Earlier this summer, the Housing Options and Opportunity Act was introduced in Baltimore City Council. It is a part of a package of five bills aimed at making it easier to build more (and more affordable) housing in Baltimore City, three of which will be heard by the Baltimore City Council Land Use and Transportation Committee this month.
The five bills would:
make permissible single-stair apartment buildings, which would allow for easier creation of family-sized apartment units and make it easier to ensure every bedroom in an apartment has a window,
allow for both smaller and larger units in more areas, and adjust yard requirements to make buildings fit better into the urban fabric,
move the Zoning Administrator under the Department of Planning, which would, amongst other things, help solve a longstanding zoning enforcement challenge with bike parking,
eliminate off-street parking minimums for the few remaining categories where they apply, allowing for more affordable construction and more pedestrian-oriented design,
legalize smaller multi-family homes where only single-family homes are currently permitted, allowing more families access to opportunity in more neighborhoods.
Legislation like this has been incredibly successful in other cities.
“Reform lowered housing cost growth in the five years following implementation: home prices were 16% to 34% lower, while rents were 17.5% to 34% lower relative to a counterfactual Minneapolis constructed from similar metro areas.” - Zoning Reforms and Housing Affordability: Evidence form the Minneapolis 2040 Plan
“Single-stairway four-to-six-story buildings with relatively small floor plates cost 6% to 13% less to construct than similar dual-stairway buildings. They can also fit on smaller infill lots, potentially increasing the supply of apartments in high-opportunity urban and suburban neighborhoods. And to the degree that these modern buildings replace older, riskier buildings, or enable residents to move out of older housing, single-stairway apartments will actually increase fire safety.” - Small Single-Stairway Apartment Buildings Have Strong Safety Record: Revised building codes could encourage construction, boost supply of lower-cost homes
Bikemore in Action is supporting this full package of bills, and we encourage you to support them as well.
You can help right now by sending an email in support of bills being heard this month.