliable, more robust,” he said.
Torrence introduced several amendments to the parking bill to add requirements for affordable housing and to allow exceptions. Just five of the 14 council members present voted in favor of the amendments.
Ultimately, the council voted 8-6 to advance the parking bill. The second bill, allowing development closer to property lines, was advanced by a 9-5 vote.
Monday’s votes signal the likely success of the legislation currently under consideration. However, the City Council has yet to discuss the most controversial piece of legislation in the housing density package.
That bill, which is currently being considered by the city’s Planning Commission, 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 depend 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.
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