* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Holton
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - Vacants to Value Initiative
FOR the purpose of inviting representatives from the Department of Housing and Community Development to appear before the Council to discuss the Vacants to Value initiative, and to establish reporting mechanisms that will allow the City Council, and the public at large, to track and monitor the effectiveness of Vacants to Value at meeting its goals.
body
Recitals
The "Vacants to Value" initiative, Baltimore Housing's new approach to the longstanding problem of vacant properties in the City, is intended to meet a number of ambitious goals for neighborhood improvement. In order to attain these goals, it will need to approach old issues in a new way; and rally the support of many different stakeholders throughout the City.
Neighborhood groups, developers, City agencies, and many others must have a full understanding of how Vacants to Value is intended to operate, and what its specific goals are, if it is to have any hope of succeeding.
In order to foster this understanding, the public should be given a full explanation of how the multi-pronged Vacants to Value effort differs from past approaches to the problems caused by vacant properties. As part of this explanation, details about how small local developers can participate in the rehabilitation of individual homes, or whole blocks, under different programs within the Vacants to Value effort should be discussed. Exactly how neighborhoods suffering from high vacancy rates can take advantage of any new tools to improve their situation included within Vacants to Value should also be made clear.
Although the Administration has taken steps to publicize this new initiative, no opportunity to further engage the public in the effort to address Baltimore's vacant property problems, and to ensure that any new approach is truly aligned with the City's needs, should be overlooked. A full public hearing before the City Council would provide another opportunity for both the public at large and the public's representatives on the Council to further educate themselves about Vacants to Value. It would allow for valuable feedback from the communities most affected by these problems to be heard. The stage could also be set for equally valuable follow up conversations between policy makers, affected citizens, and those directly implementing new programs as the Vacants to Value initiative proceeds.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Council invites representatives from the Department of Housing and Community Development to appear before it to discuss the Vacants to Value initiative, and to establish reporting mechanisms that will allow the City Council, and the public at large, to track and monitor the effectiveness of Vacants to Value at meeting its goals.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Housing Commissioner, the Mayor, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
dlr 11-2353~intro/24Feb11
ccres/VVHearing/tw
dlr 11-2353~intro/24Feb11
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