City of Baltimore - File #: 09-0182R

• File #: 09-0182R
• Version: 0
• Name: Request for State Legislation - Split-Level Property Tax Rate
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 12/10/2009
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 12/10/2009
• Title: Request for State Legislation - Split-Level Property Tax Rate FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore City House and Senate Delegations to the 2010 Maryland General Assembly and the Governor of Maryland to introduce and ensure passage of local legislation to enable the City of Baltimore to establish a split-level property tax rate wherein vacant, nonoccupiable or uninhabitable properties would be taxed at a higher rate than occupiable or habitable properties.
• Sponsors: James B. Kraft, Bill Henry, Sharon Green Middleton, Warren Branch, President Young, Rochelle Spector, Mary Pat Clarke, Belinda Conaway, Robert Curran, Helen L. Holton, Edward Reisinger
• Indexes: Resolution

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
12/10/2009	0	City Council	Introduced
12/10/2009	0	City Council	Advanced to 2nd Reader on same day
12/10/2009	0	City Council	Adopted

* 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 Kraft
At the request of: Matt Gonter, Patterson Park Neighborhood Association
Address: P.O. Box 12293, Baltimore, MD 21281


A RESOLUTION ENTITLED

A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Request for State Legislation - Split-Level Property Tax Rate

FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore City House and Senate Delegations to the 2010 Maryland General Assembly and the Governor of Maryland to introduce and ensure passage of local legislation to enable the City of Baltimore to establish a split-level property tax rate wherein vacant, nonoccupiable or uninhabitable properties would be taxed at a higher rate than occupiable or habitable properties.
body
WHEREAS, Vacant properties have negative impact on the safety, value, and quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, A study in Austin, Texas found that “blocks with unsecured [vacant] buildings had 3.2 times as many drug calls to police, 1.8 times as many theft calls, and twice the number of violent calls” as blocks without vacant buildings (William Spelman, “Abandoned Buildings: Magnets for Crime?” Journal of Criminal Justice, 1993); and

WHEREAS, Researchers found that, in Philadelphia, “all else being equal, houses on blocks with abandonment sold for $6,715 less than houses on blocks with no abandonment” (“Blight Free Philadelphia: A Public-Private Strategy to Create and Enhance N...