[0:08] Good evening.
>> This 33rd regular meeting of the 74th
[0:13] term of the Baltimore City Council is
now called to order. Tonight's
[0:17] invocation will be provided by the
Reverend Dr. Alvin Wyn from Sharp Leen
[0:24] Hall Baptist Church, Pastor Gwyn. The
floor is yours.
[0:33] To this distinguished body, let us all
pray.
[0:38] Gracious and loving God, we thank you
for the privilege of gathering here
[0:42] tonight to serve the people of the city
of Baltimore.
[0:46] We ask for your guidance upon our mayor
and this city council. Grant them
[0:52] clarity of mind, integrity in their
deliberations, and the wisdom to act in
[0:58] ways that bring prosperity, peace, and
unity to our city. Bless our first
[1:04] responders, our city staff, and all who
work tirelessly to make this a wonderful
[1:09] place to call home. This is our prayer.
Amen.
[1:14] » Amen.
>> Amen.
[1:16] » Thank you, Pastor Wyn. Council member
Blard will now lead us in the pledge of
[1:22] allegiance
[1:26] to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[1:31] stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[1:37] for all.
>> Thank you all. You You may now be
[1:41] seated.
[1:52] Before we proceed, I'm pleased to
recognize the Baltimore Maryland alumni
[1:58] chapter of Kappa Alphasai Fraternity
Incorporated
[2:03] and welcome brothers visiting Baltimore
as part of Kappa week. For more than a
[2:09] century, Kappa Aside has exemplified
achievement, leadership, scholarship,
[2:16] mentorship, and service. The Baltimore
Alumni Chapter continues this legacy
[2:21] through its commitment to our
communities and the development of
[2:25] future leaders through the nationally
recognized guild Brightite program. We
[2:33] are also proud to celebrate the road to
the 88th grand chapter meeting which
[2:38] Baltimore Baltimore will host in 2017.
Colleagues, our city last hosted this
[2:47] convening in 1968.
This international gathering will bring
[2:53] thousands of visitors to our city and
showcase Baltimore's rich history,
[2:59] culture, and hospitality. On behalf of
the Baltimore City Council, thank you
[3:05] for your continued service and
leadership. We look forward to welcoming
[3:09] you back for the 88th Grand Chapter
meeting.
[3:15] At this time,
[3:22] Thank you. At this time, the chair
recognizes Councilman Torrance in his um
[3:29] crimson jacket and white pants looking
rather dapper.
[3:37] » Thank you, Madame President. Um I'm
honored to stand up.
[3:41] » Okay. Request floor privileges.
>> Yes, ma'am. I was going to say a few
[3:45] words before I request floor privileges.
I'm honored to stand as a member of this
[3:48] council and the latest elected official
to serve as a member of Capasai, but
[3:53] also a member of the Baltimore City
Council. Um the predecessor before me on
[3:57] this council was Nathaniel McFaten. Um a
gentleman who has led with career
[4:03] carriage for East Baltimore, but also
Baltimore. Senator McFaten left the
[4:07] Senate at one of the most highest
posters, the Senate prom. He also
[4:11] chaired the high and most powerful
budget and tax committee but also he was
[4:15] a mentor of mine but also someone who
signed the letter that allowed me to be
[4:19] a part of this noble body and clan
called CAPI fraternity incorporated. Um
[4:24] I stand today as a member but one who
stands on the shoulders of 116 years of
[4:31] brotherhood not only in Baltimore City
but internationally. Um, as I shocked my
[4:37] wife a few weeks ago when I showed her
videos of our Abu Dhabi alumni chapter.
[4:42] Um, but I know the rich history. Um,
even going back to when our first black
[4:47] elect officials, which was Carl Stokes,
the first African-American mayor elected
[4:51] in the in this in any city across this
country right after the Civil Rights
[4:56] Act. Um, we are coming back to Baltimore
after 1968. We know what happened in
[5:02] 1968 in Baltimore City with the riots
after the assassination of Martin Luther
[5:06] King. But we come back with a legacy of
leading with courage but also leading
[5:12] with achievement but also leaving
something behind. Um this weekend we had
[5:16] a busy week with capital week. We built
a playground in six hours um with
[5:21] brothers and volunteers. Then afterwards
decided to do a little fundraising. Um,
[5:26] in addition to that, we have our guide
right program, Gayla, this weekend that
[5:30] has been nationally recognized by our
grand chapter as a leading example of
[5:34] how to mentor black men in urban urban
environments. Um, I I I there's more I
[5:41] can say. Um, but one of our dearest
brothers, George Russell, was the first
[5:46] African-American city solicitor. Um, so
when I say we stand on shoulders of
[5:51] giants, we do. Um, one of our good
brothers, Howard Tudman's father was one
[5:55] of our grand pole marks. So, we we have
a rich history in Baltimore. Madame Vice
[6:01] President, I'd like to extend floor
privileges so that we can honor this
[6:05] capital week, but also recognize that
next year over 20,000 brothers and our
[6:09] families will be here to celebrate our
organization, but move it forward. And
[6:13] we're looking at a collective impact of
nearly $20 million in the Baltimore
[6:17] economy by us becoming here next year.
Let me repeat that. nearly $20 million
[6:22] economic impact to the city of Baltimore
coming back to our city.
[6:30] With that, Madam Chair, despite the
alphas in the room, I would like to
[6:33] extend floor privileges for my brothers
to be recognized.
[6:38] » Without objection, floor privileges will
be extended and
[6:44] floor privileges are extended.
>> Thank you, madam vice president. I also
[6:48] have a resolution. Um, the city council
of Baltimore resolution here it be known
[6:53] to all that the Baltimore city council
the the city council of Baltimore offers
[6:57] a sincerest congratulations to the
Baltimore Maryland alumni chapter Kappa
[7:02] Fasai Fraternity Incorporation
incorporated um in recognition of your
[7:07] 116 years of achievement leadership
scholarship service and enduring
[7:11] commitment to uplift communities during
the road to the 88th grand chapter
[7:14] meeting in Baltimore. The entire
membership extends his best wishes on
[7:18] this memorable occasion and directs this
resolution to be presented on this day
[7:22] the 13th of July 2026 signed by
President Cohen and Council Member
[7:28] Torrance myself.
>> Thank you. Uh you have floor privileges
[7:32] come to come on up.
[7:56] I'm not going to miss this opportunity.
[8:04] » Odette, get in the picture.
[8:08] You got the jacket.
>> Well, I didn't mean to get
[9:15] The clerk will now call the role of the
members.
[9:17] » Parker,
>> here.
[9:19] » McCrae,
>> Dorsy,
[9:21] » yes.
>> Conway,
[9:23] » Schlifer,
>> Middleton,
[9:26] » yes. Torrance
>> here.
[9:29] » Gray
>> present.
[9:30] » Bullock.
>> Porter.
[9:32] » Blanchard.
>> Jones.
[9:34] » Glover. Ramos
>> here.
[9:36] » And uh President Cohen and uh Councilman
Glover are excused absences. Madam
[9:41] Chair,
>> thank you. We will now proceed with the
[9:45] adoption of the journals.
>> Madam Vice President, the journals for
[9:48] the June 22nd regular meeting and June
24th special meeting are in members
[9:52] inboxes in the in the desk documents
folder. Without objection, the journals
[9:57] will be adopted.
Hearing none, the journals are adopted.
[10:02] Bill signed by the mayor can be found on
the meeting agenda. We now move to the
[10:07] bills being introduced. City Council
Bill 26-0212,
[10:12] Fair Election Fund Update. for the
purpose of updating certain provisions
[10:16] regarding the fair election fund,
amending the list of elections eligible
[10:20] for the fund, clarifying procedures for
candidate withdrawal from an election,
[10:25] amending post-election procedures, and
generally relating to the fair election
[10:29] fund. Lead sponsor Blanchard,
co-sponsors Dorsy, Middleton, Gray,
[10:34] Bullock, Ramos.
>> The chair recognizes council member
[10:38] Blanchard.
>> Thank you, Madam Vice President. Public
[10:42] financing is an incredible opportunity
to empower grassroots citizens across
[10:47] the city to make their dollars carry
further in the campaign process where
[10:52] $10 can become $100 from a city
resident, $25 become $250. It's it's a
[10:58] really wonderful way to to engage uh
grassroots everyday Baltimoreans in a
[11:03] process that we aren't always able uh
effectively to do so with the
[11:07] traditional process. the uh there are
several things that need to be adjusted
[11:12] with the system. One, it is a generally
a clunky system. 2024 was the first time
[11:17] we used it. So, we're looking at
addressing multiple aspects of that. Uh
[11:21] two, I have a lot of concerns that there
are aspects of the system as it's been
[11:25] written past that make it uh less than
useful for incumbents to use. And I
[11:30] think that any system should be as
friendly for an incumbent to use uh as
[11:34] as for someone challenging or competing
for an open seat. Um and then lastly,
[11:40] there was a loophole exploited uh by a
mayoral candidate in the 2024 elections
[11:46] uh in how money was uh spent and then
the candidate ended up endorsing another
[11:52] candidate for mayor and we need to close
that loophole so that cannot happen in
[11:55] the future. And so these are important
things. There's also other details in
[11:58] the bill that I'm happy to speak with
any members about going forward and I
[12:02] ask for my colleagues approval. Thank
you.
[12:05] » Thank you. This bill has been assigned
to the committee on legislative
[12:08] investigations
and we have two three co-sponsors
[12:16] um Council Member Jones, Council Member
Porter, and Councilman Conway.
[12:26] City Council Bill 26-0213
Parking Tax Special Fund for Fair
[12:31] Elections Search Charge for the purpose
of imposing a search charge on the
[12:35] city's parking tax directing the
proceeds of a search charge to the
[12:39] special fund for fair elections and
repealing an obsolete moratorum. Lead
[12:43] sponsor Blanchard, co-sponsors Dorsy,
Gay Ramos.
[12:47] » The chair recognizes council member
Blanchard.
[12:51] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. Uh the
other portion this second bill also tied
[12:55] the fair election fund is to ensure that
the fund is adequately funded in 2024
[13:00] that had to come from the general fund.
Uh there's challenges with
[13:02] predictability and also means we have to
pull from the general fund for something
[13:07] that we know we're going to have to pay
into every four years. So, the solution
[13:11] that I'm proposing with this bill, we
currently on all of the parking lots and
[13:15] parking garages in the city have a 20%
uh parking tax. That is in line with
[13:20] most cities on the east coast. DC,
Philly, and New York City are right
[13:23] around that. Pittsburgh actually has a
37.5%
[13:27] uh parking tax. This would add a sir
charge of 0.5% raising it to 20.5%, a
[13:34] less than 1% increase. uh that would
raise over $3 million over four years
[13:40] span uh and ensure that the fund is
adequately funded. And so that's for any
[13:45] candidate uh deciding whether or not uh
they want to use the fund that is not
[13:48] something they'll have to worry about.
Thank you.
[13:51] » Thank you. This bill has been assigned
to the budget and appropriations
[13:54] committee. City Council Bill 26-0214
study and report licensing and
[13:59] registration status of nonocc non-owner
occupied rental dwelling units for the
[14:04] purpose of requiring the department of
housing and community development, the
[14:07] department of planning and the
department of finance to submit a report
[14:11] to the mayor and city council that
details the licensing and registration
[14:14] status of all known of all nonowner
occupied dwelling units in the city. The
[14:21] number of non-owner occupied dwelling
units in the city and east council
[14:24] district. The number of nonowner
occupied dwelling units that meet
[14:28] certain requirements of the code. The
number of nonowner occupied dwelling
[14:32] units that have been cited for failure
to comply with certain requirements of
[14:36] the code. And the number of non-owner
occupied dwelling units that are owned
[14:39] by city residents. Lead sponsor Glover.
Co-sponsors Bullock Blanchard Ramos.
[14:46] This bill has been assigned to the
Housing and Community Economic
[14:51] Development Committee,
>> City Council Bill 26-0215,
[14:55] rental dwellings pricing algorithm use
disclosure for the purpose of requiring
[15:00] a landlord to disclose certain
information regarding rental fees to
[15:04] current and prospective tenants,
defining certain terms, establishing
[15:08] certain penalties, and granting the
Department of Housing and Community
[15:11] Development authority to promulgate
certain rules and regulations. Lead
[15:15] sponsor Gray, co-sponsors Dorsy,
Middleton, Bullock, Blanchard, Ramos.
[15:20] » The chair recognizes council member
Gray.
[15:26] » Thank you, Madam President. Um,
colleagues, I rise today to introduce
[15:30] legislation entitled Rental Dwellings
pricing algorithmic use disclosure,
[15:35] which would add a new subtitle 8D to
article 13 of the Baltimore City Code.
[15:40] Across the country and here in
Baltimore, a growing number of landlords
[15:43] no longer set rent prices based on their
own judgment on their own property.
[15:48] Instead, they subscribe to pricing
algorithmic uh tools and revenue ma
[15:54] management software that pulls
confidential non-public data from
[15:58] competing landlords like actual rents
being charged, occupancy rates, lease
[16:03] dates, and they use this aggregated data
to recommend what a tenant should pay
[16:08] and whether a unit should be left vacant
altogether to keep prices high across
[16:12] the market. This is not a hypothetical
concern. Federal and state enforcement
[16:16] actions have raised serious questions
about whether this practice functions as
[16:20] a sophisticated form of coordinated
price setting, allowing landlords to
[16:24] achieve outcomes that would be illegal
if they simply picked up the phone and
[16:28] talked amongst themselves.
The result for far too many Baltimore
[16:32] families is rent increases that don't
reflect the true condition of the
[16:36] market, the property, or the landlord's
cost, but instead reflect a blackbox
[16:41] recommendation shared with every other
landlord using the same software. This
[16:46] legislation is deliberately narrow and
targeted. It is not it is a disclosure
[16:50] bill. It does not ban pricing algorithms
and it does not set it does not set rent
[16:55] caps or dictate what a landlord may
charge. What it does is guarantee that
[16:59] tenants know that when a machine, not a
human being, who knows their building
[17:04] and their history has determined the
cost of their rent. Specifically, this
[17:08] bill will require prospective tenants to
be told in an every rental listing if a
[17:13] pricing algorithm was used to set the
advertised rent, including the name of
[17:17] the software and the company behind it.
For current tenants, they would receive
[17:21] written in-person notice at least 90
days before a algorith algorithmic uh
[17:26] driven rent increase takes effect,
giving them real time to plan,
[17:30] negotiate, or seek other housing. And
for existing tenants, as of the
[17:34] effective date, receive a one-time
written disclosure within 30 days, so no
[17:38] one is left in the dark during this
transaction. Um civil pen penalties will
[17:42] be up to $1,000 per uh violation per
unit per day to give the disclosure
[17:49] requirements and real teeth and enforce
in enforcement. Transparency is the
[17:53] foundation of a fair rental market.
Tenants cannot make informed decisions,
[17:57] negotiate in good faith, or hold their
landlords accountable if they don't even
[18:01] know that a third-party algorithm built
on private data from their landlord's
[18:05] competitors is driving up what they pay
today. This bill puts that information
[18:09] back in attendance hands. Baltimore
renters are facing an affordability
[18:14] crisis that deserves to know when
technology, not a fair assessment of
[18:17] their home, is setting the price of or
of staying in that home that they love.
[18:22] I respectfully ask my colleagues to
support this legislation and I welcome a
[18:25] hearing where we can hear from tenants,
housing advocates, and the industry
[18:28] alike. Thank you.
>> Thank you. And uh we have Councilwoman
[18:34] Porter to sign on and Councilman Conway.
And this bill has been and um Councilman
[18:42] Torrance. This bill has been assigned to
housing and and uh economic development
[18:47] committee.
>> City Council Bill 26-0216
[18:51] vehicle towing from private lots and
parking facilities revisions for the
[18:55] purpose of establishing certain maximum
charges for towing services. Specifying
[19:00] certain required information to be
included on towing service receipts and
[19:03] daily logs maintained by each towing
service. Specifying certain limitations
[19:08] on incomplete toes. Requiring that a
towing service accept credit cards.
[19:13] Prohibiting certain instances of patrol
towing. Baking certain stylistic
[19:18] changes. Conforming, clarifying, and
correcting related provisions. And
[19:22] generally related to the regulation of
vehicle towing from private lots and
[19:26] facilities in Baltimore City. Lead
sponsor Dorsy, co-sponsors Parker, Gray,
[19:32] Bullock, Blanchard, Ramos.
>> The chair recognizes Council Member
[19:37] Dorsy.
>> Thank you, uh, Madam President. Um,
[19:45] it should raise a red flag if you hear a
business practice described with the
[19:50] terms involuntary
or nonconsentual,
[19:54] not just business practices, but other
things as well.
[19:58] But that's what we're talking about is
towing that is non-consensual. Towing
[20:02] that is involuntary. Towing where very
often the tow truck driver is sitting
[20:07] waiting to pounce, waiting, watching for
you to misstep
[20:13] and then jump at the first opportunity.
Rather than setting saying to you, if
[20:19] you park your car where you just parked
it and you walk off this lot like I see
[20:23] you about to do, I'm going to tow your
vehicle. Do what you will. No warning.
[20:29] No, they wait for you to step out of
line and then take that opportunity as
[20:34] quickly as they can. That is happening
in Baltimore City somewhere today, right
[20:39] now. I'm sure of it. That is happening
somewhere in Baltimore City tonight. I'm
[20:44] sure of it. It happens all the time. And
very frequently, these towers then
[20:50] charge you money to get your car back in
excess of what the state law sets as the
[20:59] legal maximum.
And we have very little uh enforcement
[21:05] uh capability uh to do anything about
that in a timely or uh meaningful manner
[21:12] that these towers feel on a day-to-day
basis. And a lot of people don't know
[21:17] that they are having their rights
violated. Um, and even when they do, you
[21:23] know, charging $320 when the legal
maximum is $280, that's not enough for
[21:29] one person to say, "I'm so insensed. I'm
going to pursue a class action lawsuit
[21:33] against these towers." It's too small an
amount of injustice that's being done to
[21:38] so many people that it doesn't really
rise to the the top for anybody to take
[21:44] serious independent uh private action
over it. That's why it's important for
[21:48] us to regulate this and to regulate it
stringently and in accordance with best
[21:53] practices. And that's what the bill that
we have here today does. Another thing
[21:58] that happens very frequently, you may
not know that if your car is being towed
[22:02] from a private lot and you come up to
that car and they have not yet left the
[22:07] lot, even if they've fully put the car
up onto the tow truck until they have
[22:13] left that property, you have the right
to say stop. I want my car back and pay
[22:19] them half of what they would charge if
you waited until they got it to their
[22:24] part, their facility, and you can get it
right back then and there. Problem is,
[22:29] you might not have $140 cash on hand
right then and there. And they don't
[22:35] have to wait for you to get go to an ATM
and come back. And they do not take
[22:40] credit cards. This bill will also
require that they take credit cards. Um,
[22:46] this bill will give the Department of
Consumer Protections and Business
[22:50] Licensing better tools to take
enforcement action. Just two weeks ago,
[22:55] one of our colleagues here brought to me
an instance of a constituent who had
[23:00] been charged more than what they knew to
be the legal maximum. And it was the
[23:07] same company that that same colleague
here had brought me a same exact
[23:13] situation about 3 weeks earlier. The
city had told that company, you cannot
[23:18] charge this much money and then 3 weeks
later we were getting the same exact
[23:24] complaint about the same company. And we
can't do anything to suspend that
[23:31] license right then and there. We have to
wait until we hold a hearing with a
[23:35] board that has still not been stood up
as a city. This bill will enable that
[23:42] department director to say, "Look, we
clearly documented
[23:48] that
you violated this provision just three
[23:52] weeks ago and we communicated with you
about it and here you are doing it
[23:56] again. We are suspending your license.
We don't have that kind of quick action
[24:00] power to react today. This bill gives
that kind of power. This bill puts us in
[24:06] line with best practices in how to
protect consumers and visitors here in
[24:12] Baltimore City. I thank everybody who
has co-sponsored this bill already. I
[24:16] welcome other co-sponsors if you will.
Thank you, Madam President.
[24:20] » Thank you. And we do have some more
co-sponsors. Torrance, Porter,
[24:27] Conway,
Middleton.
[24:31] » Thank you.
>> This bill has been assigned to land use
[24:34] and transportation committee.
City Council bill 26-0217
[24:40] data centers over 5 megawatts megator
moratorum
[24:44] for the purpose of establishing a data
center capable of using 5 megawatts or
[24:49] more of electricity as a prohibited use
citywide and defining certain terms lead
[24:54] sponsor Parker co-sponsors Dorsy Ramos
>> uh the chairperson recognizes council
[25:02] member Parker
>> thank you madam vice president thank you
[25:05] colleagues I This is a really simple
bill. It's taking the bill that we um
[25:10] just passed and just adjusting the size
and the definition of what's qualifies
[25:14] for this moratorum which began here July
1st and runs through next July 1st um
[25:19] from 10 megawws to down to five just to
make sure we're capturing in this case a
[25:24] particular um a particular uh proposal
in my district that I wanted to make
[25:28] sure was included in the moratorum and
so that it would be then part of and
[25:33] subject to the new legislation that
we're going to be working on throughout
[25:36] the year and the study that we're going
to do. I thought it was important that
[25:38] um that we just put a slight pause there
so that it could be part of um the good
[25:43] work that we're doing. So um would have
done this as an amendment to the bill
[25:46] while it was before us, but that was
going to have to go back to planning
[25:48] commission and significantly delay um
the passage of that bill. And it was
[25:52] really important to the council
president, I think, to all of us to make
[25:54] sure we got that in and through and so
came back after the fact. And uh
[25:58] depending on how long this takes, uh
it'll be applicable to 9 months, 8
[26:03] months, 6 months of the moratorum period
until next summer. and then uh by that
[26:06] point in time we'll have uh permanent
legislation to to replace it and we'll
[26:10] be off and ready to go. So I appreciate
the consideration of my colleagues
[26:15] » uh Conway
as a added sponsor and this bill was
[26:22] also assigned to land use and
transportation
[26:25] » city council bill 26-0218
transit oriented development downtown
[26:30] Baltimore for the purpose of supporting
a state transit oriented development
[26:34] designation for the area surrounding and
including the Lexington Market, Charles
[26:38] Center and Shot Tower metro stations.
the Mount Vernon Lexington Market,
[26:43] Baltimore Arena, Convention Center, and
Camden Station light rail stations, and
[26:48] the Camden Yards mark station, and
providing for a special effective date.
[26:52] Lead sponsor, council president on
behalf of the administration,
[26:55] co-sponsors, Gray Blanchard.
>> This bill has been assigned to land use
[27:00] and transportation.
And um could you add Councilman Parker?
[27:07] » Absolutely. Thank you, Madam VP. City
Council Bill 26-0219,
[27:12] transit oriented development, Rogers
Avenue, for the purpose of supporting a
[27:16] state transit oriented development
designation for the area surrounding and
[27:20] including the Rogers Avenue Metro
Station and providing for a special
[27:23] effective date. Lead sponsor, council
president, on behalf of the
[27:26] administration, co-sponsor Gray
and Parker.
[27:33] » Co-sponsor. Oh,
>> and please add Parker as co-sponsor.
[27:39] » Okay. Uh, absolutely, Madam VP. Thank
you.
[27:44] » Where are we at now? This bill has been
assigned and also assigned to land use
[27:49] and transportation.
>> Uh, we will now move to Oh, sorry.
[27:54] » We will now move We will now move the
resolutions of the city council being
[27:58] introduced. City Council Resolution
26-000059Rformational
[28:04] Hearing Affordable Housing Trust Fund
for the purpose of requiring the
[28:08] Baltimore City Department of Housing and
Community Development, the Affordable
[28:11] Housing Trust Fund Commission, and
inviting relevant stakeholders to appear
[28:15] before the city council and to provide
annual reports on the accomplishments of
[28:19] the affordable housing trust fund,
including units produced and residents
[28:22] helped, income level of residents
served, the required items to be
[28:26] reported upon that are specified in both
the charter amendment that establish
[28:29] lish the fund in the ordinance that
created the funding source and any
[28:32] additional information that the council
may request. Lead sponsor Ramos,
[28:36] co-sponsors Parker, Grey, Bulock,
Blanchard.
[28:38] » The chair recognizes council member
Ramos.
[28:42] » Uh thank you, Madame President, and
thank you colleagues. Uh tonight I'm
[28:45] introducing a resolution for a hearing
to get updates about the affordable
[28:49] housing trust fund. And uh this, as you
all know, is one of the many things that
[28:55] I worked on prior to becoming a council
person. We are celebrating 10 years
[29:00] since residents and advocates initiated
a charter amendment to create the
[29:03] affordable housing trust fund
non-lapsing fund and enabled the city
[29:07] council to create funding sources to put
it into the fund. I'm so proud to have
[29:12] been one of the lead advocates uh while
I was executive director of the
[29:16] community development network of
Maryland uh working on this issue. Uh
[29:20] while it took two additional years to
get the funding source, thank you to
[29:23] Councilman Bulock for that. Um the trust
fund has a lot to show already and has
[29:29] accomplished a lot. Uh as a reminder,
the affordable housing trust fund is
[29:33] flexible funding for affordable housing
initiatives and the only restriction is
[29:37] that it has to be used to house or
housing services for residents at 50% of
[29:43] AMI and half of the fund has to be used
to serve residents at 30% of AMI. These
[29:50] are the residents in Baltimore City who
the who are the most cost burden and
[29:53] unstable in their housing. The
affordable housing trust fund is
[29:58] flexible enough where programs can be
created to meet the varying needs of
[30:02] these group of the income levels that I
just talked about. For instance, the
[30:07] trust fund has been used for capital for
affordable housing projects, rental
[30:10] subsidies, home repair grants, and so
much more. The annual spending plan is
[30:15] approved each year by the affordable
housing trust fund commission and all of
[30:19] the commission meetings are public. Now,
the legislation and the charter
[30:24] amendment mandates uh for annual
hearings and annual reports. Uh DHCD is
[30:30] the staff for the affordable housing
trust fund. The most recent report
[30:34] that's on the website is from 2022 and
the last time we had a hearing was in
[30:38] 2021. So this resolution before us calls
for that hearing to get the updates and
[30:44] uh and the accomplishments so far. The
intent is to celebrate the successes uh
[30:49] from the last 10 years and to work
together on the future of the fund for
[30:53] the next 10 years and beyond including
adding more funding especially in light
[30:58] of the changes from the federal funding.
I'm looking forward to the hearing and
[31:01] thank you madam president. Thank you
colleagues.
[31:04] » Thank you added sponsors Porter
[31:10] and Torrance and Jones and Conway
and Middleton.
[31:19] This bill has been assigned to Housing
and Community Development Committee.
[31:24] City Council Resolution
26-000060Rformational
[31:29] Hearing Cannabis Licenses for the
purpose of requiring representatives
[31:33] from the Baltimore City Health
Department, the Department of Planning,
[31:36] and the Office of the Zing
Administrator, and inviting
[31:38] representatives from the Maryland
Cannabis Administration, Maryland Office
[31:42] of Social Equity, and any interested
stakeholders to appear before the city
[31:46] council to discuss one, the approval
process for cannabis businesses located
[31:50] in the city, two, the city's role in
compliance
[31:53] with the requirements for cannabis
businesses under state law. And three,
[31:58] the experience of cannabis businesses
operating or seeking to operate in the
[32:01] city, including those that have been
granted a social equity license by the
[32:05] Maryland Cannabis Administration. Lead
sponsor Parker, co-sponsors, Gray,
[32:10] Bulock, Blanchard, Ramos.
>> Chair recognizes council member Parker.
[32:15] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. Thank
you, colleagues. Um
[32:19] this I thisformational
hearing um comes about um because of
[32:25] work we were doing legislatively uh a
really simple bill to incorporate um uh
[32:31] cannabis dispensaries as a category in
our zoning code and to um and to
[32:36] essentially echo state law in our zoning
code um so that it was in both places.
[32:41] The state of Maryland, as it has
interpreted um state law around
[32:47] cannabis, has um has asked local
jurisdictions um to do that and to play
[32:52] a certain role in the issuing of
licenses specifically around
[32:57] um reviewing and approving uh locations
for dispensaries
[33:05] uh on the basis of distance from
sensitive locations uh churches,
[33:08] schools, playgrounds, parks, all the
um this was something that we thought
[33:13] was being done at the state level, but
it turns out um was was not happening
[33:17] there and the state attorney general
offered an opinion that it was the
[33:20] responsibility of local jurisdictions to
apply that part of state law through
[33:24] their peritting processes and through
their zoning. Um whereas before it had
[33:28] been an invitation, now it's essentially
a requirement. As we set about to do
[33:32] that, um, a number of lences came to us
and, um, asking questions or raising
[33:39] concerns about the, uh, existing
process, um, that they are in the middle
[33:43] of. And so, uh, rather than jumping
straight into the legislation that we've
[33:47] prepared, we wanted to make sure we had
this hearing first and to invite the
[33:51] interested parties from the city side
and also our partners from the state to
[33:54] come and speak about the issue here
before our committee. uh as well as to
[33:57] invite current and prospective lences or
other interested community members to
[34:01] come to speak about to ask their
questions to speak about their
[34:04] experience to identify the gaps that
currently exist and and how the city is
[34:08] approaching this our role within the
broader state system and allow that to
[34:12] inform the legislation that we've
prepared. So um this is um a moment to
[34:16] speak about the issue to hear questions
to hear experiences um and then let that
[34:21] to uh inform the the legislation prior
to our submitting it to you all for your
[34:25] consideration.
Thank you. This bill has been assigned
[34:29] to land use and transportation
committee. City Council resolution
[34:34] 26-0061Rformational
[34:37] hearing impact of brownouts for the
purpose of requiring the health
[34:41] department, the Department of Public
Works, and the Office of Emergency
[34:44] Management, and inviting representatives
from the Maryland Public Service
[34:48] Commission, the Baltimore Gas and
Electric Company, and any interested
[34:51] energy experts and stakeholders to
appear before the city council to
[34:55] discuss the public health, safety, and
economic impact of electrical brownouts
[34:59] in the city, including an assessment of
the city's brownout. out response
[35:03] preparedness to protect communities
burdened by environmental and
[35:06] infrastructural inequities lead sponsor
Porter co-sponsors Gray Bullock
[35:12] Blanchard Ramos
>> chair recognizes council member Porter
[35:16] thank you madam president colleagues I'm
introducing a request for anformational
[35:19] hearing on the impacts of brownouts here
in the city this is a factf finding
[35:23] hearing and its purpose is to bring the
right agencies and stakeholders to the
[35:26] table so that we fully understand the
scope of the problem before us brownouts
[35:31] are more than just an inconvenience. If
you noticed in this most previous storm,
[35:35] there were thousands of individuals that
were without power for a significant
[35:39] amount of time. They carry real
consequences for public health, for
[35:43] public safety, and for the economic
well-being of our residents and
[35:45] businesses. When power dips, it affects
medical equipment, food storage, small
[35:50] businesses, traffic systems, and the
daily lives of people across the city.
[35:54] As stated, this hearing calls on the
health department, the department of
[35:57] public works, the office of emergency
management to appear before us to share
[36:01] a plan of action on how we are to one
understand our our energy grid and where
[36:08] we are as it relates to brownouts, but
also provide us with an opportunity so
[36:12] that we can hold the proper agencies
accountable for our energy grid here in
[36:17] the city. We want a cleareyed assessment
of the city's brown art response and
[36:21] preparedness. if you had anything to do
with again with the last storm, you
[36:24] understood uh people were people were
scrging around for water, for food, for
[36:30] medication and thankful to colleagues
like Councilman Jones who quickly
[36:35] assembled uh more than enough uh
preparedness for individuals of his
[36:39] district. This is an opportunity for the
city to have a response to examine
[36:43] something that we know is going to
happen in the very near future. looking
[36:47] at our environmental infrastructure and
our inequities that leave some
[36:50] communities burdened more than others.
I'm asking my colleagues for support
[36:54] moving this bill to the committee on
legislative investigations so that we
[36:58] can begin this important conversation.
Thank you.
[37:02] » Thank you. Uh preparedness is so
important. Please add Middleton
[37:09] » and Parker
>> and Parker
[37:11] » and Jones
>> and Torrance and Conway.
[37:17] » And this bill has been assigned to um
legislative investigations.
[37:24] City Council resolution
26-0062Rformational
[37:29] hearing land value tax for the purpose
of requiring the department of housing
[37:33] and community development, the
department of finance, the mayor's
[37:36] office of small and minority business
advocacy and development and the
[37:40] department of planning and inviting lift
Baltimore, the Baltimore Development
[37:44] Corporation, the Maryland's Department
of Assessments and Assessments and
[37:47] Taxation and other relevant stakeholders
to a hearing to evaluate the benefits of
[37:52] implementing a split rate property tax
system in Baltimore City, including its
[37:57] effect on absentee property ownership
and speculation, vacant residential and
[38:01] commercial properties, and owner
occupant homeowner property taxes and
[38:06] housing production. Lead sponsors
Blanchard, co-sponsors, Gray Bullock.
[38:13] » The chair recognizes council member
Blanchard.
[38:17] » Thank you, Madam Vice President.
Colleagues, we have a very real
[38:22] challenge with absentee owners in too
many of our neighborhoods. We have a
[38:26] very real challenge with speculators who
own property that they hope that their
[38:32] neighbors in their neighborhood will
make their neighborhoods better and then
[38:34] they can sell it without having done any
work on their own at some point in the
[38:38] future. We have real challenges in all
of our commercial corridors with retail
[38:42] vacancy. Our homeowners pay too much in
property taxes. We can't get the
[38:46] investment needed to save downtown from
its current spiral. And of course, we
[38:50] have the very, very well-known challenge
with vacant building notices and vacant
[38:54] lots. What if we could meaningfully
address all of these challenges
[39:02] without reducing the revenue that the
city collects from this each year? Great
[39:08] news. Got a solution on that.
Your property tax bill has two
[39:13] assessments on it. One is on the land,
one is on the improvements. This is for
[39:17] every property tax bill in the state of
Maryland.
[39:21] If we were allowed by the state of
Maryland to decrease the property tax
[39:26] rates on improvements and increase the
property tax rate on RA land, we would
[39:31] get all the types of benefits that I had
mentioned earlier. This is something
[39:36] that is a growing amount of interest uh
on the state level. Delegate Kalin Young
[39:40] has been a great champion of this.
several other uh strong supporters
[39:44] throughout the uh general assembly.
There is a state a funded state study
[39:50] being done to look at the feasibility of
this in the state of Maryland.
[39:55] Uh and this hearing would delve into
what exactly this would look like, what
[40:00] the impacts would be in Baltimore City.
Um how it would actually play out, what
[40:06] we think would happen, how it would be
funded, etc. So, been having some great
[40:11] conversations in the full time I've been
in office uh with the mayor's
[40:14] administration. I think we've got some
some interested parties over there. Um
[40:18] continuing to was good timing with Mako
coming today. It definitely had me
[40:23] thinking about maybe I need to
reach out and better connect myself with
[40:29] uh colleagues across the state on on
this topic. Um because it is a the state
[40:33] needs to enable it. But I do think this
is something that a couple years down
[40:37] the road could be a really uh big win
for the city. So I encourage all my
[40:42] colleagues uh to support this
informationational hearing and and to
[40:46] learn more about uh this concept. Thank
you very much. On that note, add
[40:50] Middleton.
Any other takers
[40:56] and Porter
and this bill has been assigned to
[41:01] budget and appropriations committee.
City Council Resolution
[41:05] 26-000063Rformational
[41:09] hearing law enforcement memoranda of
understanding for the purpose of
[41:12] requiring the Baltimore Police
Department to appear before the city
[41:15] council to provide one a summary and
documentation of all currently active
[41:20] memoranda of understanding governing
mutual aid concurrent jurisdiction
[41:24] related law enforcement coordination as
well as any amendments, renewals or
[41:28] superseding agreements. Two, a summary
and documentation of any supporting
[41:34] materials the department relies on in
managing those agreements, including
[41:38] implementation schedules and related
process updates. And three, a status
[41:43] update on the department's process for
reviewing, revising, publishing, and
[41:47] implementing those agreements. Lead
sponsor Torrance, co-sponsors Gray,
[41:51] Bullock, Blanchard, Ramos.
>> The chair recognizes council member
[41:55] Torrance.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. I rise because
[41:58] I'm a person who believes in
efficiencies and accountability. Um, we
[42:03] have about 12 police organ 12 police law
enforcement agencies outside of BPD in
[42:08] the city of Baltimore. They each have
anou about mutual aid and coordination.
[42:12] Um, I have been hyperfocused on one
agency, but I now have two on my mind
[42:17] right now. Um, one is the um, city
schools police department. Um, we after
[42:24] the consent decree had to put things in
place to do assessments for that agency.
[42:29] I think it became a best practice that
every time that they update the MOU,
[42:33] they are doing an independent assessment
where BPD and them look at how they
[42:38] currently do enforcement and revise it
based off of that to make sure that it's
[42:42] the best practice. In addition to that,
they ensure that they have body warn
[42:45] cameras, that they are in complian with
our consent decree and the best
[42:49] practices that we have at BPD and they
offer them the training as well to
[42:52] provide those best practices. I'm taken
a back because um the Maryland General
[42:58] Assembly gave the Balma City School
Board opportunity where they banned
[43:03] officers from wearing weapons in
schools. Um, the irony is is that at
[43:08] City College, at University of
Baltimore, they're housed in the
[43:10] building with our Baltimore City Police
Department's Academy. Those officers who
[43:14] are instructors there actually have guns
on them at all times. But the school
[43:19] police officers who are assigned to
those buildings cannot wear those same
[43:22] weapons. Um, when I brought this to the
boards here of city schools, he did not
[43:26] see the irony in that conversation,
whether it was violated the spirit of
[43:29] the law or the spirit of the policy that
city schools itself implemented. Um, in
[43:33] addition to that, there was coordination
issues over a year ago with Copen State
[43:38] University's police force. And then on
top of that, we c last year when I
[43:42] reviewed and had conversations with city
schools about the cost of city college
[43:47] moving to University of Baltimore's
campus in their lease agreement, they
[43:53] identified what the police
responsibilities were for the council's
[43:57] adification.
Um, UB no longer has its own police
[44:01] force. It was the police force from the
University of Maryland Baltimore Police
[44:04] Department. They actually patrol
University of Baltimore's campus. At
[44:08] that time, they had no formal agreement
about how that coordination would be.
[44:13] They merely had three sentences where if
a serious law enforcement issue happened
[44:17] on the campus and the University of
Baltimore security or the University of
[44:21] Maryland, Baltimore's police department
responded first that they would inform
[44:24] the principal. Um, Miss Harkham is
retiring. She is not a law enforcement
[44:29] person.
um that is not adequate enough. So now
[44:32] city schools is entering into a five
agencyou
[44:38] regarding just city college being at um
at the University of Baltimore. That is
[44:44] something that's important because our
young people are not adults. Um we have
[44:47] the clear requirements in terms of
sexual assault on campuses. We also have
[44:51] furer that protects the identity of
things that happen to our young people.
[44:54] If anything happens on that campus, how
do you coordinate across two
[44:58] communications offices? How do you
communicate to not only the young people
[45:02] who visit that campus every day for high
school, but the young people who are
[45:05] there and adults are being there,
they're being educated, whether they're
[45:08] receiving a bachelor's, masters, or law
degree at that university. Um, I also
[45:13] rise because there are friends who have
questions about the process for all law
[45:17] enforcement. When this council had
opportunity to comment on the JHSU, we
[45:22] were given 30 days. So, part of the
things that I've put forth in a um
[45:27] coupled gen coupled legislation that's
coming next is establishing anou
[45:32] process. Um just today in a casual
conversation with my colleague from the
[45:37] third district, I found out that um anou
between one of our law enforcement
[45:41] agencies that patrols our actual streets
hasn't been updated in 15 years and it's
[45:45] a state agency.
I think we need consistency. Uh law
[45:50] enforcement practices change every three
years. So the legislation that will be
[45:54] coming after this will require that we
have a process in place and requirements
[45:58] for it and discussing what mutual aid
looks like, what does concurrent
[46:01] jurisdiction looks like, who leads in
evidence collection, just those minor
[46:05] things so that we know that we have
consistency across our agencies. So with
[46:09] that at you, Madam Chair.
>> Thank you. Ed Middleton, this is another
[46:14] preparedness
um initiative and uh Porter is another
[46:20] taker. Anyone else to add on?
[46:27] This bill has been assigned to public to
the public safety committee.
[46:33] The consent calendar was sent to members
in boxes in the desk documents folder.
[46:41] And I will now move it for approval. All
those in favor of approving the consent
[46:45] calendar say I. I.
>> Those opposed say nay. The motion
[46:51] carries and the consent calendar is
approved. We will move
[46:56] to bills on second reader. The chair
recognizes council member Dorsy.
[47:02] » Thank you, Madam President. I move that
we read short titles for the remainder
[47:06] of this evening's meeting.
>> Without objection, we will proceed with
[47:10] reading short titles.
We will proceed with reading short
[47:15] titles.
[47:19] Tonight we exclusively we exclusively
have bills from the land use and
[47:24] transportation committee.
>> City Council bill 26-0150
[47:29] zoning conditional use retail goods
establishment with alcohol with
[47:33] alcoholic beverage sales variances 600
West North Avenue.
[47:38] » The chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you.
[47:45] Um
the committee heard this bill
[47:51] on April 20th. It was voted on July 9th.
It was recommended favor as favorable
[47:57] with amendments. There are committee
amendments on my colleagues desk. These
[48:02] amendments um and I'll note that I
believe there's a floor amendment from
[48:07] the sponsor. Um,
these amendments include updates in the
[48:13] language in the bill to refer to an
updated site plan and the removal of an
[48:19] old plat in favor of an updated site
plan. I move the amendments favorably.
[48:27] » So, um, I think we need to move the
finding of facts first. Um, I have that
[48:32] later in my um
in my script here, but I'm happy to move
[48:38] finding of facts.
>> Okay.
[48:40] » Um,
there
[48:44] are findings of facts that were included
in the desk documents. Um, I'll move the
[48:52] finding of facts, but I have um comments
I'd like to make about them.
[48:57] » Okay. All those in favor of adopting the
finding of facts,
[49:00] » I'd like to make my comments first. Go
ahead. Yeah.
[49:03] » Um, thank you. Um,
>> to put it simply, I don't believe that
[49:09] the finding of facts um from the
planning department, planning commission
[49:14] are an accurate reflection of what was
actually presented by the applicant.
[49:19] um which is pretty much a textbook
example of what cannot be used as the
[49:26] criteria for granting a variance. This
bill has two different things in it.
[49:30] It's a conditional use which is presumed
allowable unless there's something um
[49:36] unique about that property that would
make that particular use particularly
[49:41] detrimental at that property. There's no
reason to think that the conditional use
[49:44] for alcohol sales would be worse here
than anywhere else. Fine. But then
[49:49] there's a variance and the standard is
that there's got to be something unique
[49:53] about that property that makes it so
that that property would otherwise be
[49:56] unusable
if the variance weren't granted. And uh
[50:01] it's specifically the case that the
standard cannot be that I just want to
[50:07] use it for this thing in this way and if
I don't get this variance I can't use it
[50:12] for this thing in this way. um and
particularly with respect to creating
[50:17] some like profitability from the
property. Um that there has to be
[50:22] something more unique than that that
makes the property essentially unusable
[50:26] if not for the variance because
something about the standard uh just
[50:33] really impacts this particular property
in a way that doesn't impact other
[50:39] properties in general. And I think that
what we heard was the grocery store
[50:44] won't come here unless we get the
variance. And that's as picture perfect
[50:49] an example of what cannot be used as the
standard for granting a variance. And so
[50:56] to grant this variance, I think that we
just really have to be turning a blind
[51:00] eye to what the law actually says and
either say we don't care what variances
[51:07] are. We don't care that there are
standards for whether or not we grant
[51:12] them or we just don't care and we're
going to do whatever we want to do. And
[51:16] I think that that's what we have to do
in order to be able to grant those
[51:20] variance and I'm not going to do that.
So, uh, I move the findings of fact
[51:25] nonetheless.
>> All those in favor of adopting the
[51:28] finding of fact say I. I.
>> Those opposed say nay. Nay.
[51:35] Um, we'll take a roll call.
[51:41] » Just Dorsey and Conway.
>> Um, Parker absent from chambers. McCrae,
[51:47] » yes.
>> Dorsy,
[51:49] » no.
>> Conway,
[51:51] » no.
>> Schlifer,
[51:55] » yes.
>> Middleton,
[51:57] » yes.
>> Torrance,
[52:01] » Gray,
>> yes. Bulock.
[52:03] » Hi,
>> Porter.
[52:05] » Hi,
>> Blanchard.
[52:07] » Hi,
>> Jones.
[52:09] » Hi,
>> Ramos.
[52:11] » Yes.
>> Um,
[52:17] » Madame Vice President, we have 10 in the
affirmative and two in the negative with
[52:22] three absences.
[52:29] » He's good.
>> Yeah, we have 10 in the affirmative and
[52:31] two in the negative. uh with two
absences.
[52:35] » So the um finding of facts um is
approved.
[52:43] » I'm president. I move the amendments as
discussed before.
[52:46] » Okay. There is a motion on the floor to
move uh the committee amendments. My
[52:51] understanding is that council
member Torrance has a floor amendment
[52:56] that
um amends the committee amendments. and
[53:01] I will recognize him at this time.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Um I am just
[53:08] bringing a clarification as um I'll put
it this way. Um the floor amendment on
[53:13] the is on my colleague's desk. This
amendment is clarifying the retail and
[53:17] alcohol beverage sales can take place in
the yellow portion of the plat. Um at
[53:22] this time, manager, I move that
amendment as favorable.
[53:25] » Okay. Before we vote, there is a debate
or um is there a debate or discussion on
[53:30] the floor amendment?
>> Oh, even
[53:34] » all those in favor of adopting this
floor amendment say I.
[53:38] » I.
>> All those opposed say nay. The motion
[53:43] passes and the floor amendment is
adopted. Now there is I mean uh now is
[53:49] there any debate or discussion on the
amended committee
[53:53] amendments? Uh, I have a point of order.
Um,
[53:58] » the chair recognizes
um I think Torrance was first. Did you
[54:05] have something else?
>> Yes, madam chair. Um, if we're moving
[54:09] into debate, I have some clarifying
conversations to be said um about legal
[54:12] standards.
[54:17] » Okay, Dorsy, you have a point of order.
>> Thank you. Um on the
[54:23] there are two committee amendments and
we have three amendments to amend the
[54:28] committee amendments and then on the
back side of this page is an amendment
[54:32] three that is not an amendment to the
amendments but is yet another amendment
[54:38] to the bill. Do I understand this
correctly?
[54:41] » Yep. They also been clarifying because
they removed the plaque and replace the
[54:45] plaque and it's required by the legal
standard to include the plaque to move
[54:49] it forward. Okay. And so is that
>> a substitute to one of the committee
[54:55] amendments or is that
>> it was just clarifying the language
[54:58] struck by the committee.
[55:03] » I'm sorry. Can you say that again?
Clarifying the language that what?
[55:05] » Clarifying the amendment that the
committee made and plus identifying the
[55:09] specifics of the plat where the yellow
area was because we're required to do
[55:12] it.
[55:16] » I go back to approve the amendments. I
can move amendment number three if you
[55:21] would like to. I can move amendment
number three individually.
[55:24] » Okay. I just wanted to make sure it's
not in um it's not actually meant to be
[55:28] a substitute for one of the committee
amendments.
[55:30] » It doesn't read as an amendment to
amendment.
[55:32] » That's fine. I'll move amendment number
three. Madam chair.
[55:35] » Okay.
>> Um this amendment clarifies on the
[55:38] plaque in the actual bill text the
actual area
[55:41] » in yellow. So before we do that, we have
to wait until until Chair Dorsy
[55:47] does a piece, right?
>> We voted on the We've voted on three
[55:53] amendments to the committee amendments
and now I move those committee
[55:59] amendments as amended.
>> Yes.
[56:04] » Yes.
>> So all those in favor of adopting the
[56:08] amendments say I.
>> I. All those opposed say nay. The motion
[56:14] passes and the committee amendments and
as amended by the floor amendment
[56:22] are adop are adopted.
>> Great.
[56:25] » And then I recognize
Councilman Torrren.
[56:30] » Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to
move another amendment which clarifies
[56:34] the conditional use but also identifies
the specific area which were required to
[56:38] because the updated plat was added into
the actual into the actual bill after it
[56:44] was strucken by the committee by
mistake. So we now have an updated plat
[56:48] added back into it with the yellow
portion saying that that where the
[56:50] alcohol beverage sales would be placed.
>> So is there any additional discussion on
[56:56] that?
All those in favor of approving this
[57:00] bill. the amendment to
>> I'm approving the amendment to the bill
[57:03] say I.
>> I.
[57:05] » All those opposed say nay.
>> This bill
[57:10] um
>> now the amendment is approved and we'll
[57:14] recognize Chair Dorsy again.
>> Okay. So we have amendments. Um
[57:22] » and then I come
>> I move the bill favorable
[57:26] as amended.
Any additional discussion? Okay. All
[57:33] those in favor of approving. Oh,
Councilman Torren.
[57:36] » Yes, ma'am. I just want to collect
correct the statements of my pred my
[57:41] colleague. Um, there are only two bodies
in this in this city that require for
[57:45] variances that have be individual factf
finders. That is the B the board of
[57:49] municipal zoning appeals and that's the
Baltimore city council. So, by voting
[57:52] yes, you did identify and agree to the
facts of the actual place in there. So
[57:56] therefore, the standard is there and
then the standard is no longer just
[58:00] financial implications. Um I and I
invite my colleagues to take a walk down
[58:04] West North Avenue with me and see that
there are very few locations where you
[58:07] can actually place a grocery store in
West Avenue because of the racial
[58:11] discrimination and the way that we zone
this city. So to say that in and I and I
[58:17] wholeheartedly say this realistically,
we are blind to our in our un how can I
[58:23] say this unconscious bias related to how
we feel in our own individual districts.
[58:29] I want to be transparent.
[58:34] Black people deserve
grocery stores. We deserve to eat in our
[58:39] neighborhoods. We deserve amenities. And
it was by the zoning code and those who
[58:44] led this council prior to us that got us
in this situation.
[58:48] And I say that wholeheartedly. Um, and
I'm shaking because I am disgusted
[58:55] because this conversation has led to
saying something's illegal when one's
[59:01] own bill was returned by the circuit
court of Baltimore City.
[59:05] when we are the individual factf finders
and I want to say that to this council.
[59:10] We have land use authority and we are
the individual factfinders in our own
[59:14] votes. So to vote yes on it and then
change your vote today is not only
[59:18] hypocritical but lies within my own
consciousness to say morally I won't
[59:23] call it out as it is. Your bias is
leading you and it's not leading with
[59:28] the heart of the city or the black
people who get access to food in a food
[59:32] desert. And I say this to my neighbors,
save a lot is not the only thing that we
[59:36] should have.
We should not have to enter into grocery
[59:40] stores because we only have one in the
neighborhood that's charging $12 just
[59:44] for coffee creamer that I can go to a
white neighborhood and get for $9.
[59:49] So if you want to have that
conversation, let's have it. In addition
[59:53] to that, one of my colleagues is getting
a Trader Joe's, right? The average
[59:57] income around that Trader Joe's was easy
for them to move in.
[1:00:01] When we talk about the fact that we had
to change and get more people employed
[1:00:06] in Pin North to increase the home values
in those neighborhoods and black
[1:00:10] communities just to attract one grocery
store to talk about the lengths we have
[1:00:15] to go to get something in a black
neighborhood then to vote no because
[1:00:18] you're an individual backfiring being
cowardice about actual cars and parking.
[1:00:25] Let's be transparent.
This city is two different ones. There's
[1:00:29] a black butterfly. is a white L and the
only way that we're changing it in West
[1:00:34] Baltimore is by black people leading and
black people providing opportunities in
[1:00:37] black neighborhoods. And Madam Chair, I
sit on that.
[1:00:42] Any other discussion,
very valid points for to think about.
[1:00:49] And now I'll go back. Um all those in
favor of approving this bill as amended
[1:00:55] say I.
>> I.
[1:00:58] » Those opposed say nay. Abstain.
>> This bill will be printed for third and
[1:01:03] one abstension. Uh Conway, make note of
that. And this bill will be printed for
[1:01:10] third reader.
>> Does he like to speak?
[1:01:14] » The chair recognizes um Chair Dorsy.
>> No, Madam Vice President.
[1:01:19] » No. Oh, I'm sorry. Um
>> Conway.
[1:01:25] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. I
appreciate it. But just wanted to take a
[1:01:28] moment to explain my vote. Um I uh I
share the uh the councilman, the sponsor
[1:01:34] of the bill's concern about making sure
that we address food deserts. He alluded
[1:01:37] to um a labor of love, dare I call it,
to get a grocery store, a second grocery
[1:01:43] store into my district, but
unfortunately um it is not where we need
[1:01:47] it.
Uh it's actually right is being placed,
[1:01:51] you know, a rocks throw from a giant,
which is not all that helpful for us. Um
[1:01:56] the interesting piece is um I I I think
unfortunately I I decided to abstain
[1:02:01] from this vote. One because of the the
questions about uh whether or not we've
[1:02:05] met the findings or facts. Uh but then
two the matter of process and a lot of
[1:02:09] the things that came up in the midst of
the hearing. Um I think um we definitely
[1:02:14] need to address food deserts within our
city. Uh it is a huge huge huge huge
[1:02:20] problem. Uh and one that far too many of
our communities um strugg struggle with
[1:02:24] and huge swats of my district struggle
with it as well. And I think we always
[1:02:28] find ourselves bending over over
backwards to do so. Um the the the finer
[1:02:33] point I want to make here though is we
have to make sure that we are continuing
[1:02:36] to listen to our communities as we do so
and that we try to find nuance in how we
[1:02:40] meet their needs. Um, I had some some
concerns that, you know, frankly, I am
[1:02:44] no expert on this project, so I didn't
feel comfortable voting against it. Um,
[1:02:48] I I didn't also feel comfortable v
voting for it. Um, you know, removing um
[1:02:53] a a bus lane, I think, is is a challenge
that I wish we would have sorted out in
[1:02:58] advance. Um, so, you know, things like
that I think, um, that came up in the
[1:03:04] hearing I think bring bring me pause and
just make me want to pump my brakes a
[1:03:08] little bit before I throw my full weight
of support behind the bill. Um, that
[1:03:13] said, I I appreciate uh the effort of of
the councilman. I appreciate the effort
[1:03:17] of the chair to make sure that uh we do
address the food deserts issue, but I I
[1:03:21] think we also want to make sure that we
are continuing to listen our communities
[1:03:24] and make sure that we meet all of their
needs and we don't find ourselves
[1:03:27] sacrificing um the um the process that
hopefully um can lead us to to more
[1:03:33] consensus and and better solutions and
not just the one that's uh presented to
[1:03:37] us. So, uh, with that, I I abstain and,
you know, I appreciate, um, the
[1:03:42] continued efforts, I'm sure, by the
councilman to address, um, anything that
[1:03:46] goes forward in in the district.
And uh I just want to add re reaching
[1:03:53] staying um up to date and with what's
going on in our individual communities,
[1:04:00] not just the communities that each one
of us serve and represent in our
[1:04:07] boundaries of our district, but you
know, pay attention of what's going on
[1:04:12] around the entire city and the
revitalization and the changes that we
[1:04:17] continue h to have to make And also um
as far as grocery stores, you know, the
[1:04:24] city needs to having a grocery store is
um a very hard business and we need to
[1:04:34] find incentives to help
um someone that's interested in owning a
[1:04:40] grocery store. trying to find incentives
to help them start that store up and
[1:04:47] just figuring out ways to do, you know,
to build those partnerships because
[1:04:51] again, at the end of the day, it's all
about partnerships.
[1:04:55] And on that note, um I'll turn it
>> I'll
[1:05:02] um I'll one more thing, Councilman
Torrance, and then we'll move on move
[1:05:06] forward.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair, because we're in
[1:05:08] a public sector. I just want to correct
the record. We did not remove a bus
[1:05:11] lane. There were two lanes. One was a
right turn lane and the other was the
[1:05:16] bus lane. MCA had to signal over and
causing conflicts. There are two right
[1:05:21] turn lanes that people were turning at
both times from both right turn lanes.
[1:05:26] We just got rid of one right turn lane
so that we can end the conflict and
[1:05:29] we're doing bumpouts at all four corners
to make it safe for young people to go
[1:05:33] to and from Mount Royal Terrace
>> to Mount Royal Elementary Middle School.
[1:05:36] We actually met with the community after
the hearing at the actual site so they
[1:05:40] can actually witness three buses have to
signal back over to get into the rest of
[1:05:44] West North Avenue. And I just want to
say for colleagues, there's a such thing
[1:05:48] as Google Maps. It has a layer that you
can look at overlaying the city that you
[1:05:52] can see both lanes were there and that
we are not removing a bus lane. It does
[1:05:56] not threaten North Avenue Rising. And
I'm just going to say this again because
[1:06:00] I just want to be clear. It is the facts
were there. the conversations were had.
[1:06:06] That's why there was no community
opposition at the last hearing. We were
[1:06:09] very clear when we met community on
site. We in addition to that we also
[1:06:14] there were a lot of things that we met
with community. I just want to put out
[1:06:17] there on the record what where we came
with community. We are planting new
[1:06:22] trees, preserving oak trees. We're
providing 65 parking spots. In addition
[1:06:27] to that, we're providing a liquor
license for future business to actually
[1:06:30] have a restaurant in the neighborhood.
Right? It's just not just the wine and
[1:06:33] sales. is also retail that's going to be
present there as well. In addition to
[1:06:37] that, that is coupling with the fact
that we are building a new $16 million
[1:06:41] building AC down the street, which is
going to be the mayor's office of
[1:06:44] employment development that I welcome
you all to come visit in the fall when
[1:06:48] we open it and we actually start using
that that actual facility for that
[1:06:52] project labor agreement with the
Frederick Douglas tunnel. This has been
[1:06:55] strategic investment that has been led
and had community conversations. to be
[1:07:00] to be transparent with you, these
community conversations happen with West
[1:07:03] North Avenue Development Authority. And
I just want to say that like these
[1:07:06] aren't things just happening in
isolation. This isn't for a developer.
[1:07:10] This is what makes sense for the
community and the neighborhoods. And
[1:07:13] » thank you, Councilman Torrance. I I we
all feel your passion and thank you for
[1:07:19] having a very um professional discussion
and debate. And now we'll end this
[1:07:26] discussion and move back to recognizing
Chair Dorsy so we can move to the next
[1:07:33] piece.
[1:07:43] » Um I recognize Councilman
uh Torrance to move to third reader.
[1:07:50] » Thank you Madam Chair. I would like to
at this time, Madame President, vice
[1:07:54] vice president, I would like to move the
suspend rules for same day advancement
[1:07:57] for the bill to move it to third reader.
>> Is there any debate or discussion on the
[1:08:01] motion for same day advancement
>> with the clerk?
[1:08:08] » Uh,
[1:08:16] okay. Yeah, we have to do that over. Um,
basically you want to invoke the city
[1:08:22] council rule 121 the same day for
advancement
[1:08:27] as you just said
>> the third reader for city council bill
[1:08:31] 260150.
Thank you parliamentarian for um
[1:08:35] catching that.
And is there any discussion or to move
[1:08:43] um on the motion the same day
advancement?
[1:08:49] Will the clerk please call the role?
[1:08:55] » Parker.
[1:08:58] » I
>> Okay. Uh McCrae.
[1:09:03] » Oh, chambers. Dorsy.
>> No. Conway.
[1:09:09] » Schlifer.
>> Hi.
[1:09:11] » Middleton.
>> Yes.
[1:09:13] » Torrance.
>> Hi.
[1:09:15] » Gray.
>> Hi.
[1:09:17] » Bullock.
>> Hi.
[1:09:18] » Porter.
>> Hi.
[1:09:20] » Blanchard.
>> Hi.
[1:09:21] » Jones.
>> Hi.
[1:09:23] » Ramos.
>> Yes.
[1:09:26] » Madam vice president.
>> 2 three four five six seven eight.
[1:09:30] » There are 10 votes in the affirmative.
The motion does not have submission
[1:09:34] votes.
>> Okay. We cannot move this to third
[1:09:38] reader.
[1:09:43] » City council bill 26-0153
measurement of building height gambo
[1:09:47] roofs.
[1:10:06] Sorry. Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> I didn't read the next bill number.
[1:10:13] » Oh.
>> Oh, let me read it again. City Council
[1:10:15] Bill 26-0153,
measurement of building height gamble
[1:10:18] roofs.
>> Thank you. This bill was heard on July
[1:10:21] 2nd. It was recommended as favorable
with amendments. There are committee
[1:10:24] amendments on my colleagues desk from
urgently proposed from Councilman Parker
[1:10:31] uh which u reflect recommendations from
the planning commission to change the
[1:10:36] standards of measurements for roof from
the eaves to the peak to the top of the
[1:10:41] highest wall plate to the highest point
in the roof. Um I move the amendment as
[1:10:47] favorable.
[1:10:50] Before we vote, is there any debate or
discussion on the committee amendment?
[1:10:55] All those in favor of adopting the
amendment say I.
[1:10:59] » I.
>> All those opposed say nay. The motion
[1:11:02] passes and the amendments are adopted.
[1:11:07] » Uh I move the bill favorable as amended.
>> Is there any additional debate or
[1:11:13] discussion on this bill?
All those in favor of approving this
[1:11:18] bill say I.
>> I.
[1:11:21] » All those opposed say nay.
This bill will be will be printed for
[1:11:25] third reader.
>> City council bill 26-0165
[1:11:29] sale of property at 220 Guilford Avenue.
>> The chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
[1:11:34] » Thank you. This bill was heard on July
9th. It was recommended as favorable. I
[1:11:37] move as favorable.
>> Is there any additional debate or
[1:11:41] discussion on this bill?
All those in favor of approving this
[1:11:46] bill say I.
>> I.
[1:11:49] » All those opposed say nay.
This bill will be printed for third
[1:11:54] reader. The chair recognizes Chair
Dorsy.
[1:11:57] » Thank you. I move to suspend the rules
as necessary to allow for same day
[1:12:01] advancement of this bill to third
reader.
[1:12:07] Um, you invoked the rule 121
>> for same day advancement.
[1:12:14] » Yes.
>> Okay. Is there any debate or discussion
[1:12:17] on the motion of the same day
advancement?
[1:12:21] Will the clerk please call the role?
>> Parker,
[1:12:26] » yes.
>> McCrae,
[1:12:28] » uh, Dorsy,
>> yes.
[1:12:30] » Conway,
>> hi. Schlifer.
[1:12:33] » Hi
>> Middleton.
[1:12:34] » Hi
>> Torrance.
[1:12:36] » Hi
>> Gray.
[1:12:37] » Hi
>> Bulock.
[1:12:38] » Hi
>> Porter.
[1:12:39] » Hi
>> Blanchard.
[1:12:40] » Hi
>> Jones.
[1:12:42] » Hi
>> Ramos.
[1:12:44] » Yes.
>> We have three. That's 12.
[1:12:49] » This bill will move to third reader
today.
[1:12:53] » City council bill 26-0175.
Street names authority to change suffix.
[1:13:00] Thank you. This bill was heard on July.
The
[1:13:02] » chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. This bill was heard on July
[1:13:05] 2nd. It was recommended as favorable. I
move the bill favorable.
[1:13:09] » Before we vote, is there any debate or
discussion on this bill?
[1:13:15] All those in favor of approving this
bill say I.
[1:13:18] » I.
>> All those opposed say nay. This bill
[1:13:22] will be printed for third reading. City
Council Bill 26-0176,
[1:13:28] zoning conditional use conversion of a
single family dwelling unit to two
[1:13:32] dwelling units in an R8 zoning district
variance 812 North Kerry Street.
[1:13:36] » The chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. This bill was heard on July
[1:13:41] 9th. It was recommended as favorable.
There are findings of fact adopted by
[1:13:46] the committee included with the
materials in my colleagues desk
[1:13:49] documents. I move the findings and note
that uh it was put on the record that
[1:13:53] the variance that was uh noted in the
bill uh is obsolete and was not actually
[1:13:58] required. So there's no variance
necessary with this bill. Uh I move the
[1:14:02] finding of facts.
>> All those in favor of adopting the
[1:14:05] findings of facts say I.
>> I.
[1:14:07] » Those opposed say nay. The finding of
facts are adopted. The chair recognizes
[1:14:13] Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. I move the bill um I move the
[1:14:16] bill favorable. Is there any additional
debate or discussion on this bill?
[1:14:22] All those in favor of approving this
bill say I.
[1:14:25] » I.
>> All those opposed say nay.
[1:14:29] This bill will be printed for third
reader. The chair recognizes chair
[1:14:33] Dorsy.
>> Thank you. I move to suspend the rules
[1:14:36] for same day advancement of this bill to
third reader.
[1:14:41] » Uh invoke city council rule 121 same day
advancement. Is there any debate or
[1:14:47] discussion on the motion of um for the
same day advancement?
[1:14:54] » Will the clerk please call the role?
>> Parker,
[1:14:59] » yes.
>> Dorsy,
[1:15:00] » yes.
>> Conway,
[1:15:01] » hi.
>> Schlifer,
[1:15:03] » Middleton,
>> yes.
[1:15:04] » Torrance,
>> hi.
[1:15:05] » Gray,
>> hi.
[1:15:06] » Bulock,
>> hi.
[1:15:07] » Porter,
>> hi.
[1:15:08] » Blanchard,
>> hi.
[1:15:10] » Jones,
>> hi.
[1:15:11] » Ramos,
>> yes.
[1:15:14] This bill moves to third reader today.
>> City Council Bill 26-0178,
[1:15:19] Baltimore Harbor, Transfer of Authority
to Department of Transportation.
[1:15:24] » Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. This bill was heard on July
[1:15:28] 2nd and voted on July 9th. It is
recommended as favorable with
[1:15:32] amendments. There are committee
amendments on my colleagues desk. These
[1:15:36] seven amendments are technical and
include they they clarify that an
[1:15:40] environmental citation is issued by the
environmental control board. Uh insert
[1:15:45] the word harbor on page 10. Insert the
word piling on page 28. Correct the word
[1:15:51] authorizations
to authorization.
[1:15:54] Change the phrase from warps for private
enjoyment to warps. On page 14, change a
[1:16:02] drift to a drift allowed to deteriorate.
On page 17 and number seven, strike
[1:16:10] company or on page 18. I move these
amendments as favorable.
[1:16:18] » All those in favor of adopting the
finding of facts say I.
[1:16:22] » Uh the amendments.
>> The adopting the amendments say I. I.
[1:16:29] » All those opposed say nay.
The amendments are adopted. The chair
[1:16:36] recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Uh I move the bill favorable as amended.
[1:16:43] » Are there any uh additional debates or
discussions in this bill?
[1:16:48] All those in favor of approving the bill
as adopted say I.
[1:16:53] » I.
>> All those opposed say nay.
[1:16:57] This bill will be printed for third
reading. The chair recognizes Chair
[1:17:01] Dorsy.
[1:17:05] » Next bill.
>> Oh,
[1:17:07] where are you?
>> Here.
[1:17:09] » No. So, hey, I missed.
No, I'm going to go back to it.
[1:17:14] » Okay. Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
>> Oh. Oh, he's got to read the bill.
[1:17:21] Sorry.
[1:17:25] City Council Bill 26-0197
RPP Area 48 Riverside revisions.
[1:17:37] » Uh recognize Chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. This bill was heard on July
[1:17:41] 2nd as recommended favorable. I move the
bill favorable.
[1:17:46] » Before we vote, are there any debates or
discussions on this bill?
[1:17:52] All those in favor of approving this
bill say I.
[1:17:55] » I.
>> Those opposed say nay. This bill will
[1:17:59] will be printed for third reader. The
the chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.
[1:18:04] » I move to suspend the rules to allow for
same day advancement of this bill of
[1:18:08] third reader.
>> Are there is there any debate or
[1:18:12] discussion on the motion for same day
advancement?
[1:18:18] Will the clerk please call the role?
[1:18:22] Parker,
>> yes.
[1:18:24] » McCrae,
Dorsy,
[1:18:26] » yes.
>> Conway, hi.
[1:18:28] » Schlifer,
>> Middleton,
[1:18:30] » yes.
>> Torrance,
[1:18:31] » hi
>> Gray,
[1:18:32] » hi
>> Bullock,
[1:18:33] » hi
>> Porter,
[1:18:34] » hi
>> Blanchard,
[1:18:35] » hi
>> Jones,
[1:18:36] » hi
>> Ramos,
[1:18:38] » yes.
>> This bill moves to third reader
[1:18:43] » today.
Circle back to the one that I missed.
[1:18:47] Sorry.
I'm gonna do this one. I missed it. I'm
[1:18:52] sorry. Okay.
>> City Council Bill 26-0177,
[1:18:57] which I previously missed. Reszoning 901
South Kaitton Avenue.
[1:19:02] » So, Chair Dorsy, recognizing you, one
more we missed.
[1:19:09] » Sorry, this is not in my script here.
>> 26. Yeah. 0177.
[1:19:14] The reszoning of 901 South. Did
>> we miss it? Sorry.
[1:19:18] » South Kaitton Avenue.
>> Oh, sorry.
[1:19:25] I see. Okay. Um,
this bill was heard July 9th is
[1:19:31] recommended favorable.
I move the bill. Oh, there. Oh, there
[1:19:36] finding a fact adopted by the committee
included with the materials and desk
[1:19:40] documents. I move the finding.
>> All those in favor of adopting the
[1:19:44] finding of facts say I.
>> I. Those opposed say nay. The finding of
[1:19:50] facts are adopted. Chair recognizes
Chair Dorsy.
[1:19:54] » Thank you. I move the bill favorable.
>> Uh are there is there any additional
[1:19:59] debate or discussion on this bill? All
those in favor of approving this bill
[1:20:04] say I.
>> I.
[1:20:06] » Those opposed say nay. This bill will be
printed for third reader.
[1:20:15] » Mhm.
>> Do we?
[1:20:16] » Yeah.
We recognize
[1:20:20] » to do this.
>> Oh, we want to do it the same day. Chair
[1:20:24] recognizes chair Dorsy.
>> Thank you. Move to suspend the rules to
[1:20:29] allow for same day advancement to third
reader.
[1:20:32] » And uh any debate or discussion on the
motion for same day advancement?
[1:20:39] Hearing none, will the clerk please call
the role?
[1:20:42] » Parker,
>> yes.
[1:20:43] » Dorsy,
>> yes.
[1:20:44] » Conway,
>> I. Schlifer.
[1:20:46] » Hi,
>> Middleton.
[1:20:48] » Hi,
>> Torrance.
[1:20:49] » Hi,
>> Gray.
[1:20:50] » Hi,
>> Bulock.
[1:20:51] » Hi,
>> Porter.
[1:20:52] » Hi,
>> Blanchard.
[1:20:53] » Hi,
>> Jones.
[1:20:54] » Hi,
>> Ramos.
[1:20:55] » Yes.
>> This bill moves to third reader today.
[1:21:01] We now move to bills on third reader.
Will the clerk please read the bills and
[1:21:06] call the role?
>> City council bill 26-0165,
[1:21:10] sale of property 220 Guilford Avenue.
Parker, Dorsey, Conway, Schlaer,
[1:21:15] Middleton, Torrance, Gay, Bulock,
Blanchard, Jones, Glover, Ramos, Cohen.
[1:21:22] And um council members McCrae, Glover,
and President Cohen are absent.
[1:21:28] » This bill is approved.
>> City Council Bill 26-0176
[1:21:32] zoning conditional use conversion of a
single family dwelling to two dwelling
[1:21:36] units in the R8 zoning district variance
812 North Kerry Street. Parker, Dorsy,
[1:21:42] Conway, Schlaer, Middleton, Torrance,
Gay, Bulock, Blanchard, Jones, Glover,
[1:21:46] Ramos, Cohen. I'll note, um, McCrae,
Ramos, sorry, McCrae, Glover, and Cohen
[1:21:53] as absences.
>> This bill was approved.
[1:21:57] » City Council Bill 26-0177,
resoning 901 South Kaitton Avenue.
[1:22:03] Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway, Schlifer,
Middleton, Torrance, Gray, Bullock,
[1:22:09] Blanchard, Jones, Glover, Ramos, Cohen,
and I'll note McCrae, Glover, and Cohen
[1:22:14] as absence.
>> This bill is approved.
[1:22:17] City Council Bill 26-0197
RP Area 48 Riverside revisions Parker
[1:22:24] McCrae Dorsy Conway Schlifer Middleton
Torrren Gray Bullock Blanchard Jones
[1:22:29] Glover Ramos Cohen will note McCrae
Glover and Cohen as absences. This bill
[1:22:34] is approved.
We now move to um committee
[1:22:40] announcements.
Chairs, when you hear your committee,
[1:22:44] please proceed with your committee
announcements and
[1:22:48] uh budget and appropriations.
We do not have any announcements. Um
[1:22:55] education, youth, and older adults.
Chair Bullock, no announcements. Housing
[1:23:01] and community, housing and economic
development. Chair Torrance.
[1:23:07] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. The
Housing Economic Development Committee
[1:23:10] will hear Council Bill 260163,
Community Health Food Access um act on
[1:23:16] August 18th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. in the
council chambers. And then we will have
[1:23:21] I will announce via the council
president's office three other bills
[1:23:24] that will will have hearings of four in
August as well. Thank you, Madam Chair.
[1:23:28] » Thank you. Labor and Workforce Chair
Jones.
[1:23:35] » No announcements. to land use and
transportation. Chair Dorsy.
[1:23:43] » Thank you, Madam President. On September
10th at 9:00 am in the council chambers,
[1:23:49] the committee will continue with its
next DOT oversight hearing uh on
[1:23:56] operations um transportation department
LO25004.
[1:24:05] On
September 17th at 9:00 a.m.,
[1:24:11] the committee will hear Council Bill
260195,
[1:24:16] zoning accessory dwelling units. 9:00
a.m. in the council chambers.
[1:24:23] On September 17th, 9:00 a.m. committee
will hear council bill 260218,
[1:24:31] transit oriented development, downtown
Baltimore.
[1:24:37] On September 17th, the committee will
hear Council Bill 260219,
[1:24:42] Transit Oriented Development, Rogers
Avenue.
[1:24:48] On September 24th at 9:00 a.m. Committee
will hear in the council chambers 250093
[1:24:57] zoning Harford Road Overlay District.
On September 24th, 9:00 am in the
[1:25:04] council chambers, the committee will
hear council bill 25128,
[1:25:09] zoning conditional use conversion of a
single family dwelling unit to three
[1:25:13] dwelling units in the R8 zoning
district, 1118 North Kerry Street.
[1:25:20] On September 24th at 9:00 am,
committee will hear council bill 260148
[1:25:27] reszoning 205 to 209 East Cold Spring
Lane.
[1:25:33] And on September 24th, the committee
will hear council at 9:00 a.m. the
[1:25:39] committee will hear 260149
reasonzoning 2441 to 2449 West Baltimore
[1:25:47] Street. Thank you.
Thank you. Uh, legislative
[1:25:52] investigations. Chair Schlifer.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. The, uh,
[1:25:57] committee on legislative investigations
will hold a hearing on bill number
[1:26:00] 26-0193,
public nuisance, illegal distribution of
[1:26:04] manufacturer of cannabis or control
dangerous substances on September 10th,
[1:26:09] 2026 at 3 p.m. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Public Health and Environment
[1:26:15] Chair Porter.
>> Thank you. Thank you so much, Madam
[1:26:17] Chair. U the public health and
environment committee will hold the
[1:26:20] following hearings Wednesday August 19th
2026 beginning at 10:01 resolution
[1:26:25] 26-0055Rformational
[1:26:29] hearing sewage backups expedited
reimbursement and direct assistance
[1:26:32] program at the request of council member
Gray on the second one will be on
[1:26:38] Wednesday September 16th beginning at 10
a.m. Bill number 26-0194,
[1:26:44] municipal identification cards,
applications and personal information
[1:26:49] requested by council member Ramos on
behalf of the Baltimore City Information
[1:26:52] and Technology Division and LO260049
briefing the Cis Street Task Force at
[1:26:59] the request of council member Ramos in
the 14th district. All hearings will be
[1:27:03] held in C council chambers and open to
the public. Thank you.
[1:27:07] » Thank you. Public safety chair Conway.
No announcements. Uh, charter review
[1:27:13] special committee. No announcements.
That was chair Dorsy also. We ma now
[1:27:20] move to regular announcements. Does
anyone have any announcements to share?
[1:27:25] Um,
>> Porter.
[1:27:29] » Thank you so much, Madam Chair. I just
want to colleagues, I just want to
[1:27:31] recognize um Morgan State University
Center for R research and excellence in
[1:27:36] wastewaterbased epidemiology.
um they developed a really really
[1:27:40] innovative tool that predicts sewer
spills um in the city and so they had an
[1:27:44] opportunity um to share with me before
um about their uh innovative tool. But
[1:27:50] this is a great opportunity because
Councilman Gray this is something that
[1:27:53] you were working on in relation to
sewage backups throughout the city. And
[1:27:56] this is a innovative tool right here in
the city of Baltimore that can help with
[1:28:01] that predictive um technology for future
sewage backups. I just wanted to um
[1:28:06] share this citation with them and so
they're here tonight. Just want to
[1:28:09] recognize them, Dr. Zang um and her
colleague. And so just wanted to
[1:28:13] recognize them tonight. So
[1:28:21] So I'll read the resolution. The city
council of Baltimore be it hereby known
[1:28:24] that all of the city council offices
sincerest congratulations to Morgan
[1:28:28] State University center for research
excellence in wastewater based tech
[1:28:32] epidemiology in recognition of your
development of an innovative tool that
[1:28:36] predicts sewer spills advancing public
health protection environmental
[1:28:40] stewardship and infrastructure
resilience. The entire membership
[1:28:43] extends best wishes on this memorable
occasion and the rest this resolution to
[1:28:47] be presented on the 13th day of July
2026. Signed, President Z Cohen and
[1:28:51] Councilwoman Felicia Ray Louise Porter.
Thank you.
[1:28:54] » Thank you.
[1:29:00] Thank you. Any other announcements? Uh,
Councilman Bullock.
[1:29:09] » Yes. Uh, thank you, Madam President. Um,
also going to follow up from um, Council
[1:29:13] Member Porter because I want to give her
some flowers today. Um, one of the
[1:29:17] things I'm I'm very proud of, we had a
lot of conversations today around
[1:29:20] grocery stores. And so um, and Mount
Clair Junction and the uh, the grand
[1:29:25] reopening of Super Fresh was very proud
to stand along with my colleague. One of
[1:29:28] the things we talk about in this council
is that um, our district boundaries are
[1:29:32] important, but it's more important about
the neighborhoods and the communities
[1:29:35] that we serve. And so we look at a
neighborhood like Mount Clair that has
[1:29:38] been challenged as it relates to food
access and being able to work with uh uh
[1:29:42] neighborhoods and work with uh private
entities to make sure that our our
[1:29:45] people are served is a beautiful thing.
And so I think it's a good example of
[1:29:49] how we can be collaborative across
district boundaries but also work
[1:29:53] together on these critical issues. So
again, thank you council member Porter
[1:29:56] for being a good colleague.
>> Another Councilman Councilwoman Porter
[1:30:01] » and I and thank you so much Councilman
Bull. Again, I just want to clarify,
[1:30:05] this is the third grocery store that has
been in this location. And so, when we
[1:30:09] talk about the incentives that grocery
stores need to come in, this is the
[1:30:13] first national retailer that's coming
into District 10. And so, grocery stores
[1:30:17] are extremely hard to come by. And so
when you have communities that are
[1:30:21] begging for grocery stores, needing
grocery stores, we have as a council, we
[1:30:25] have a duty to make sure that we are
pulling all of the opportunities for
[1:30:31] grocery stores to come into communities
so that we have fresh fruits and
[1:30:34] vegetables. And so this is not only a
testament of the work that the community
[1:30:38] is doing, but this is the testament of
the rigor and the hard work it actually
[1:30:42] takes to bring a grocery store in.
Again, this is the third grocery store
[1:30:46] in the 5 years that I've been serving.
This is the first national grocery store
[1:30:49] that we have in this circuit. So, thank
you so much, Councilman.
[1:30:53] » Thank Thank you and congratulations
[1:30:58] and um Councilman Gray comment.
>> Yep. I just want to acknowledge uh that
[1:31:07] Local Progress uh was in Baltimore this
past uh weekend um for their annual
[1:31:14] convening. Uh this is their first time
in Baltimore.
[1:31:17] maybe in history. As far as the actual
convening, um they've been here for
[1:31:21] other events. Uh it was an amazing time.
Uh Local Progress is a grassroot
[1:31:25] organization that really helps um
electeds from all across the country. Um
[1:31:31] with uh with legislation, uh with
support, with family, um it is uh we had
[1:31:37] a lot of representation. We had the
mayor give the opening address. Uh we
[1:31:41] had um we had uh school board member uh
Ashley Espazito on a panel along with uh
[1:31:50] council president Z Cohen along with um
our comproller Bill Henry. Uh we also
[1:31:56] had a welcoming opening from James and
I. Um, but overall I just wanted to let
[1:32:01] everyone know that um, we've been saying
that Baltimore is on a renaissance, but
[1:32:07] after this I know that most of people
will go around and tell everyone around
[1:32:11] the country that Baltimore is back in a
big way. Uh, from the food, from the
[1:32:16] entertainment, from the hospitality,
everything that they experienced was uh,
[1:32:21] top tier. And so, um, I just want to
give a big shout out to Baltimore, uh,
[1:32:26] for us, for being us, not knowing who
they were, but still giving giving them
[1:32:30] the love, the food, the support, uh, the
laughs, uh, and the memories, but also
[1:32:35] to let people know, um, that, uh, we see
what's going on the federal level. Uh,
[1:32:42] hopefully, God willing, we have two more
years of this, but there is a underbelly
[1:32:48] of leadership that is ready, ready to
explode. Last year we were in Chicago.
[1:32:52] Uh Councilwoman Border and Councilman uh
Torrance Ethan was there as well. Uh and
[1:32:58] in that room I spoke to um a council
woman at the time, Janice George, who is
[1:33:04] now the mayor of DC. And so to hear her
say at that moment that she was looking
[1:33:10] to run for mayor, and to see where she
is now, um progressive politics aren't
[1:33:15] dead, they are here to stay. Um, and I'm
just thankful for for programs like
[1:33:20] this, uh, and for grassroot
organizations like this that continue to
[1:33:24] feed the next generation of leaders that
will actually show up and do what
[1:33:29] they're supposed to do for communities,
whether it's Mandomney, whether it's
[1:33:31] George, whether it's Scott. Um, a lot of
these folks have come through these
[1:33:35] organizations to make the changes that
we need in cities, uh, in counties,
[1:33:40] whether it's rural or urban. Um, a
change is coming and I just know they
[1:33:44] had a great time. So, I just want to
thank Baltimore and everyone else who
[1:33:46] participated.
>> Thank you. Anyone else before I speak
[1:33:52] and Councilman Conway?
[1:33:57] » Thank you, Madam Vice President. I'll be
very brief. Um, my colleague pulled the
[1:34:01] hood before I could announce this. U,
but, uh, the fourth district will be
[1:34:05] getting a new grocery store as we
alluded to earlier. Trader Joe's will be
[1:34:08] coming to the Anelise shopping center
off of York Road. Um, since I came in
[1:34:13] office uh in 2020,
December, this was one of the highest
[1:34:18] priorities for myself to get an
additional grocery store for the fourth
[1:34:21] district. Um, now I I'm I'm incredibly
happy about the Trader Joe's coming in.
[1:34:26] Uh, we still have a food desert on the
east side of um of York Road that we
[1:34:31] need to address. And so, this is uh this
will continue to be an issue that we
[1:34:34] need to resolve. And I agree with my
colleagues, we should be doing
[1:34:38] everything at our liberty to make sure
that we meet the food needs for the
[1:34:41] folks in our districts. Um, but we
should also celebrate those ones when we
[1:34:44] get them. And I hope that every one of
my council members here who has a food
[1:34:48] desert in their district um is has the
liberty and and um the the joy that I
[1:34:53] have in being able to bring a um grocery
store to the district. So um just want
[1:34:57] to, you know, uh lift up that win and uh
hopefully we can continue to do great
[1:35:01] work. Thank you.
>> Thank you. And then Councilman Torrance,
[1:35:07] » be very brief. I just want to do a shout
out to Visit Baltimore who's helped us
[1:35:11] with getting these um conventions. Um
just to give you the lens of it, this
[1:35:16] summer we're getting Jack and Jill, the
Capitals have come, Delta Sigma Theta is
[1:35:22] coming, and there are other um large
entities that are coming here that are
[1:35:26] bringing thousands of people to
Baltimore. And that team has I've seen
[1:35:30] what their new pitch stack looks like.
It is drastically improved how we're
[1:35:35] attracting people. But I also want to
shout out to um the community this
[1:35:40] weekend who came out with us. We built a
um playground within six hours.
[1:35:46] Six hours with 90 volunteers from both
the Ashburg community and the greater
[1:35:50] Montgomery community as well as the
brothers of cap alphasai. So six hours
[1:35:54] be playground alphas. Six hours.
>> Thank you so much. So, um I don't know
[1:35:59] if you So, my I have two things. Um a
shout out to um Baltimore KOJIC for
[1:36:07] helping to bring the Kod KIC uh
faith-based congregation for their
[1:36:12] convention here. It was here at the con
uh civic center, I mean convention
[1:36:17] center. over 10,000 people came and
filled the hotels, restaurants, just
[1:36:25] poured revenue into our city and really
had a wonderful time. The second piece
[1:36:34] is that you notice these wonderful
dangling earrings that I I have been
[1:36:39] wearing that um I'm just so proud. I've
been getting compliments. I made these.
[1:36:46] So on
[1:36:49] So, um, I'm a member of the Baltimore
City Links. A shout out to the Lynx. We
[1:36:55] had a friendship day at the Walters Art
Gallery on Thursday and did a tour of um
[1:37:05] uh the Dorian uh Fletcher's
um she's a artist that makes jewelry and
[1:37:12] she made jewelry for uh the movie um
Wakanda. So, they have right now an
[1:37:20] exhibit that's been going on for a
while, but um you know, we have so much
[1:37:25] art and culture and history here. And
so, we did the tour and then they do
[1:37:32] have sessions. And this is something I'm
saying because families and children can
[1:37:38] can go to this museum. A reminder, the
Walters Art Museum is free admission.
[1:37:44] It's um the funding is given from uh the
council, Baltimore City, um Howard
[1:37:53] County and also B our neighbors
Baltimore County contribute to keep the
[1:38:00] admission free and they have activities.
[1:38:07] You can book a group to do tours. They
have a um brooch making session coming
[1:38:15] up. But we after I did we did that um
jewelry tour. Of course you have that
[1:38:22] inspiration. So they we were sitting
down as a group and they provide all the
[1:38:27] things and you design you know your own
jewelry. And of course all of it is
[1:38:32] free. So, if families are looking for
something to do, this is um a nice
[1:38:38] museum to uh take your family with or
just go in there one day yourself and do
[1:38:44] the tour. They they have um just some
great exhibits going on there. And
[1:38:51] lastly, for a moment of silence, I have
four names. We lost a DPW worker,
[1:38:58] Courtney Brown.
um also a former employee
[1:39:04] from uh the Schaefer administration. Her
name was Jacqueline Hardy.
[1:39:10] And we also um lost uh Willie May
Lowry, which was the grandmother of um
[1:39:19] Ty and Greg Miller, my chief of staff,
Ty, and um a prominent doctor in the
[1:39:28] community. Her name was Marsher Brown
Matthews. So, a moment of silence for
[1:39:33] them.
And
[1:39:37] the next regular meeting of the
Baltimore City Council will be held on
[1:39:40] Monday, September 14th at 5:00 p.m.
There being no further business, this
[1:39:48] concludes the 33rd regular meeting of
the 74th term of the Baltimore City
[1:39:53] Council.