Baltimore agrees to ‘historic’ funding of affordable housing
"This is an agreement that came from the power of the residents on the ground," said
"This isn't an agreement that was made by a wealthy developer coming in or the city making behind closed doors, said Watford, 23, who works with a group trying to get more affordable housing in the
The agreement calls for excise taxes on the transfer and the recording taxes on real estate sales exceeding
Pugh, who had been under fire for lending her support but not money to the trust, called the agreement a "historic commitment."
"Affordable housing, sustainable communities, and successful development are central to our work to move
A building industry group criticized the new excise taxes, saying city officials failed to fully consider the cost they would add to developers, business owners and residents.
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"Importantly, there has been no diligence about the financial and reputational effect this will have."
Greenfeld said city officials should have waited at least until a public hearing could be held -- the
The agreement was finalized Friday afternoon. Some of its terms will be incorporated as an amendment to a bill that was introduced by City Councilman
"I think this is going to be a wonderful, wonderful undertaking," Young said. "We're going to make sure money will go to neighborhoods that have not had any development in years, and have been forgotten."
In addition to the new excise taxes, the agreement calls for Pugh to allocate additional funds to the trust on a sliding and increasing scale. She previously allocated
While details remain to be worked out, the agreement calls for funds to be used to prevent evictions, rehabilitate vacant properties and support community land trusts, which allow for neighborhood groups to purchase, renovate and maintain housing and other amenities.
The agreement came after much pressure from a coalition of activists who were increasingly impatient that the housing trust, which voters approved as a charter amendment in
They said they had gathered more than the 10,000 signatures needed to get another charter amendment before voters this November that would have required the city to devote a nickel of every
Faced with such a measure -- and a history of voters generally approving such ballot questions -- city officials negotiated with activists on a way to fund the trust. As a part of Friday's deal, the activists agreed to drop the effort to get the measure on November's ballot.
A couple dozen activists staged an event in the
Speakers said the city provides generous tax breaks to developers who build housing that most residents can't afford.
"The affordable housing is nowhere to be found when the rebuilding is done," said
"Find the affordable housing in the
The event also highlighted the work of community land trusts, an increasingly popular model in many cities to give residents more control over what is built in their neighborhoods.
The activists gathered outside
Hunt said money from the affordable housing trust could help them rehabilitate the
Hunt is a board member of Charm City Land Trusts.
"CCLT's vision is to have ... a neighborhood that provides housing affordable to the people who have anchored this community for decades," she said.
The Charm City trust previously took 19 vacant lots nearby and created the
Rather than write epitaphs for such communities, he said, residents need to fight for their survival.
"This is a war. It is a war for the very soul of our city and the values that we hold dear," he said. "We must be ever ready to defend it."
Bullock, the councilman, said housing problems are linked to other problems in the city.
"Vacancies, blight -- you look at the crime that happens around them," he said. "It's all interrelated."
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