Councilman Ryan Dorsey introduced City Council bill 20-0561 on July 6, 2020.[1] This Fossil Fuel Infrastructures bill would effectively “prohibit turning parks into parking lots, stop permitting new gas stations, and stop requiring parking lots be constructed just to build housing or open new businesses.”[2] According to Dorsey, the purpose of the bill is to make Baltimore City residents less dependent on cars.

Dorsey’s bill sounds advantageous, but the devil is in the details. The measure would also end parking minimums in the city.[3] It would repeal a zoning code that requires a homeowner to demonstrate off street parking can be provided before he or she can convert the single family home into two or more apartments.[4] In practice, this requirement has helped prevent property owners from buying up houses around the city and flipping them into multiple unit properties for profit.[5] The six neighborhoods most affected are Bolton Hill, Charles Village, Greenmount West, Madison Park, Mount Vernon, and Reservoir Hill.[6]

Some community leaders from these areas have concerns about the social impact of the bill and argue it amounts to redlining.[7]  They fear that without this zoning requirement, there will be an increase in absentee landlords who unintentionally further the already rampant issues of classism and racism in Baltimore neighborhoods.[8] Not only do residents want to keep historic row homes intact and homeownership numbers up, they also want to ensure non-white, non-affluent renters have equal housing opportunities in the six neighborhoods most affected.[9]

The Parking Authority of Baltimore City also criticizes the bill claiming that without parking minimums, the already minimal parking available in neighborhoods where most residents own cars and need parking will further decrease.[10]

Proponents of the bill don’t see the underlying issues with the bill, though. A Bolton Hill resident finds the comparison of the bill to redlining completely unfair and believes the bill ensures varied and balanced housing options.[11]

Dorsey, who co-sponsored the bill with Councilwoman Shannon Sneed believes it’s the perfect solution for steering Baltimore away from the “the auto-centric and parking-centric vision of community development” that has shaped the city for so long.[12] He believes that excluding the parking provision is a win-win-win: it will make house conversions cheaper, which will make rent more affordable and will lead to denser development that will reduce the need for cars in Baltimore City.

The sponsors of the bill introduced it with the best intentions for Baltimore City. Pushing residents to become less reliant on cars would certainly have positive effects for both the city’s operations and its environmental footprint. But even the best intentions can have negative impacts. Before voting on the bill, it is imperative that all participants weigh the valid, long-term concerns presented by community leaders against the short-term effects councilman Dorsey hopes to achieve.

Cameron Stang is a 3L evening student and second year staff editor for the University of Baltimore Law Forum. Cameron is a technical writer for Skyline Solutions. She intends to continue her legal writing career and hopes to use her juris doctorate to pursue intellectual property in the software and technology development fields.

[1] Balt. City Council, Md., Ordinance 20-0561 (2020) (Currently in committee).

[2] Alexa Ashwell, City Councilman Moves to Stop New Gas Stations in Baltimore, Fox Balt. (July 7, 2020), https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/city-leader-moves-to-stop-new-gas-stations-in-baltimore.

[3] Ian Round, Pushback on Parking Bill Prompts Debate about Development and Diversity, Balt. Brew (August 30, 2020), https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2020/08/30/pushback-on-parking-bill-prompts-debate-about-development-and-diversity/.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.