Mayor Scott unveils new plan to help tackle Baltimore City's vacant home crisis
Mayor Brandon Scott has announced a new plan that will help the city tackle its vacant housing crisis.
The plan, titled Bmore F.A.S.T. (Facilitating Approvals and Streamlining Timelines), involves a $3 billion investment. The goal is to speed up the property development process in the city, while maintaining safety standards and community input, according to the mayor.
Central to the plan is the creation of a new Director of Permitting and Development Services position within the mayor's office. The role will coordinate across agencies to eliminate bottlenecks in the development process.
"The stakes couldn't be higher," Scott said. "Our city faces both a housing crisis and commercial corridor challenges that require immediate action."
For developers, the plan includes a new e-permits platform, self-certification options for qualified professionals, simplified developer agreements for public right-of-way work, and a utility coordination program to align with major service providers.
Operational improvements include a performance management system for development services, proactive clearing of liens on city-acquired properties, and reorganizing the Office of Zoning Administrator within the Department of Planning.
In the announcement, Scott cited his administration's first-term progress, including a 16.5% reduction in vacant properties and the creation of over 9,000 affordable housing units. The reforms are designed to support the Bmore FAST plan to address 37,500 vacant properties over the next 15 years.
To execute the plan, the city is establishing the Bmore F.A.S.T. Advisory Group made up of developers, contractors, architects, and community representatives will guide implementation.
The full plan is available at the City of Baltimore website.
Baltimore works to tackle the vacant housing crisis
In December, the Baltimore City Council passed a bill to increase the property tax for vacant homes, to encourage homeowners to take better care of their property.
In December 2024, according to Councilwoman Odette Ramos, Baltimore City owns less than 1,000 vacant properties, and thousands more are falling apart or designated as uninhabitable.
As of early October 2024, only 3,600 properties qualified for the tax rate increase, though that number is expected to increase under the recently passed bill.
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