On November 3, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott signed four groundbreaking housing bills into law, marking a significant step toward addressing some of the city’s most entrenched issues.
Despite claims of being “controversial,” these necessary reforms are now serving as a powerful signal that the city is committed to growth and progress.
Clearing the Way for Availability and Affordability
The new housing laws are intended to address Baltimore’s long-term population decline by focusing on increasing the availability, affordability, and density of housing within the city.
The city has experienced a massive population loss over decades, dropping from nearly 950,000 residents in 1950 to around 568,000 as of 2024. Supporters of the four bills believe these measures will start to address this entrenched issue by facilitating development and making housing more accessible.
The central mechanism for addressing population loss involves removing bureaucratic hurdles to make construction and redevelopment easier for “regular people”. The specific changes enacted aim to streamline housing development by:
- Removing requirements for off-street parking.
- Allowing construction closer to the edges of property lines.
- Eliminating the requirement that new buildings between four and six stories must have more than one stairwell.
A Triumph for Forward-Thinking Policy
These changes are championed as the “panacea” to bureaucratic gridlock. As Council President Zeke Cohen stated, the focus is on “how do we make it easier to build in Baltimore for regular people so that we can have the renaissance we want?”
While officials acknowledge that making major policy shifts requires “tough” decisions, the overarching message is one of necessity and momentum. Regardless of the majority size, as Councilman Dorsey noted, the city is dedicated to moving forward.
This is the path Baltimore is on—one dedicated to economic expansion and ensuring a more affordable, more available housing stock for everyone. Will other Maryland localities – or the state legislature – now follow suit?
Read more at the Baltimore Banner Scott signs controversial Baltimore housing laws to spur growth – The Baltimore Banner and WMAR-2: Addressing affordability crisis from the ground up