[0:04] [Music]

[0:05] Happy Monday. Good evening. This 16th

[0:08] regular meeting of the 74th term of the

[0:11] Baltimore City Council is now called to

[0:13] order. Tonight's invitation will be

[0:15] provided by the Reverend Dr. Walter L.

[0:19] Parish of Northside Baptist Church.

[0:22] Reverend Parish, the floor is yours.

[0:26] » Thank you. And thank you to Councilman

[0:29] Conway for this honor. Let us pray.

[0:33] Thou in whose image

[0:36] and whose likeness we have been made, we

[0:40] acknowledge with gratitude

[0:42] the gift of this day. Even as seasons

[0:46] change, we are aed by and grateful for

[0:50] the consistency of your presence.

[0:53] We ask as we gather that you would allow

[0:56] the people who make up this council and

[0:59] those who are in attendance to feel your

[1:01] presence and your proddding as we all

[1:04] work to make our city a more just and

[1:07] humane place. We ask that you would

[1:10] order today's proceedings so that those

[1:12] who are seeking resolution to problems

[1:14] will find resolution.

[1:17] We ask that you would provide measures

[1:19] of relief for those who are struggling

[1:21] just to make it from one day to the

[1:23] next. We ask that these servants of the

[1:27] people would be endowed with wisdom and

[1:30] possess an intolerance of mediocrity

[1:33] that will allow them to do all they can

[1:35] this day for the least of these.

[1:38] We ask that we would be emancipated from

[1:41] any loyalty to agendas that would divide

[1:44] us but be set free to work for the good

[1:47] of all. We ask that you give our

[1:51] leaders, our council president, and

[1:54] every member of this council under the

[1:57] sound of my voice a renewed

[1:58] determination to not be distracted or

[2:02] discouraged. We ask that our city from

[2:05] the youngest to the oldest, from the

[2:07] richest to the poorest, from the best

[2:09] connected to the least connected, be

[2:12] greater than the individual communities

[2:14] from which we come, and that we might

[2:17] know your guidance, making us one brave

[2:20] and beloved city and community. We ask

[2:24] this in the name of all that is holy.

[2:27] Amen.

[2:28] » Amen. Thank you, Reverend Parish.

[2:32] Before turning it over to Councilman

[2:35] Blanchard for the pledge of allegiance,

[2:37] I do want to recognize the folks from

[2:39] leadership that have joined us. Thank

[2:40] you for being here as well as the AFL

[2:43] CIO as well as every other guest in the

[2:46] chamber. Thank you for joining us

[2:48] tonight.

[2:50] All right, with that, Council Member

[2:52] Blanchard will now lead us in the pledge

[2:54] of allegiance. Councilman.

[2:57] » I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[3:00] United States of America and to the

[3:02] republic for which it stands. One nation

[3:05] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[3:09] justice for all.

[3:11] » Thank you. The clerk will now call the

[3:14] role of the members.

[3:16] » Parker

[3:17] » Here.

[3:18] » McCrae.

[3:19] » Dorsy,

[3:20] » Yes.

[3:21] » Conway

[3:22] » Here. Schlifer

[3:24] » Middleton

[3:26] » Torrance

[3:27] » Gray

[3:29] » Bullock

[3:30] » Porter

[3:31] » Blanchard

[3:32] » Jones

[3:34] » Glover

[3:36] » Ramos

[3:37] » Yeah here

[3:38] » Cohen

[3:40] » Here.

[3:40] » Mr. President, we have a quorum with VP

[3:43] Middleton absent.

[3:44] » Thank you, Madame Clerk. We will now

[3:46] proceed with the adoption of the

[3:48] journals.

[3:48] » Mr. President, the journals for the

[3:50] September 29th meeting proceedings are

[3:52] in members inboxes in the dust documents

[3:54] folder.

[3:55] » Without objection, the journals will be

[3:56] adopted.

[3:59] » Hearing none, the journals are adopted.

[4:02] Now we move on to executive nominations.

[4:05] Madame clerk,

[4:06] » EA25-0064,

[4:08] Timothy Keane, Director, Department of

[4:10] Planning.

[4:11] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:12] committee on legislative investigations.

[4:14] » EA25-0065

[4:17] Elijah Davis Jr., Member Trauma Informed

[4:20] Care Task Force.

[4:20] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:22] committee on investigate on legislative

[4:24] investigations.

[4:25] » EA25-0066

[4:27] Dr. Kevin Daniels member trauma-informed

[4:29] care task force.

[4:30] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:32] committee on legislative investigations.

[4:33] » EA25-0067

[4:36] Dr. Melissa Buckley, member,

[4:37] trauma-informed care task force.

[4:39] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:41] committee on legislative investigations.

[4:44] EA25-0068

[4:46] Terresa Bruce, member, trauma-informed

[4:48] care task force.

[4:49] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:50] committee on legislative investigations.

[4:52] » EA25-0069

[4:55] Molly Young, member, trauma-informed

[4:56] care task force.

[4:57] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[4:59] committee on legislative investigations.

[5:01] » EA25-0070.

[5:03] Corey Witherspoon, member,

[5:05] trauma-informed care task force.

[5:06] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:08] committee on legislative investigations.

[5:09] EA25-000071

[5:12] Angie Winder, member, trauma-informed

[5:14] care task force.

[5:15] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:16] committee on legislative investigations.

[5:18] » EA25-0072

[5:21] Farha Wahed, member trauma-informed care

[5:23] task force.

[5:24] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:26] committee on legislative investigations.

[5:27] » EA25-0073

[5:30] Tika Torres, member trauma-informed care

[5:32] task force.

[5:32] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:34] committee on legislative investigations.

[5:36] EA25-000074

[5:38] Jasmine Pope Member Trauma Informed Care

[5:40] Task Force.

[5:40] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:42] Committee on Legislative Investigations.

[5:44] » EA25-000075

[5:46] Dr. Tanya Nichols, Member Trauma

[5:48] Informed Care Task Force.

[5:49] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[5:51] Committee on Legislative Investigations.

[5:53] » EA25-0076

[5:55] DA Johnson, Member Trauma Informed Care

[5:57] Task Force.

[5:58] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:00] Committee on Legislative Investigations.

[6:02] EA25-000077

[6:04] Robert Holmes member trauma-informed

[6:06] care task force.

[6:07] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:09] committee on legislative investigations.

[6:10] » EA25-000078

[6:13] Dr. Panagus Scalia member

[6:16] trauma-informed care task force.

[6:17] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:19] committee on legislative investigations.

[6:21] » EA25-0079

[6:23] Dr. Andrew Gatus member trauma-informed

[6:26] care task force.

[6:26] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:28] committee on legislative investigations.

[6:29] EA25-080

[6:32] Jessica Font Laoy Member Trauma Informed

[6:34] Care Task Force.

[6:35] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:37] Committee on Legislative Investigations.

[6:38] » EA25-000081

[6:41] Tia Dun Johnson member trauma-informed

[6:43] care task force.

[6:44] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:45] committee on legislative investigations.

[6:47] » EA25-0082

[6:50] Karen Dehoff, member trauma-informed

[6:52] care task force.

[6:53] » This nomination has been assigned to the

[6:55] committee on legislative investigations.

[6:58] And I promise for those joining us for

[7:00] the first time, it will be less

[7:01] repetitive from here on out.

[7:05] » Now we move on to bills being

[7:06] introduced. Madame clerked,

[7:09] » City council bill 25-0102,

[7:13] Charles Village Community Benefits

[7:14] District and Management Authority, for

[7:16] the purpose of renewing and continuing

[7:18] the Char Charles Village Community

[7:19] Benefits District and Management

[7:21] Authority, providing for a special

[7:22] effective date and generally relating to

[7:24] the activities and authority of the

[7:26] Charles Village Community Benefits

[7:27] District and Management Authority. Lead

[7:29] sponsor Ramos Jones, co-sponsor Parker.

[7:32] » Chair recognizes council member Ramos.

[7:34] » Uh, thank you, Mr. President, and thank

[7:36] you, colleagues. This is the required uh

[7:39] reauthorization of the Charles Village

[7:40] Community Benefits District. This has to

[7:42] happen every four years uh for the

[7:44] public to be able to have a hearing

[7:46] about what's happening in the um

[7:48] benefits district, but also for us to

[7:50] celebrate the successes the benefits

[7:52] district uh Charles Village benefits

[7:54] district was the very first benefits

[7:55] district, community benefits district in

[7:57] Baltimore City. uh and I'm grateful to

[8:00] be have been involved from the very

[8:02] beginning uh of this of their work and

[8:04] they're designed to all benefits

[8:06] districts are designed to create to

[8:07] allow for more uh safety and cleanliness

[8:10] in that community and they are asset the

[8:12] property owners are assessed a special

[8:14] tax in order to pay for that. So this

[8:16] reauthorization is extremely important

[8:17] to continue uh the conversation around

[8:20] uh the the um performance of the

[8:23] organization but also the fact that we

[8:25] do still need these organizations um in

[8:28] these uh communities. So excited to work

[8:30] with my colleague uh on this bill and

[8:32] look forward to the next steps. Thank

[8:34] you, Mr. President.

[8:35] » Thank you, Council Member Ramos.

[8:38] This bill has been assigned to the

[8:43] Councilman Jones. Do you want to speak

[8:45] to this bill as well or are you good?

[8:47] » Okay. This bill has been assigned to the

[8:49] housing and economic development

[8:50] committee. City Council Bill 25-0103

[8:54] zoning conditional use conversion of a

[8:56] single family dwelling unit to three

[8:57] dwelling units in the R8 zoning district

[9:00] 1224 West Lafayette Avenue for the

[9:03] purpose of permitting subject to certain

[9:05] conditions the conversion of a single

[9:06] family dwelling unit into three dwelling

[9:08] units on the property known as 1224 West

[9:11] Lafayette Avenue block 0078 lot 005 as

[9:15] outlined in red on the accompanying plat

[9:17] and providing for a special effective

[9:18] date lead sponsor Bulock

[9:20] This bill has been assigned to the land

[9:22] use and transportation committee.

[9:23] » City Council Bill 25-0104,

[9:26] sale of property 2405 Lynen Avenue for

[9:30] the purpose of authorizing the mayor and

[9:31] city council of Baltimore to sell either

[9:33] at public or private sale all its

[9:35] interest in certain property located at

[9:37] 2405 Lynen Avenue, block 3463A,

[9:41] lot 008A, and no longer needed for

[9:43] public use and providing for a special

[9:45] effective date. Lead sponsor council

[9:47] president on behalf of the office of the

[9:49] comp patroller.

[9:50] » This bill has been assigned to the land

[9:51] use and transportation committee. City

[9:53] Council Bill 25-0105

[9:56] supplementary general fund operating

[9:57] appropriation Baltimore City Public

[9:59] Schools 12,911,344

[10:04] the purpose of providing a supplementary

[10:05] general fund operating appropriation in

[10:07] the amount of 12,911,344

[10:11] to Baltimore City Public Schools Service

[10:13] 352 Baltimore City Public Schools to

[10:16] provide funding for a deficit caused by

[10:18] the city's contribution to the

[10:19] development agreement for City Springs

[10:20] Elementary Middle School and providing

[10:22] ing for a special effective date. Lead

[10:24] sponsor, council president. On behalf of

[10:26] the administration,

[10:27] » This bill has been assigned to the

[10:29] budget and appropriations committee.

[10:31] City Council Bill 25-0106

[10:34] Supplementary General Fund Operating

[10:36] Appropriation Fire Department 38,520,93

[10:42] for the purpose of providing a

[10:43] supplementary general fund operating

[10:44] appropriation in the amount of $

[10:46] 38,520,93

[10:50] to the Fire Department Service 62, Fire

[10:53] Suppression and Emergency Rescue, to

[10:55] provide funding to balance the fire

[10:57] department's fiscal year 2025 budget to

[10:59] cover a deficit caused by overtime.

[11:01] time, staffing costs, and contractual

[11:03] EMS services, and providing for a

[11:05] special effective date. Lead sponsor,

[11:07] city council president, on behalf of the

[11:09] administration.

[11:10] » This bill has been assigned to the

[11:11] budget and appropriations committee.

[11:12] City Council Bill 25-0107,

[11:15] supplementary general fund operating

[11:17] appropriation, Department of Law,

[11:18] $81,393,

[11:21] for the purpose of providing a

[11:22] supplementary general fund operating

[11:24] appropriation in the amount of $81,393

[11:27] to the Department of Law Service862

[11:29] transactions to provide funding to

[11:31] balance the Department of Law's fiscal

[11:33] year 2025 budget to cover a deficit

[11:35] caused by contractual spending and

[11:37] providing for a special effective date.

[11:39] Council present on behalf of the

[11:41] administration.

[11:42] » This bill has been assigned to the

[11:43] budget and appropriations committee.

[11:44] City Council Bill 25-0108,

[11:47] supplementary general fund operating

[11:49] appropriation, liquor license board,

[11:51] $454,415

[11:54] for the purpose of providing a

[11:55] supplementary general fund operating

[11:57] appropriation the amount of $454,415

[12:01] to the liquor license board service 851

[12:04] liquor license compliance to provide

[12:06] funding to balance the liquor license

[12:07] board's fiscal 2025 budget for a deficit

[12:10] caused by office lease costs, use of

[12:13] privately leased vehicle, less and

[12:14] overtime and providing for a special

[12:16] effective date. Lead sponsor, council

[12:18] president, on behalf of the

[12:19] administration.

[12:20] » This bill has been assigned to the

[12:21] budget and appropriations committee.

[12:23] City Council Bill 25-0109,

[12:26] supplementary special grant fund

[12:27] operating appropriation, Mayor's Office

[12:29] of Employment Development, $300,000. for

[12:32] the purpose of providing a supplementary

[12:34] special grant fund operating

[12:35] appropriation in the amount of $300 to

[12:38] the mayor's office of employment

[12:39] development service 795 workforce

[12:42] services for Baltimore residents to

[12:44] provide funding to support the creation

[12:45] of recovery friendly workplaces and care

[12:47] navigators and providing for a special

[12:49] effective date lead sponsor city council

[12:52] president on behalf of the

[12:53] administration

[12:53] » This bill has been assigned to the

[12:54] budget and appropriations committee

[12:56] » City council bill 25-0110

[12:59] supplementary general fund operating

[13:01] appropriation Police Department

[13:03] 47,492,889

[13:08] for the purpose of providing a

[13:09] supplementary general fund operating

[13:10] appropriation the amount of 47,492,889

[13:16] to the police department service 622

[13:19] police patrol to provide funding to

[13:21] balance the police department's fiscal

[13:22] year 2025 budget for a deficit caused by

[13:25] overtime and staffing costs and

[13:27] providing for a special effective date.

[13:29] Lead sponsor, council president. On

[13:30] behalf of the administration,

[13:31] » This bill has been assigned to the

[13:33] budget and appropriations committee.

[13:34] » City Council Bill 25-0000111,

[13:37] supplementary general fund operating

[13:39] appropriation, Department of Recreation

[13:41] and Parks, 5,630,976.

[13:45] for the purpose of providing a

[13:46] supplementary general fund operating

[13:48] appropriation the amount of 5,630,976

[13:53] to the Department of Recreation and

[13:55] Parks Service 654 Urban Forestry to

[13:58] provide funding to balance the

[13:59] Department of Recreation and Parks

[14:01] fiscal year 2025 budget for a deficit

[14:03] caused by overtime and unbudgeted

[14:05] contractual costs and providing for a

[14:07] special effective date. Lead sponsor

[14:09] council president on behalf of the

[14:10] administration. This bill has been

[14:12] assigned to the budget and

[14:13] appropriations committee. City Council

[14:15] Bill 25-0112,

[14:18] Supplementary General Fund Operating

[14:19] Appropriation, Sheriff's Office,

[14:21] 3,425,454,

[14:25] for the purpose of providing a

[14:27] supplementary general fund operating

[14:28] appropriation in the amount of

[14:29] $3,425,454

[14:33] to the Sheriff's Office Service 882,

[14:36] Deputy Sheriff Enforcement, to provide

[14:38] funding to balance the sheriff's office

[14:39] budget for fiscal year 2025 for a

[14:42] deficit caused by overtime, fleet costs,

[14:44] and various contractual and supply

[14:46] spending and providing for a special

[14:48] effective date. Lead sponsor, council

[14:50] president, on behalf of the

[14:51] administration.

[14:52] » This bill has been assigned to the

[14:53] budget and appropriations committee.

[14:55] City Council Bill 25-0113

[14:58] supplementary general fund operating

[15:00] appropriation department of

[15:01] transportation 4,457,580

[15:06] for the purpose of providing a

[15:07] supplementary general fund operating

[15:08] appropriation in the amount of $4,457580

[15:12] to the Department of Transportation

[15:14] Service 688 Snow and Ice Control to

[15:17] provide funding to balance the

[15:18] Department of Transportation's fiscal

[15:20] year 2025 budget for a deficit caused by

[15:22] snow removal costs and providing for

[15:24] special effective date. Lead sponsor,

[15:26] council president. On behalf of the

[15:28] administration,

[15:29] » This bill has been assigned to the

[15:30] budget and appropriations committee. We

[15:32] will now move on to resolutions of the

[15:34] city council. Madame clerk,

[15:37] » City council resolution 25-0034R

[15:41] workers rights in Baltimore City for the

[15:43] purpose of recognizing key rights of

[15:45] workers across Baltimore City. Lead

[15:48] sponsors Cohen Jones. Co-sponsors Parker

[15:51] Dorsy, Conway, Schlifer, Gray, Bullock,

[15:53] Porter, Blanchard, Ramos.

[15:56] » Colleagues, in this moment of national

[15:59] discord and division, the city council

[16:01] and our partners in labor will make

[16:04] Baltimore the best city in America for

[16:06] working people. I thank Chairman Jones

[16:10] and President Courtney Jenkins and the

[16:12] members of the AFL CIO for their

[16:15] partnership in this effort.

[16:18] Baltimoreians deserve to know that when

[16:20] they leave for work in the morning,

[16:22] they'll come back home at night without

[16:24] risking life and limb. And that holds

[16:27] particularly true for our public

[16:29] servants like our sanitation workers who

[16:31] are out there every day cleaning up our

[16:34] trash.

[16:35] Baltimoreians deserve to know that their

[16:37] wages will not be stolen, that they will

[16:41] be paid on time, and that we will go

[16:43] after the bad actors who take advantage

[16:46] of vulnerable people. Baltimoreians

[16:49] deserve to know that we are using our

[16:51] precious tax dollars to support

[16:54] responsible, upstanding contractors who

[16:56] provide the best value for our money,

[17:00] who don't incur constant cost overruns,

[17:02] and who do not exploit their workers.

[17:06] Baltimoreians deserve the right to

[17:08] organize because we know that the only

[17:11] thing better than a good job is a good

[17:14] union job. And Baltimoreians deserve to

[17:17] know that their city council is laser

[17:20] focused on affordability.

[17:23] Together, we're proving that we can be

[17:24] pro business and proworker. In fact, you

[17:28] can't have one without the other. And

[17:31] we're proving that when we fight and

[17:33] when we unite with working people, we

[17:36] win. In the months ahead, we will unveil

[17:40] a series of bills focused on making this

[17:43] resolution a reality for workers in our

[17:46] city. Before we vote, I want to turn the

[17:49] mic over to our labor and workforce

[17:51] chair, Councilman Germaine Jones. Folks,

[17:55] do not mistake his quiet, easygoing

[17:58] energy for timidity. The man is focused

[18:01] and he is fierce. I could not ask for a

[18:03] better partner to lead this effort.

[18:05] Councilman Jones, the floor is yours.

[18:09] » Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues,

[18:13] today I rise to introduce this workers

[18:15] rights resolution because the reality

[18:17] for too many people in Baltimore is that

[18:20] hard work is no longer enough to

[18:22] survive. Every day across the city and

[18:25] across the country, people are working

[18:27] two, even three jobs just to keep up

[18:29] with rent, groceries, and utilities. And

[18:33] many still don't have access to basic

[18:35] health care.

[18:37] Too many parents are spending more time

[18:39] trying to piece together income than

[18:42] spending time raising their own

[18:43] children. And when it comes to workplace

[18:46] protection and dignity, it often feels

[18:48] like we've moved backwards and not

[18:50] forward.

[18:52] A worker should not have to choose

[18:54] between paying the bills and protecting

[18:56] their health. They should not have to

[18:59] sacrifice their bodies to the job or

[19:01] gamble with safety because productivity

[19:04] is valued over human life.

[19:07] Baltimore's laws already say no one

[19:10] should be forced to live below a minimum

[19:12] standard of decent living.

[19:14] And this resolution simply calls on us

[19:17] to finally live up to that promise and

[19:20] to say clearly that the people who carry

[19:22] this city on their backs deserve more

[19:25] than survival. They deserve stability.

[19:29] They deserve respect. And they deserve

[19:31] security.

[19:33] This workers bill of rights is not

[19:35] symbolic. It's a declaration that in

[19:38] Baltimore, dignity for working people is

[19:41] not negotiable.

[19:43] So I urge my colleagues to stand with me

[19:46] and to stand with working families who

[19:47] keep Baltimore alive every single day.

[19:50] Thank you, Mr. President.

[19:52] I move to to suspend rules 3-7

[19:57] for immediate adoption.

[19:59] » Without objection, the rules will be

[20:01] suspended.

[20:02] The rules are suspended. Councilman.

[20:09] » Thank you, Mr. President. I move that

[20:10] the resolution be adopted. The clerk

[20:13] will call the role.

[20:14] » Parker,

[20:15] » Yes.

[20:15] » McCrae,

[20:17] » Dorsey,

[20:17] » Yes.

[20:18] » Conway,

[20:19] » Hi.

[20:19] » Schlifer,

[20:20] » Yes. Torrance. Hi

[20:22] » Gray.

[20:23] » Hi

[20:23] » Bullock.

[20:24] » Hi

[20:24] » Porter.

[20:25] » Hi

[20:26] » Blanchard.

[20:26] » Hi

[20:27] » Jones.

[20:28] » Hi

[20:28] » Glover.

[20:29] » Yes

[20:29] » Ramos.

[20:30] » Yes.

[20:31] » Cohen

[20:31] » I. The motion is approved. This

[20:33] resolution has been adopted.

[20:37] » City Council resolution

[20:38] 25-0035Rformational

[20:41] hearing safekeeping and storage of

[20:43] Baltimore City Wells. for the purpose of

[20:46] inviting the register of wills, the

[20:47] clerk of the circuit court for Baltimore

[20:49] City, the chief judge of the circuit

[20:50] court for Baltimore City, the director

[20:52] of the department of general services,

[20:54] and the city administrator to appear

[20:55] before the city council to discuss the

[20:57] current space allocated to store wills

[20:59] in the Clarence J. Mitchell Jr.

[21:00] courthouse, the lack of fire and flood

[21:02] protection in said storage space, and

[21:04] the need to digitize and protect the 100

[21:06] years of wills being stored in a room in

[21:08] the aging courthouse. Lead sponsor

[21:10] Schlifer. co-sponsors Parker, Dorsy,

[21:13] Conway, Gray, Bullock, Porter,

[21:15] Blanchard, Jones, Ramos, Cohen.

[21:17] » Chair recognizes Councilman Schlifer.

[21:19] » Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, in a

[21:21] recent stroll over to the courthouse and

[21:23] looking through the different offices

[21:25] there, came across a very interesting

[21:27] one, the the register of the wills

[21:29] office. Uh, and anybody who goes over

[21:32] there, you'll find just walls covered

[21:34] with um with wills. And each one of

[21:37] these wills is an individual in

[21:40] Baltimore's last will in testament. And

[21:43] these wills both um delegate assets as

[21:47] well as um reveal everything that that

[21:51] deceased um has and who it should go to.

[21:53] And without that um there's a lot of

[21:56] issues that would come from that,

[21:58] whether it be families fighting um and

[22:00] other u related asset issues as well as

[22:04] property related issues in the city. Um,

[22:06] and we know that our courthouse is over

[22:09] 125 years old and properties uh like the

[22:12] agent courthouse are prone to floods,

[22:16] leaks, um, electrical fires and other

[22:19] other related hazards. And god forbid

[22:21] that should happen um, in our

[22:23] courthouse, uh, 100 years worth of wills

[22:27] and hundreds of thousands of people

[22:29] would be impacted um, by such a

[22:31] catastrophe. And so it's important that

[22:34] that we as city leaders take immediate

[22:36] action um both in the short term as well

[22:38] as the long term. The long term

[22:40] obviously being that uh these should not

[22:42] be only on paper. They should all be

[22:44] digit digitized and scanned. That's

[22:47] pretty basic. But um on the short term

[22:50] we need to protect the wills that are

[22:51] there making sure they're in waterproof

[22:53] as well as fireproof um storage u

[22:57] containers essentially. And so we'll be

[22:59] hosting uh this hearing um and I thank

[23:01] all the co-sponsors um and I thank the

[23:05] register of the wills and and everybody

[23:07] else who will be participating in that

[23:08] hearing. Thank you.

[23:09] » Thank you, Councilman Schlifer. Uh this

[23:12] resolution has been assigned to the

[23:13] committee on legislative investigations.

[23:15] Please note Councilman Torrance as

[23:17] co-sponsor, Councilman Glover as well.

[23:22] City Council Resolution 25-0036R,

[23:26] Informational Hearing, Human Trafficking

[23:28] Investigations and Prosecutions for the

[23:30] purpose of inviting representatives from

[23:32] the Baltimore City Office of the State's

[23:34] Attorney, the Baltimore City Police

[23:35] Department, the Baltimore City Fire

[23:37] Department, the Baltimore City Public

[23:39] School System Police, the Baltimore City

[23:41] Sheriff's Office, the Baltimore City

[23:42] Human Trafficking Collaborative

[23:44] Co-chairs, and all subcommittee chairs,

[23:46] the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

[23:49] Homeland Security Investigation, the

[23:51] Maryland State Police, the Maryland

[23:52] United States Attorney's Office, the

[23:54] Maryland Department of Social Services,

[23:56] the Maryland Department of Juvenile

[23:58] Services, the Hope Center, formerly

[24:00] known as Baltimore Child Abuse Center,

[24:02] Blue Dot, and other collaborators from

[24:04] the Baltimore Human Trafficking

[24:05] Collaborative, who provide victims of

[24:07] human trafficking with emergency

[24:08] interventions and support services to

[24:10] brief the city council on the scope of

[24:12] the human trafficking problem in

[24:13] Baltimore City, current efforts to

[24:15] investigate and prosecute perpetrators

[24:17] of human trafficking, further strategies

[24:19] that could be implemented to bring these

[24:21] individuals to justice and resources

[24:23] that are needed to assist survivors of

[24:24] human trafficking. Lead sponsor Porter.

[24:27] Co-sponsors Parker Gray, Bullock,

[24:30] Blanchard, Jones, Ramos, Cohen.

[24:32] » Chair recognizes Council Member Porter.

[24:34] » Thank you, and I thank you to my

[24:36] colleagues for your attention today.

[24:38] Today, I'm introducing a resolution

[24:39] calling for theformational hearing on

[24:41] human trafficking investigations and

[24:43] prosecutions in Baltimore City. This

[24:45] hearing will bring together the many

[24:47] members of the Baltimore City Human

[24:48] Trafficking Collaborative and our law

[24:50] enforcement, state, federal, nonprofit

[24:52] partners to brief the council on the

[24:54] scope of the problem, the progress has

[24:56] that has been made, and the resources

[24:58] needed to better protect our residents.

[25:00] Human trafficking is one of the most

[25:01] devastating crimes taking place in our

[25:03] city and across Maryland. Our state's

[25:05] central location with major highways,

[25:07] ports, and transit systems makes

[25:09] Baltimore particularly vulnerable as a

[25:11] corridor for human traffickers. Victims

[25:14] are often hidden in plain sight and they

[25:16] are exploited, isolated, and silenced. I

[25:19] also want to take a moment to recognize

[25:20] former councilman, former Councilman

[25:22] Chris Bernett, who fought for years and

[25:24] was a champion in this fight and helped

[25:26] build the foundation of the Baltimore

[25:27] City Human Trafficking Collaborative.

[25:29] Councilman Bernett's vision brought

[25:31] together government agencies, law

[25:33] enforcement, advocates, and service

[25:35] providers under one roof, working in

[25:36] partnership rather than in isolation.

[25:39] Today, as chair of the collaborative, I

[25:41] am proud to continue elevating this

[25:43] important work to protect survivors and

[25:45] hold traffickers accountable. This

[25:47] hearing will invite testimony from our

[25:48] partners, including the state's

[25:50] attorney's office, the Baltimore Police

[25:51] Department, Fire Department, school

[25:53] police, sheriff's department, the FBI,

[25:55] Homeland Security and Investigations,

[25:57] Maryland State Police, and service

[25:59] providers alike. Together we will help

[26:01] if they will help us understand the

[26:03] current landscape, how cases are being

[26:05] identified and investigated, how

[26:07] prosecutions are proceeding, what

[26:08] prevention strategies are working, and

[26:10] what supports are available and or still

[26:13] lacking for survivors. Baltimore has a

[26:15] responsibility to ensure that every

[26:17] survivor of human trafficking receives

[26:18] the protection, care, and justice they

[26:20] deserve. Though this hearing through

[26:22] this hearing, we will reaffirm our

[26:24] commitment to end human trafficking in

[26:26] all of its forms, ensuring that every

[26:28] agency and partner in this city is

[26:29] working together to make it happen. I

[26:31] look forward to the discussion and to

[26:33] continuing to strengthen Baltimore's

[26:35] leadership in combating human

[26:36] trafficking, a legacy built on

[26:38] collaboration, compassion, and action.

[26:41] » Thank you, Council Member Porter. This

[26:43] resolution has been assigned to the

[26:44] public safety committee. The consent

[26:47] calendar was sent to members inboxes in

[26:49] the desk documents folder. Is there a

[26:51] motion to approve the consent calendar?

[26:55] » All those in favor of approving the

[26:57] consent calendar say I.

[26:59] » Those oppos say nay. The motion carries

[27:02] and the consent calendar is approved. We

[27:04] now move two bills and executive

[27:06] appointments on second reader. Chair

[27:08] recognizes council member Dorsy.

[27:11] » Thank you, Mr. President. I move that we

[27:12] read short titles for the remainder of

[27:13] the meeting this evening.

[27:15] » Without objection, we will proceed with

[27:17] reading short titles.

[27:19] We will proceed with reading short

[27:22] titles. We begin with an executive

[27:24] nomination from the committee on

[27:26] legislative investigations. Madame

[27:27] clerk,

[27:28] » EA25-000039

[27:30] Catalina Rodriguez Lima, director,

[27:33] mayor's office of immigrant affairs.

[27:35] » Chair recognizes Chair Schlifer.

[27:38] » Thank you, Mr. President. Um, we held a

[27:40] hearing on Thursday, October 16th, and

[27:43] the committee recommends a favorable

[27:46] nomination.

[27:47] Thank you, Chairman Schlifer. Is there

[27:49] any debate or discussion on this

[27:51] nomination?

[27:54] Hearing seeing none, all those in favor

[27:55] of confirming this nominee say I.

[27:58] » I.

[28:00] » Those opposed say nay. This nomination

[28:03] is confirmed. We now move to bills from

[28:06] the housing and economic development

[28:07] committee on second reader. Madame

[28:09] clerk,

[28:10] » City council bill 25-0063,

[28:13] zoning administrator transfer to the

[28:15] department of planning.

[28:17] » Chair recognizes chair Torrance.

[28:19] » Thank you, Mr. President. Bill 2563,

[28:22] zoning administrator transfer to

[28:24] department of planning, sponsored by

[28:26] Vice President Milit. This bill was

[28:27] heard on September 30th. It was

[28:29] recommended with favorable with

[28:30] amendments. Mr. President, um there were

[28:33] committee amendments on my colleague's

[28:34] desk. The amendments require that the

[28:36] civil service commission to give the

[28:38] council reasonable notice if the zoning

[28:41] administrator was to be reclassified out

[28:43] of the out of civil service. Mr.

[28:45] President, I offer this amendment

[28:47] because of two things. One is that the

[28:50] zoning administrator position is very

[28:51] important to this council, but also I I

[28:54] wholeheartedly believe in the practices

[28:56] of zoning in this in this city have been

[28:58] discriminatory to people of color. So

[29:00] for the one person who gets to offer an

[29:02] opinion about zoning in this city, I

[29:04] just want to make sure that this council

[29:05] is given adequate notice when they are

[29:07] put into an atwell position. This

[29:09] position is civil service currently and

[29:11] we know politics can happen and I just

[29:12] want to make sure that person is

[29:14] protected and that this council puts

[29:15] that protection in place. With that

[29:17] being said, I move the amendment. Mr.

[29:18] President, thank you. Council member

[29:20] Torrance, is there any debate or

[29:22] discussion on these amendments?

[29:27] hearing and seeing none. All those in

[29:31] favor of adopting the amendment say I.

[29:36] » I.

[29:36] » Those opposed say nay. The motion

[29:39] carries and the amendments are adopted.

[29:42] Chair recognizes Chair Torrance.

[29:44] » Mr. President, I move the bill as

[29:45] amended.

[29:46] » Is there any debate or discussion on

[29:48] this bill?

[29:50] Hearing and seeing none, all those in

[29:52] favor of approving this bill say I.

[29:55] » I. Those opposed say nay. This bill will

[29:58] be printed for third reading. We now

[30:01] move to bills from land use and

[30:02] transportation committee on second

[30:04] reader. Madame clerk,

[30:06] » City council bill 25-0040,

[30:09] zoning uses retail small box

[30:11] establishment.

[30:13] » Chair recognizes chair Dorsy.

[30:16] » Thank you, Mr. President. The land use

[30:19] and transportation committee heard this

[30:21] bill on October 16th. It was re

[30:24] recommended as favorable with

[30:26] amendments. Mr. President, there are

[30:27] committee amendments uh in with the desk

[30:30] documents.

[30:31] The first amendment therefore clarifies

[30:35] the purpose statement and the

[30:36] authorizing legislation.

[30:39] Uh amendment two clarifies the type of

[30:42] goods sold at small box store. Amendment

[30:47] three clarifies terms in the bill such

[30:48] as store and fuel station. And amendment

[30:52] four strikes the section on

[30:53] nonconforming uses. It is my

[30:55] understanding that all these amendments

[30:57] came at the recommendation of the city

[30:59] law department and uh better the bill.

[31:02] Um in that respect, Mr. President, I

[31:04] move the amendments.

[31:05] » Before we vote, is there any debate or

[31:08] discussion on the committee amendments?

[31:10] Hearing and seeing none, all those in

[31:13] favor of adopting the amendments say I.

[31:15] » I.

[31:16] » Those opposed say nay. The motion

[31:19] passes. The amendments the amendments

[31:21] are adopted.

[31:22] » Mr. Mr. President, I move the bill

[31:24] favorably as amended.

[31:25] » Is there any debate or discussion on

[31:27] this bill?

[31:30] Hearing and seeing none, all those in

[31:31] favor of approving this bill say I.

[31:34] » I.

[31:34] » I. Let's

[31:35] » Try that again. All those in favor of

[31:37] approving this bill say I.

[31:38] » I.

[31:39] » Those opposed say nay.

[31:41] » This bill will be printed for third

[31:43] reading. Please note council member

[31:45] Schlifer as a nay.

[31:48] City Council Bill 25-0064

[31:52] zoning bulk and yard requirements

[31:54] amendments.

[31:57] » The chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.

[32:00] » Thank you, Mr. President. This bill was

[32:02] heard on October 16th. It was

[32:05] recommended as favorable with amendment.

[32:06] Mr. President, there are amendments on

[32:09] my colleagues desks.

[32:12] The first amendment from uh Council

[32:15] Member Gray, the sponsor of the bill,

[32:17] which I can I'll also note was done in

[32:19] collaboration with Councilman Parker.

[32:21] Thank you for your contribution. Um

[32:23] requires that buildings taller than 35

[32:25] ft up to 45 ft either adjoin a street

[32:29] right ofway that is at least 40 feet

[32:31] wide in the case of an interior lot or

[32:34] before or for corner lots each of each

[32:36] of the adjoining streets must be 40t

[32:39] wide. This is an increase from the

[32:41] existing standard uh that's comparable

[32:43] that says 30 ft uh presently. Um

[32:47] amendment two from council member

[32:49] Middleton uh strikes vice president from

[32:51] the list of co-sponsors. Amendment three

[32:53] from the planning department are

[32:55] technical to correct typos in a table.

[32:58] Amendment four from Councilman Parker

[33:02] uh would increase the minimum rear yard

[33:06] in the R8 zoning district from 12 ft as

[33:09] proposed to 16 ft uh with the amendment.

[33:13] And amendment five from me would update

[33:16] the minimum lot area for age restricted

[33:18] multif family dwellings to be comparable

[33:20] with other multif family dwelling use.

[33:22] and amendment six from the zoning board

[33:26] are additional technical amendments to

[33:28] fix typos in the bill. Mr. President, I

[33:31] move all of the committee amendments.

[33:33] » Before we vote, is there any debate or

[33:35] discussion on the committee amendments?

[33:37] I see council member Schlifer.

[33:40] Uh, President, can we just get some

[33:42] clarity on this 40t wide street thing

[33:44] because everything else this this

[33:46] council has been proposing has been

[33:48] about um making streets thinner and you

[33:53] know and different uses stuff. So, the

[33:54] fact that the streets got to be 40t

[33:56] wide, can we just get some clarity and

[33:58] explanation as to why um that would be

[34:01] required?

[34:02] » Yes,

[34:02] » Council member Dorsy.

[34:03] » Yes, thank you. Um the zoning code today

[34:07] says that you can exceed the standard of

[34:12] 35 ft in building height to go up to 45

[34:16] ft

[34:18] if the the the the house is on a street

[34:23] that is 30 feet or greater in width. And

[34:28] what this does actually says is that

[34:32] some streets um are very small uh but

[34:36] may have just 30 feet but would have

[34:38] kind of an inappropriate kind of

[34:40] character to them if the houses were

[34:43] exceptionally tall. Um, and so it act so

[34:46] it changes the standard so that you

[34:48] can't go to that 45 ft height unless the

[34:50] street in front of it is at least 40 ft

[34:53] wide rather than being limited uh being

[34:56] permissive at only 30 ft. Does that help

[35:00] me? Sorry.

[35:03] » Great. Uh, other discussion debate

[35:08] hearing and seeing none. All those in

[35:12] favor of adopting the amendment say I.

[35:14] » I.

[35:15] » Those opposed say nay.

[35:18] » Uh I hear nays from council member

[35:21] Schlifer and Glover. Uh this bill uh

[35:25] this motion passes and the amendments

[35:28] are adopted.

[35:29] » Mr. President, I move the bill favorable

[35:31] as amended.

[35:33] » Is there any debate or discussion on

[35:35] this bill?

[35:37] Council member Conway.

[35:42] Thank you, uh, Mr. President. Um, I, you

[35:45] know, I I've been trying to look at this

[35:48] bill and I appreciate the intention of

[35:50] the sponsor. Um, but I have, um, some

[35:53] concerns about the impact that the bill

[35:55] would have across the city. Um, I

[35:57] understand we want to, uh, build more

[36:00] housing and expand more housing. I don't

[36:02] think that this necessarily does that.

[36:04] It expands housing in areas where we

[36:06] certainly want to see more people, but

[36:08] um I think if we want to bring more

[36:09] people into the city, we need to working

[36:11] we need to work in the areas where we

[36:12] don't currently have development. Um I

[36:15] think what we'll find is as people begin

[36:18] to make changes on their homes over

[36:19] time, uh it's going to cause

[36:21] inconveniences and challenges for folks

[36:23] in those neighborhoods from a viewhed,

[36:25] from a uh from a shadow perspective,

[36:28] from a convenience perspective in in

[36:30] many neighborhoods across the city. Um

[36:32] and I think one of the other major

[36:34] considerations here is that while this

[36:36] this effort um is written across the

[36:38] city, it won't affect all neighborhoods

[36:40] the same way. Uh we know that um

[36:43] neighborhoods that have covenants um are

[36:45] able to prevent this from moving forward

[36:47] in the in those respective

[36:48] neighborhoods. So it just doesn't it

[36:51] doesn't quite do um all the things we

[36:53] want it to do and I think it may cause

[36:55] some complications uh if we move forward

[36:57] with it. This is a sweeping effort

[36:59] across the entire city that has many

[37:01] many ramifications and for that reason

[37:03] um I have deep uh concerns about moving

[37:05] forward on the bill. Thank you.

[37:08] » Thank you, Councilman Conway.

[37:10] » Other debate discussion. Councilman

[37:12] Torrance.

[37:14] » Well, Mr. President, I wouldn't believe

[37:15] I would be agreeing with Councilman

[37:17] Conway tonight,

[37:20] but I I get the thought, the intent. I

[37:24] appreciate the the councilman's

[37:26] introduction of the bill. Um

[37:29] I I work for people in West Baltimore

[37:32] and I love Paris and I'm just be

[37:34] transparent. But tonight I have to vote

[37:36] on behalf of my residents. So I will be

[37:38] voting no. Mr. President,

[37:41] » Thank you Council Member Torrance.

[37:46] Hearing and seeing no further debate.

[37:48] All those in favor of approving this

[37:50] bill say I.

[37:52] » I. Those opposed say nay.

[37:56] » Uh, roll call.

[37:57] » Parker.

[38:00] » McCrae.

[38:04] » Please.

[38:10] » You're right. Apologies, Council Member

[38:11] McCrae. We're going to ask

[38:12] » No problem. If we could register my vote

[38:14] as a no.

[38:15] » Yep.

[38:16] » Thank you.

[38:16] » And please return to Council Member

[38:18] McCrae after we get done with the vote.

[38:21] » Dorsy. Yes.

[38:23] » Conway.

[38:24] » No

[38:25] » Schifer.

[38:26] » No

[38:27] » Torrance.

[38:28] » No

[38:40] » Gray.

[38:41] » Hi

[38:44] » Bo.

[38:44] » Hi

[38:45] » Porter.

[38:46] » Hi

[38:46] » Blanchard.

[38:47] » Hi

[38:48] » Jones.

[38:49] » Hi

[38:49] » Glover.

[38:50] » No

[38:51] » Ramos. Yes,

[38:52] » Cohen.

[38:53] » I

[38:54] » That is eight in the

[38:57] » Eight in the affirmative and one, two,

[39:00] three, four in the negative. I return to

[39:03] council member McCrae to explain her

[39:06] vote and this bill will pass.

[39:17] » Uh, sorry, five in the negative. I think

[39:19] eight.

[39:20] » Eight in the affirmative.

[39:25] » One more time.

[39:26] » Nine.

[39:27] » Yeah. Just call.

[39:28] » All right. Nine in the affirmative. The

[39:31] bill passed. Nine in the affirmative. Uh

[39:35] four in the negative.

[39:36] » Cool.

[39:36] » One, two.

[39:40] » Math was not my strong suit. Chammoya re

[39:43] recount real quick. Parker,

[39:46] » Hi.

[39:46] » McCrae,

[39:47] » Yes.

[39:48] » Dorsy,

[39:49] » Yes.

[39:49] » Conway,

[39:50] » No.

[39:50] » Schlifer,

[39:51] » No.

[39:51] » Middleton is absent. Torrance,

[39:53] » No.

[39:54] » Gray,

[39:55] » Hi.

[39:55] » Balok,

[39:56] » Hi.

[39:56] » Porter,

[39:56] » Hi.

[39:57] » Blanchard,

[39:58] » Hi.

[39:58] » Jones,

[39:59] » Hi.

[39:59] » Glover,

[40:00] » No.

[40:01] » Ramos,

[40:02] » Yes.

[40:02] » Cohen,

[40:03] » I.

[40:03] » All right, that is five in the negative.

[40:06] And one, two, three, four, five, six,

[40:09] seven, eight, nine in the affirmative.

[40:11] Nine in the affirmative, five in the

[40:13] negative. This bill passes. Council

[40:15] member McCrae.

[40:19] Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going be

[40:21] brief, everybody. I just want to make

[40:22] sure that I'm on the record. Um, for my

[40:24] district, I I voted no on this bill

[40:27] because I believe um there are

[40:30] environmental impacts from increasing

[40:32] lot sizes and there were community

[40:35] concerns within my district. Um,

[40:38] every community um has their own

[40:41] culture. Every community is unique and I

[40:42] think that we need to um make sure that

[40:45] we're also paying attention to that.

[40:46] Thank you, Mr. President.

[40:48] » Thank you, Council Member McCrae.

[40:52] » City Council Bill 25-0065,

[40:56] zoning eliminating off- streetet parking

[40:58] requirements.

[40:59] » Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.

[41:03] » Thank you, Mr. President. This bill was

[41:05] heard on October 16th. It was

[41:07] recommended as favorable with an

[41:10] amendment.

[41:12] The amendment is included in the desk

[41:14] documents. My colleagues, the amendment

[41:16] uh brought by the sponsor of the bill,

[41:18] Councilman Blanchard, clarifies

[41:20] exceptions to the parking maximums in

[41:24] the cases of detached or semi- detached

[41:26] dwellings where no maximum allowable

[41:29] amount of parking exists or a structure

[41:33] or land that has changed to a new use uh

[41:37] which can exceed the permitted maximum

[41:40] if the prior use had a higher maximum.

[41:43] It also clarifies that the ordinance

[41:45] does not apply to off- streetet parking

[41:47] facilities as a part of the parking

[41:50] maximum. Um just as a refresher, the

[41:54] bill um recognizes that today there are

[41:59] there is a table listing out um

[42:02] numerically, mathematically

[42:04] uh by formulas the the parking minimum

[42:08] that is required and there is a

[42:10] provision in the zoning code that uh in

[42:13] the text of the code that says that

[42:15] there are parking maximums that exist

[42:17] today throughout the city. And um the

[42:21] while t but that it is twice that

[42:23] parking minimum um that is in the code

[42:26] in the table uh rather. And so the bill

[42:29] carries forth the existing parking

[42:31] maximum today. uh it just maintains that

[42:34] status quo and these amendments make

[42:36] sure that if there are properties that

[42:38] were built before say those parking

[42:40] maximums ever existed that those

[42:42] properties can continue to exceed the

[42:45] parking maximum uh even if those

[42:48] properties change hands or change uses

[42:50] that existing parking maximum can remain

[42:53] it doesn't have somebody doesn't have to

[42:55] take away parking spaces just because a

[42:57] property changed owners or occupants uh

[43:00] so with that uh Mr. President, I move

[43:02] the amendment as favorable.

[43:05] » Before we vote on this amendment, is

[43:07] there any debate or discussion?

[43:13] » Hearing and seeing none, all those in

[43:16] favor of approving this amendment say I.

[43:19] » I.

[43:20] » Those opposed say nay.

[43:25] » Roll call.

[43:27] » Parker,

[43:28] » Yes.

[43:28] » McCrae,

[43:29] » No. Dorsy,

[43:31] » Yes.

[43:31] » Conway,

[43:32] » Hi.

[43:33] » Schlifer,

[43:33] » No.

[43:34] » Middleton is absent. Torrance,

[43:36] » No.

[43:37] » Gray,

[43:37] » Hi.

[43:38] » Bullock,

[43:38] » Hi.

[43:39] » Porter,

[43:40] » No.

[43:40] » Blanchard,

[43:41] » Hi.

[43:42] » Jones,

[43:42] » Hi.

[43:43] » Glover,

[43:43] » No.

[43:44] » Ramos,

[43:45] » Yes.

[43:45] » Cohen,

[43:46] » I.

[43:49] » Nine in the affirmative, five in the

[43:51] negative.

[43:51] » With nine in the affirmative and five in

[43:53] the negative, this amendment passes. Uh,

[43:56] Council Member Dorsy.

[44:00] At this time, I move the bill favorable

[44:02] as amended.

[44:03] » President

[44:05] uh I believe there is a floor amendment.

[44:07] Councilman Torrance.

[44:10] » Thank you, Mr. President. As a person

[44:12] who firmly believes in representing my

[44:14] community, I must offer these

[44:16] amendments. While I respect the author

[44:19] of the of the actual bill's intent,

[44:22] as a person who represents a black

[44:23] butterfly, it is absolutely a no for me.

[44:26] Um the amendments that I offer tonight

[44:29] will put where everyone has been saying

[44:32] to muster. This bill has no writing

[44:34] about affordable housing. So amendment

[44:37] number one will require that if you want

[44:40] to have the parking

[44:42] minimums removed,

[44:44] you actually have to have 60% AMI.

[44:47] I'm very strong about that. but also

[44:50] allows us to exempt clinics as well as

[44:54] residential care facilities as well as

[44:56] the Black Arts and Entertainment

[44:57] District. I author this amendment

[44:59] because I have someone who's using a

[45:00] predatory business on Pennsylvania

[45:02] Avenue who has a methodone clinic who

[45:04] says if this bill passes, he can open up

[45:06] two more facilities in my district.

[45:10] Too far have black people been given

[45:12] things and given things and given things

[45:15] because of zoning does not have a

[45:18] racially

[45:20] progressive stance in terms of

[45:21] identifying that my brown skin matters,

[45:23] my property value matters.

[45:26] So, Mr. President, I offer amendment

[45:28] number one for that reason. In addition

[45:30] to that, for my residents who live in

[45:32] Bolton Hill and other neighborhoods who

[45:33] are dealing with curb congestion, it

[45:35] gives us an opportunity for parking

[45:38] authority to say that we've seen curb

[45:39] congestion. We may actually have to add

[45:41] a parking garage in a neighborhood to

[45:43] actually remove those minimums and those

[45:45] maximums to address the needs in those

[45:47] individual communities. I think that

[45:48] this is the easiest way to address the

[45:51] bill without harming uned consequences

[45:55] for black and brown neighborhoods. So

[45:57] with that, Mr. President, I move

[45:58] amendment number one.

[46:00] » Thank you, Council Member Torrance.

[46:01] Before we vote, is there any debate or

[46:04] discussion on the floor amendment? I see

[46:07] Council Member Parker.

[46:10] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, thank you,

[46:12] Councilman Torrance, for bringing this

[46:14] before us. I just had a question. I know

[46:16] um amendment one has a lot of different

[46:18] pieces to it. Would you be so good only

[46:21] because uh I work really closely with

[46:23] arts and entertainment districts. would

[46:24] you explain um the um uh just spell out

[46:29] the 1 per 10 person fiber couch. Just

[46:31] break that down for us. I want to make

[46:32] sure I understand what you're proposing

[46:33] there um in terms of what the

[46:36] requirement would be for um public

[46:40] assembly related uh items.

[46:42] » Chair recognize Councilman Torren.

[46:44] » Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you,

[46:45] Councilman Parker. So right now as we're

[46:47] building more entertainment space on

[46:49] Pennsylvania Avenue, we have adequate

[46:51] parking um because of we have the

[46:53] minimums of 10. Right. As we're thinking

[46:55] about it, I've had two methodone clinics

[46:57] open up in the district. One at the Bank

[46:59] of America and they have the other at a

[47:01] former actual pharmacy because of the

[47:04] zoning requirements. They're exempt

[47:06] because they have no parking minimums

[47:07] because of what they are because their

[47:09] classification. This bill will open up

[47:11] the the floodgates to increase the

[47:13] number of actual facilities on the on

[47:15] the Black Arts and Entertainment

[47:17] District. I do not want to wake up after

[47:18] we've made a concerted effort to add

[47:21] black voices and black artists and

[47:22] actual space in our district to actually

[47:24] be exasperated and destroyed by the

[47:27] intent of persons willing to make

[47:28] millions of dollars off of an epidemic

[47:30] that we're trying to solve today.

[47:34] » Thank you, Council Member Torrance. Any

[47:36] further debate or discussion on the

[47:40] floor amendments?

[47:42] Hearing and seeing none, all those in

[47:45] favor of approving the floor amendments

[47:47] say I.

[47:48] » Roll call.

[47:50] » Roll call.

[47:51] » Parker,

[47:53] » McCrae,

[47:54] » Yes.

[47:55] » Dorsy,

[47:56] » No.

[47:56] » Conway,

[47:57] » No.

[47:57] » Schlifer,

[47:58] » Yes.

[47:59] » Middleton is absent. Torrance,

[48:01] » Yes.

[48:02] » Gray,

[48:02] » No.

[48:03] » Bullock,

[48:03] » No.

[48:04] » Porter,

[48:05] » Yes. Blanchard,

[48:06] » No.

[48:06] » Jones,

[48:07] » No.

[48:08] » Glover,

[48:09] » Yes.

[48:09] » Ramos,

[48:10] » No.

[48:11] » Cohen,

[48:11] » No.

[48:12] » That would be 925

[48:15] » With five in the affirmative and nine in

[48:19] the negative. These floor amendments do

[48:22] not move. Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.

[48:25] » Thank you, Mr. President. I move the

[48:27] bill favorable as amended.

[48:29] » Is there any further debate or

[48:31] discussion on this bill as amended?

[48:35] Council member Conway.

[48:38] » Uh thank you, Mr. President. Um this

[48:40] this too I think is a a really

[48:42] interesting bill. I I actually do like

[48:44] the idea here. Um I think um in efforts

[48:48] where we are doing sweeping change

[48:49] across the whole city. We have to be

[48:51] very very very thoughtful and careful.

[48:53] Um I I I I fear that um we're going to

[48:56] find ourselves in sticky situations in

[48:58] different neighborhoods depending on

[49:00] what's going on in those respective

[49:01] neighborhoods. Um, and I think there's a

[49:04] way to do this. I think, um, there's a

[49:06] bit of the cart before the horse or cart

[49:08] and the horse working together, and that

[49:10] is transit. Um, if we don't have

[49:12] sufficient transit and we pull away

[49:13] parking in certain neighborhoods, you're

[49:15] going to have people having to walk

[49:16] multiple blocks to get home. Um, and

[49:18] some of those neighborhoods, maybe they

[49:19] don't feel totally safe doing so or

[49:21] maybe those folks are not capable of

[49:22] doing so because of their age or other

[49:24] um, infirmities. So, I I I think um

[49:28] yeah, in in order to do this the right

[49:30] way, I think we need to be also talking

[49:32] about a way to uh improve transit, make

[49:35] it more reliable, make it more robust,

[49:37] make it come into some of these uh

[49:39] middle neighborhoods and black

[49:40] neighborhoods that don't have robust and

[49:43] reliable transit today. Um that looks

[49:45] like doing some of the, you know, the

[49:47] red line. It looks like having a north

[49:48] south line um that you know we did a big

[49:51] study um going through my district

[49:52] through um Councilwoman Ramos's district

[49:55] as well um that has now stalled um I

[49:58] think we need to find a way to fund

[49:59] these efforts and generally we find

[50:01] these these fundings through state state

[50:03] dollars and we just had the road show

[50:06] where um this council advocated heavily

[50:08] for that but we know that our state is

[50:10] is really struggling fiscally right now

[50:12] so they don't really have the means. Uh,

[50:14] and the other way we do this is we go to

[50:16] the federal government and we rely on

[50:18] big big federal dollars in order to see

[50:19] this through, but we know that that is

[50:21] not going to happen anytime soon. So, I

[50:23] I'm I'm I'm uncomfortable um uh going a

[50:27] full yes on this. Um I do have

[50:28] reservations on the bill, but I do like

[50:30] the idea and and really thank the

[50:32] sponsor for um one bringing it forward

[50:34] and and advocating very heavily for it,

[50:36] but I do have some concerns about it and

[50:37] it is something that I think we can work

[50:38] towards resolving. Um but that that's

[50:41] sort of where I stand right now.

[50:42] » Understood. Uh, Councilman Torrance.

[50:45] » Thank you, Mr. Thank you, Mr. President.

[50:47] I want to read this statement because I

[50:49] want to make clear my true thoughts in

[50:50] the entire package. Baltimore's housing

[50:53] history is inseparable from the history

[50:55] of structural racism in America. From

[50:57] red lining to racially restricted

[50:58] covenants to decades of disinvestment,

[51:00] our city's built environment was

[51:03] designed to separate opportunity for

[51:04] black and brown families, concentrate

[51:06] poverty in certain neighborhoods. So we

[51:09] walk up we talk about modernizing our

[51:11] zoning and expanding our housing

[51:13] choices. We must ask deeper questions.

[51:16] Who will this policy truly benefit and

[51:18] who will leave it behind?

[51:21] The housing options and opportunity act

[51:23] and its companion reforms promise to

[51:24] expand its supply but without

[51:26] guardrails. These changes risk doing

[51:29] unintended consequences and harm

[51:31] particularly to black and brown

[51:32] communities

[51:36] that have already endured decades of

[51:39] inequitable land use and concentrated

[51:42] burden. This is why I introduced my

[51:44] floor amendments to make this bill more

[51:45] equitable but also accountable to our

[51:48] residents.

[51:51] Together, these amendments sought to

[51:52] balance encouraging flexibility while

[51:54] protecting communities from unintended

[51:56] consequences and deregulation.

[51:59] Unfortunately, they were not adopted.

[52:02] Without these safeguards, this risk

[52:04] deepening inequities. By repealing key

[52:07] protections, it opens the door for

[52:10] unattended and predatory land uses such

[52:12] as poorly managed recovery homes,

[52:14] substandard care facilities, and other

[52:16] nuisance operations to cluster in black

[52:19] and brown neighborhoods already

[52:21] struggling to recover from decades of

[52:22] disinvestment. We've seen the story

[52:25] before. In Harlem, re redevelopment and

[52:27] upzoning without adequate protections

[52:30] led to cultural displacement, erasing

[52:33] the very community that gave

[52:35] neighborhoods its identity and

[52:36] resilience.

[52:40] In Washington DC, rapid development and

[52:42] resoning spurred the exodus of black

[52:44] families

[52:46] and even new luxury apartments rose in

[52:48] their place.

[52:50] In bed sty marketdriven housing growth

[52:54] without anti-displacement safeguards

[52:58] resulted in longtime residents being

[52:59] displaced and not supported.

[53:03] Simply supply does not mean that black

[53:05] people will be around.

[53:08] Baltimore cannot afford to repeat those

[53:10] mistakes. Equity requires intention.

[53:13] Policy ignores historic harms only

[53:15] reproduce in new forms that harm.

[53:19] Ending structural racism requires more

[53:22] than just raceneutral force. It demands

[53:24] the surgical precision of a scapold

[53:26] guided by equity.

[53:29] When these bills were introduced in this

[53:30] council, a staff person made a comment

[53:32] that these were thinking about those to

[53:34] come and not those who are here.

[53:37] Let me repeat for those to come and not

[53:39] those who are here. To my residents in

[53:41] Sant Winchester, I rise and I say this.

[53:44] We want to own land. We no longer want

[53:46] to rent it. to our residents who have,

[53:49] and I mean the black women in West

[53:51] Baltimore, who've held up this tax base

[53:53] when white people left.

[53:56] » They want to enjoy the equity that we're

[53:58] building in the city, but not be

[54:00] displaced by high taxes or displaced by

[54:03] inconsistent policies that don't see

[54:05] them. Our residents deserve, and I mean

[54:07] our residents, the 66% of the black

[54:09] people in this city need to be put at

[54:11] the forefront of every policy we put

[54:13] before this council. Red lining started

[54:15] in this community and we're just

[54:17] furthering it. And I say that

[54:19] wholeheartedly as someone who's seen

[54:20] family members displaced in DC,

[54:23] who's seen people displaced in Bedstey.

[54:27] The home ownership rate for black people

[54:29] fell from 71% to 44% in 10 years in

[54:33] Bedstey, New York.

[54:35] In the District Columbia, it is no

[54:37] longer chocolate city. We displaced

[54:40] black people. It's to the point where

[54:43] our neighbors in DC who I love, one of

[54:46] my friends serves in that council, they

[54:48] had to force people to take section 8

[54:49] vouchers for people who are making

[54:51] $80,000 a year. Supply does not mean

[54:54] that the affordability will be there. We

[54:57] have no guardrails in place.

[55:00] So when black people leave the city, I

[55:02] want to make sure in this council record

[55:04] that I told you so.

[55:09] And if you want to make sure they stay

[55:11] here, put them at the forefront. Not

[55:13] give us lip service and say

[55:14] affordability. Affordability is writing

[55:16] it in the law.

[55:23] For these reason, despite my good faith

[55:25] effort to strengthen and balance this

[55:26] legislation, I will be voting no. We

[55:29] need zoning that is not just flexible,

[55:30] but fair. investment that is not just

[55:33] new, but just in legislation that

[55:35] censors voices and rights of residents

[55:37] who built and sustained our

[55:39] neighborhoods.

[55:41] Black and brown families whose

[55:42] generations of care deserve protection,

[55:45] not more harmful disgrace and disguise

[55:47] as progress.

[55:50] Thank you, Council Member Torrance. Any

[55:52] further debate or discussion on this

[55:55] bill?

[55:57] Hearing and seeing none. All those in

[56:00] favor say I.

[56:02] » I.

[56:03] » Those opposed say nay.

[56:06] » Roll call.

[56:07] » Parker,

[56:08] » Yes.

[56:08] » McCrae,

[56:13] » Dorsy,

[56:14] » Yes.

[56:14] » Conway,

[56:15] » No.

[56:15] » Schlifer,

[56:16] » No.

[56:17] » Middleton is absent. Torrance,

[56:20] » No.

[56:21] » Gray,

[56:22] » Yes.

[56:22] » Bullock,

[56:23] » Hi.

[56:23] » Porter,

[56:24] » No.

[56:25] » Blanchard,

[56:25] » Hi. Jones,

[56:27] » Hi.

[56:28] » Glover,

[56:28] » No.

[56:29] » Ramos,

[56:30] » Yes.

[56:30] » Cohen,

[56:31] » Yes.

[56:33] » Great. That would be 826.

[56:36] » With eight in the affirmative and six in

[56:38] the negative, this bill, this uh bill is

[56:43] will move to third reader. Chair

[56:46] recognizes council member

[56:50] » Chair Dorsy.

[56:51] » Oh, I'm sorry. Whoops. Back to the

[56:53] clerk. City Council Bill 25-0.

[56:57] » Oh, I'm sorry. Apologies. Council McCrae

[56:59] to explain her vote.

[57:00] » I appreciate you. I'm going to be brief

[57:02] again. I just want to make sure that I'm

[57:04] explaining my vote for the record for my

[57:06] own constituents. I voted no because of

[57:08] the day-to-day burdens that this is

[57:10] going to place on my residents, not just

[57:13] my residents, but also other

[57:14] neighborhoods across this city um who

[57:16] are within middle neighborhoods that I

[57:19] speak about often.

[57:21] How just to Councilman um Torrance's

[57:24] point, how are we going to um continue

[57:27] to retain our legacy residents? Um many

[57:31] who are black, they are the ones that I

[57:34] am losing within my district.

[57:38] And that's what I'm thinking about every

[57:40] time we have to um vote on bills like

[57:43] these. Um thank you, Mr. President.

[57:46] » Thank you, Chair McCrae.

[57:50] City Council Bill 25-000082

[57:53] planned unit development amendment under

[57:55] Armor Headquarters.

[57:57] » Chair recognizes Chair Dorsy.

[58:01] » Thank you, Mr. President.

[58:04] This bill was heard on October 16th. It

[58:06] was recommended as favorable with an

[58:09] amendment. The amendment

[58:13] two amendments. The amendments are uh on

[58:15] my colleagues desk. They're documents.

[58:18] The first amendment clarifies and

[58:20] renumbers section one of the purpose

[58:22] statement to clarify that the mayor and

[58:24] city council approve the amendment

[58:27] uh to the PUD. Amendment two clarifies

[58:29] the area where vehicular access will be

[58:33] prohibited in the PUD. There's a element

[58:36] of it that basically says on this map in

[58:38] this area um the development can't

[58:42] create vehicle access to the property at

[58:44] this spot here. Um and these uh

[58:47] amendments come through a collaborative

[58:49] effort u between of the bill, Councilman

[58:53] Blanchard, the repres

[58:55] uh the property owner and the uh Locust

[58:58] Point neighbors who are around it. Uh

[59:00] with that, Mr. President, I move the

[59:02] amendments uh favorable.

[59:04] » All those in favor of adopting the

[59:07] amendments say I.

[59:08] » I.

[59:09] » Those opposed say nay. The amendments

[59:12] are adopted.

[59:14] » Mr. President, there are findings of

[59:16] fact on my colleagueu's desk. I move the

[59:18] findings of fact.

[59:20] » Uh any debate or discussion on finding

[59:22] of facts? Hearing and seeing none. All

[59:24] those in favor of approving the finding

[59:26] of facts say I.

[59:27] » I.

[59:28] » Those post say nay. The finding of facts

[59:32] are adopted.

[59:33] » Mr. President, I move the bill favorable

[59:35] as amended.

[59:36] » Before we vote, is there any debate or

[59:38] discussion on this bill as amended?

[59:44] Councilman Parker.

[59:47] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, and thank you,

[59:49] Council President Blanchard, for

[59:50] bringing this forward. Um, we had a good

[59:54] conversation twice actually over in the

[59:56] in our committee about the matter. I

[59:58] think the one thing I just want to lift

[59:59] up here, and it partly is because I it

[1:00:01] came up in conversation with the uh

[1:00:02] prospective planning director earlier

[1:00:04] today. uh just the the reality of uh

[1:00:07] we've spent a lot of time here talking

[1:00:08] about the movement of young people to

[1:00:10] schools public or otherwise uh in the

[1:00:12] city. Uh Krista Ray in particular uh

[1:00:14] serves a community of folks that are

[1:00:16] heavily dependent upon public transit,

[1:00:17] many of whom live in my district as well

[1:00:18] as council person Glover and council

[1:00:20] person uh Jones's district. Uh and the

[1:00:22] current site is relatively convenient

[1:00:25] for them to get to um both by bus and by

[1:00:27] walk and biking. Uh Locust Point being

[1:00:30] on the peninsula is is a hard place to

[1:00:32] reach. uh but we do have a particular uh

[1:00:35] uh tool to do that being a harbor

[1:00:37] circulator and so just want to lift up

[1:00:39] for this council's consideration and and

[1:00:41] for the administration's consideration

[1:00:43] that um as we uh see the relocation of

[1:00:46] this high school there and as we're

[1:00:47] attentive to the movement of of all of

[1:00:49] our students to their their schools that

[1:00:51] uh further investment and consideration

[1:00:52] of using that resource to help

[1:00:54] facilitate uh transportation there to

[1:00:56] Hull Street Pier uh would be uh would be

[1:00:58] a good thing uh to make sure our young

[1:01:00] people can get to school on time and

[1:01:02] effectively.

[1:01:03] Thank you.

[1:01:03] » Duly noted. Thank you, Councilman

[1:01:05] Parker. Any further discussion or

[1:01:07] debate? Hearing and seeing none. All

[1:01:11] those in favor of this of approving this

[1:01:14] bill say I.

[1:01:16] » I.

[1:01:17] » All those opposed say nay.

[1:01:20] This bill will be printed for third

[1:01:22] reading. We now move on to bills on

[1:01:25] third reader. Madame clerk, please read

[1:01:27] the bill and call the role. City Council

[1:01:29] Bill 25-000018

[1:01:31] emergency scene unauthorized persons

[1:01:33] prohibited Parker McCrae Dorsy Conway

[1:01:36] Schlifer Middleton Torrance Gray Bullock

[1:01:39] Porter Blanchard Jones Glover Ramos

[1:01:41] Cohen

[1:01:42] » This bill is approved

[1:01:43] » City council bill 25-0062

[1:01:46] building code single exit from

[1:01:48] residential occupancy Parker McCrae

[1:01:51] Dorsy Conway Schlifer Middleton Torrance

[1:01:53] Gray Bullock Porter Blanchard Jones

[1:01:55] Glover Ramos Cohen

[1:01:56] » This bill is approved

[1:01:57] » City council Bill 25-0072

[1:02:00] zoning conditional use conversion of

[1:02:02] single family dwelling units to two

[1:02:04] dwelling units each in the R8 zoning

[1:02:06] district 1703 and 1709 Edmonson Avenue

[1:02:10] Parker McCrae Dorsy Conway Schlifer

[1:02:12] Middleton Torrance Grey Bullock Porter

[1:02:14] Blanchard Jones Glover Ramos Cohen

[1:02:16] » This bill is approved

[1:02:18] » City council bill 25-0077

[1:02:21] zoning conditional use conversion of a

[1:02:23] single family dwelling unit in the R8

[1:02:25] zoning district variances 541 Lafayette

[1:02:29] Avenue Park and McCrae Dorsy Conway

[1:02:31] Schlifer Middleton Torrance Grey Bullock

[1:02:33] Porter Blanchard Jones Glover Ramos

[1:02:35] Cohen

[1:02:36] » This bill is approved. City Council Bill

[1:02:39] 25-000078,

[1:02:41] City Streets closing portions of certain

[1:02:43] streets and alleys bounded by Rigs

[1:02:45] Avenue, North Pac Street, and the land

[1:02:47] of National Railroad Passenger Company,

[1:02:49] Amtrak, Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway,

[1:02:52] Schlifer, Middleton, Torrance, Grey,

[1:02:53] Bullock, Porter, Blanchard, Jones,

[1:02:55] Glover, Ramos, Cohen.

[1:02:57] » This bill is approved.

[1:02:58] » City Council bill 25-0079.

[1:03:01] sale of property certain streets lying

[1:03:03] within the area bounded by Rigs Avenue,

[1:03:05] North Pacon Street, West Lafayette

[1:03:07] Avenue, and the land of National

[1:03:08] Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak,

[1:03:11] Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway, Schlifer,

[1:03:14] Middleton, Torrance, Gay, Bullock,

[1:03:15] Porter, Blanchard, Jones, Glover, Ramos,

[1:03:17] Cohen.

[1:03:18] » This bill is approved.

[1:03:19] » City Council bill 25-0083

[1:03:22] RPA 30 exception 15 East West Street.

[1:03:26] Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway, Schlifer,

[1:03:28] Middleton, Torrance, Gay, Bullock,

[1:03:30] Porter, Blanchard, Jones, Glover, Ramos,

[1:03:32] Cohen.

[1:03:33] » This bill is approved.

[1:03:34] » City Council bill 25-0084

[1:03:36] city streets closing a 6-ft portion of

[1:03:39] West Saratoga Street and an alley 10.67

[1:03:42] ft wide bounded by Pearl Street, West

[1:03:44] Saratoga Street, and North Green Street.

[1:03:47] Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway, Schlifer,

[1:03:49] Middleton, Torrance, Grey, Block,

[1:03:51] Porter, Blanchard, Jones, Glover, Ramos,

[1:03:53] Cohen.

[1:03:53] » This bill is approved. City Council Bill

[1:03:55] 25-000085

[1:03:57] Sale of property section of West

[1:03:58] Saratoga Street bounded by Pearl Street,

[1:04:00] West Saratoga Street and North Green

[1:04:02] Street. Parker, McCrae, Dorsy, Conway,

[1:04:05] Schlifer, Middleton, Torrance, Gay,

[1:04:06] Bullock, Porter, Blanchard, Jones,

[1:04:08] Glover, Ramos, Cohen.

[1:04:09] » This bill is approved.

[1:04:10] » City Council bill 25-0086

[1:04:13] City Streets closing a portion of North

[1:04:16] Chapel Street. Parker, McCrae, Dorsy,

[1:04:18] Conway, Schlifer, Middleton, Torrance,

[1:04:20] Gay, Block, Porter, Blanchard, Jones,

[1:04:21] Glover, Ramos, Cohen. This bill is

[1:04:24] approved.

[1:04:25] » City Council Bill 25-000092

[1:04:27] zoning conditional use conversion to a

[1:04:30] banquet hall in the C2 zoning district

[1:04:32] variance 1123 West Baltimore Street

[1:04:35] Parker McCrae Dorsy Conway Middleton

[1:04:38] Torrance Grey Bulock Porter Blanchard

[1:04:40] Jones Glover Ramos Cohen

[1:04:42] » This bill is approved. And now committee

[1:04:44] announcements. Chairs when you hear your

[1:04:45] committee please proceed with your

[1:04:47] committee announcements. Budget and

[1:04:48] appropriations. Chair McCrae.

[1:04:55] » Thank you, Mr. President. The Budget and

[1:04:57] Appropriations Committee will hold a

[1:04:59] hearing on Tuesday, November the 4th,

[1:05:01] 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence D.

[1:05:03] concerns council chambers on 25-0099

[1:05:08] supplement supplementary municipal

[1:05:10] telephone exchange fund operating

[1:05:12] appropriation um municipal telephone

[1:05:15] exchange service 133 telecommunications

[1:05:17] for 1 million400,000

[1:05:21] and Mr. President, I would like to move

[1:05:23] to suspend rule 103 in order to announce

[1:05:26] the hearing that we are scheduling less

[1:05:27] than 30 days after its introduction to

[1:05:30] the council.

[1:05:32] » So move so moved. Uh

[1:05:38] » Uh

[1:05:40] » Without objection

[1:05:43] hearing and seeing none, the rule will

[1:05:45] be suspended.

[1:05:46] » Thank you, Mr. President. The budget

[1:05:48] appropriations committee will hold a

[1:05:50] hearing on Tuesday, November the 4th,

[1:05:51] 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence Dub

[1:05:54] Burns Council Chambers on 25-0105

[1:05:57] supplemental regional fund operating

[1:05:59] appropriation Baltimore City Public

[1:06:01] Schools 12,911,344.

[1:06:06] Mr. President, I would like to move to

[1:06:08] suspend rule 103 again in order to

[1:06:10] announce a hearing that we are scheduled

[1:06:11] in less than 30 days after its

[1:06:12] introduction to the council.

[1:06:14] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:06:15] suspended. hearing and seeing no

[1:06:17] objection, the rule will be suspended.

[1:06:21] » Thank you, Mr. President. The budget

[1:06:22] appropriations committee will also hold

[1:06:24] a hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

[1:06:27] at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence Dub Burns

[1:06:29] council chambers on 25-06

[1:06:33] supplementary general fund operating

[1:06:35] appropriation fire department $38

[1:06:38] million 38,520,93.

[1:06:43] And Mr. President, I would like to move

[1:06:44] to suspend rule 103 again in order to

[1:06:47] announce the hearing that we are

[1:06:48] scheduled in less than 30 days after its

[1:06:50] introduction to the council.

[1:06:51] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:06:52] suspended.

[1:06:54] The rule will be suspended.

[1:06:57] » Thank you, Mr. President. The budget and

[1:06:59] appropriations committee will hold a

[1:07:01] hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

[1:07:03] at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence Dub Burns

[1:07:05] Council Chambers on 25-0107

[1:07:08] supplementary general fund operating

[1:07:10] appropriation department of law 81,393.

[1:07:14] Mr. President, again, I would like to

[1:07:15] move to suspend rule 103 in order to

[1:07:18] announce a hearing that we are

[1:07:19] scheduled.

[1:07:22] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:07:23] suspended.

[1:07:25] Hearing and seeing no objection, the

[1:07:27] rule will be suspended.

[1:07:29] Thank you, Mr. President. The Budget

[1:07:30] Appropriations Committee will hold a

[1:07:32] hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

[1:07:34] at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence Burns

[1:07:36] Council's Chamber on 25-0108

[1:07:39] supplementary general fund operating

[1:07:41] appropriation liquor license board

[1:07:43] 454,415.

[1:07:46] Mr. President, again, I would like to

[1:07:47] move to suspend rule 103 in order to

[1:07:49] announce the hearing that we are

[1:07:50] scheduled in less than 30 days after its

[1:07:52] introduction to the council.

[1:07:53] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:07:55] suspended. The rule will be suspended.

[1:08:00] » Thank you, Mr. President. The budget and

[1:08:02] appropriations committee will hold a

[1:08:04] hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

[1:08:06] at 9:00 a.m. in a clearance to Burns

[1:08:08] Council Chambers on 25-0109

[1:08:11] supplementary grant funding, excuse me,

[1:08:13] grant fund operating appropriation,

[1:08:15] Mayor's Office of Employment

[1:08:17] Development, $300,000. Mr. President,

[1:08:19] again, I would like to suspend rule 103

[1:08:21] in order to announce a hearing that we

[1:08:22] are scheduled in less than 30 days after

[1:08:24] this introduction to the council.

[1:08:25] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:08:27] suspended.

[1:08:28] The rule will be suspended.

[1:08:31] » Thanks again, Mr. President. The budget

[1:08:32] and appropriations committee will hold a

[1:08:34] hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025,

[1:08:36] 9:00 a.m. in a Clarence to Burns

[1:08:38] Council's chamber on 25-0110

[1:08:42] supplementary general fund operating

[1:08:44] appropriation police department

[1:08:46] 47,492,889.

[1:08:50] Mr. President, I would like to move to

[1:08:51] suspend rule 103 again in order to

[1:08:53] announce a hearing that we are scheduled

[1:08:55] in less than 30 days after this

[1:08:56] introduction to the council.

[1:08:57] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:08:59] suspended. The rule will be suspended.

[1:09:03] » Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. The

[1:09:05] Budget Appropriations Committee will

[1:09:06] hold a hearing on Tuesday, November 4th,

[1:09:08] 2025 at 9:00 a.m. in a clearance to

[1:09:10] Burns Council Chamber on 25-011.

[1:09:19] [Music]

[1:09:22] » Okay. on 25-0111

[1:09:26] supplementary general fund operating and

[1:09:28] appropriation department of recreation

[1:09:30] and parks 5,630,976.

[1:09:34] Mr. President, I would like to move to

[1:09:35] suspend rule 103 again in order to

[1:09:37] announce a hearing that we are scheduled

[1:09:38] in less than 30 days after its

[1:09:40] introduction to the council.

[1:09:41] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:09:42] suspended. The rule will be suspended.

[1:09:48] » Thank you, Mr. President. The budget

[1:09:49] appropriations committee will hold a

[1:09:51] hearing on Tuesday, November 4th, 2025

[1:09:53] at 9:00 a.m. in the Clarence Suburn's

[1:09:55] Council Chamber on 25-0012

[1:09:59] supplementary general fund operating

[1:10:01] operations sheriff's office 3,425,454.

[1:10:06] Mr. President, I would like to move to

[1:10:08] suspend rule 103 again in order to

[1:10:09] announce a hearing that we are scheduled

[1:10:11] in less than 30 days after this

[1:10:12] introduction to the council.

[1:10:13] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:10:15] suspended.

[1:10:16] The rule will be suspended.

[1:10:19] And last, um, the budget appropriations

[1:10:21] committee will hold a hearing on

[1:10:22] Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.

[1:10:25] in the Clarence Dub Burns Council

[1:10:26] Chamber on 25-0013

[1:10:29] supplementary general fund operating

[1:10:31] appropriations, Department of

[1:10:32] Transportation, $4,457,580.

[1:10:41] And Mr. President. Um, again, I would

[1:10:44] like to suspend rule 103 in order to

[1:10:46] just announce that hearing. It was

[1:10:47] scheduled less than 30 days after this

[1:10:48] introduction to the council.

[1:10:50] » Without objection, the rule will be

[1:10:51] suspended.

[1:10:53] The rule is suspended.

[1:10:55] » Thank you, Mr. President.

[1:10:56] » Thank you, Madam Chair. Education,

[1:10:58] Youth, and Older Adults. Chair Bullock.

[1:11:02] Uh, thank you, Mr. President. The

[1:11:03] Education, Youth, and Older Adults

[1:11:04] Committee will be having a hearing for

[1:11:07] bill number 250031R,formational

[1:11:10] hearing for middle school sports at the

[1:11:13] request of Council Member Zach

[1:11:14] Blanchard. That will be on Thursday the

[1:11:16] 13th of November at 12:30 p.m. Please

[1:11:19] note that hearing will be held at

[1:11:21] Digital Harbor High School.

[1:11:24] Also, um the education, youth, and old

[1:11:26] adults committee will be having a

[1:11:27] hearing in um December on the 11th on a

[1:11:31] Thursday at 12 PM and that is uh for a

[1:11:34] bill 2500,

[1:11:37] children youth fund updates and that

[1:11:38] will be at 12 p.m. here in council

[1:11:40] chambers. Thank you.

[1:11:42] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Housing and

[1:11:44] economic development chair Torrance.

[1:11:49] » Thank you, Mr. President. The housing

[1:11:51] economic development committee will be

[1:11:52] meeting on November 4th for city council

[1:11:55] bill 250088

[1:11:58] tax property tax sale vacant lots and

[1:12:01] vacant structures.

[1:12:03] And then then on that same day we will

[1:12:05] be meeting for 20 council bill 250080

[1:12:09] in room foreclosure vacant structures

[1:12:11] and nuisance properties. And these will

[1:12:14] both be at 5:15 p.m. on November 4th.

[1:12:17] Um, also I will be rescheduling LO250018

[1:12:22] homeless services from um October 28th

[1:12:26] to be rescheduled to Octo to November

[1:12:28] 4th at 5:15 p.m.

[1:12:32] And then I will for the sake of everyone

[1:12:35] not having to deal with council work

[1:12:37] close to Christmas we'll be rescheduling

[1:12:39] the accuracy of VBN's and non-ontiguous

[1:12:42] tiff which is LO250027

[1:12:46] from December 23rd till a later date cuz

[1:12:49] you know I like to allow people to enjoy

[1:12:51] their holiday. Um and that will be

[1:12:54] announced at a later date. Mr.

[1:12:55] President, thank you Chair Torrance.

[1:12:58] Labor and Workforce Chair Jones.

[1:13:01] Thank you, Mr. President.

[1:13:03] » Uh, the Labor Workforce Committee has a

[1:13:05] scheduling update for bill number

[1:13:08] L2500035,

[1:13:11] Baltimore City Works. This hearing was

[1:13:13] originally scheduled for October 29th,

[1:13:15] 2025 at 5:30 p.m. and is now postponed

[1:13:19] until further notice. Thank you, Mr.

[1:13:21] President.

[1:13:21] » Thank you, Chairman Jones. Land Use and

[1:13:24] Transportation Chair Dorsy.

[1:13:28] » Thank you, Mr. President. The Land Use

[1:13:31] and Transportation Committee will

[1:13:34] continue its oversight efforts,

[1:13:37] returning to the topics of street

[1:13:39] lighting, parking enforcement, and

[1:13:41] community engagement, all on December

[1:13:46] 11th. I'm announcing this way out in

[1:13:48] advance because we fully intend to give

[1:13:50] the Department of Transportation every

[1:13:52] opportunity to put their absolute best

[1:13:55] foot forward and we will meet with them

[1:13:56] in advance of this uh to be as to

[1:13:59] continue as in as collaborative way as

[1:14:02] possible. Uh again, that will be on

[1:14:04] December 11th at 900 a.m.

[1:14:10] Uh before we get to December 11th,

[1:14:12] however,

[1:14:14] the land use and transportation

[1:14:16] committee will hear

[1:14:19] council bill 250055,

[1:14:22] zoning conditional use, parking lot

[1:14:24] principal use variances, 7:01 Mura

[1:14:28] Street at 9:00 a.m. On November 20th,

[1:14:35] the committee will hear 250056

[1:14:39] zoning conditional use parking lot

[1:14:41] principal use variances 702 Mura Street,

[1:14:46] November 20th, 9:00 a.m.

[1:14:49] We'll hear council bill 250071,

[1:14:53] zoning conditional use conversion of

[1:14:55] single family dwelling unit to two

[1:14:57] dwelling units in the R8 zoning

[1:14:59] district. variances 15 East West Street.

[1:15:03] At 9:00 a.m. on November 20th, we will

[1:15:07] hear council bill 250090

[1:15:11] zoning conditional use conversion of a

[1:15:12] single family dwelling to two dwelling

[1:15:14] units in the R seven zoning district

[1:15:16] variance 220 North Culver Street at 9:00

[1:15:20] a.m. on November 20th. We will hear

[1:15:23] 250091

[1:15:25] [Music]

[1:15:26] zoning conditional use conversion of a

[1:15:28] single family dwelling to four dwelling

[1:15:30] units in the R8 zoning district variance

[1:15:32] 1425 West Fet Street at 9:00 a.m.

[1:15:36] November 20th.

[1:15:40] We will hear

[1:15:44] council bill 250066,

[1:15:48] zoning, housing options and opportunity

[1:15:52] at 9:00 a.m. on November 13th

[1:15:56] and on November 20th following the

[1:16:00] hearing of the five zoning bills that I

[1:16:03] have just uh announced.

[1:16:07] Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you,

[1:16:09] Chair Dorsy. Legislative Investigations

[1:16:12] Chair Schlifer.

[1:16:13] » Thank you, Mr. President. The

[1:16:14] Legislative Investigations Committee

[1:16:16] will hold a hearing on LO25-0037,

[1:16:20] opioid epidemic response, on December

[1:16:22] 11th, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. This is in

[1:16:26] response to uh the health commissioner's

[1:16:28] nomination hearing where she said that

[1:16:30] she will come back and present answers

[1:16:33] to our questions uh from her uh from her

[1:16:36] initial hearing uh in three months from

[1:16:38] now. And so three months will be

[1:16:40] December 11th um and we'll have that

[1:16:42] follow-up hearing. Thank you so much.

[1:16:44] Thank you, Chair Schlafer. Public Health

[1:16:46] in the Environment Chair Porter.

[1:16:48] » Thank you so much, Mr. President. The

[1:16:49] Public Health and Environment Committee

[1:16:51] will reconvene the hearing for the

[1:16:52] following council resolutions on

[1:16:54] Wednesday, December 3rd, beginning at

[1:16:56] 10:00 a.m. 25-0015R,formational

[1:17:00] hearing, well-being of the transgender

[1:17:01] community in Baltimore.

[1:17:03] 25-0020R,formational

[1:17:06] hearing, well-being of gay men in

[1:17:07] Baltimore. and 25- Z0021Rformational

[1:17:11] hearing on the well-being of le lesbian

[1:17:13] women in Baltimore and this is in

[1:17:15] culmination for HIV awareness month for

[1:17:17] December.

[1:17:18] » Thank you, Chair Porter. Public safety

[1:17:20] chair Conway.

[1:17:22] » No announcements.

[1:17:22] » No announcements. Finally, I would like

[1:17:24] to announce the creation of a charter

[1:17:25] review special committee chaired by

[1:17:27] Councilman Dorsy. Members can find more

[1:17:30] info on the printed documents on each of

[1:17:33] your desks. Uh Mr. Chair, plea, please

[1:17:36] proceed with your announcements for this

[1:17:38] new committee.

[1:17:42] » Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, first I

[1:17:44] just want to say uh it's a real honor to

[1:17:47] get the opportunity to chair this

[1:17:48] committee uh and to work with my

[1:17:50] colleagues on uh matters pertaining to

[1:17:53] the charter, our foundational document.

[1:17:55] Um, I am uh

[1:17:58] frequently having to reference the

[1:18:00] charter in the cho in the course of

[1:18:02] doing the work that I've had the

[1:18:04] privilege to do here for now two full

[1:18:06] terms and now into my third term. And uh

[1:18:09] I think it's really important that the

[1:18:10] city council take very seriously matters

[1:18:13] pertaining to the charter and to look at

[1:18:15] it in a comprehensive manner. Uh so I

[1:18:18] want to thank you Mr. President for

[1:18:19] creating this committee and for giving

[1:18:20] me the opportunity and the honor of

[1:18:22] chairing this committee. Um, also

[1:18:24] looking forward to the work uh with my

[1:18:26] vice chair, Councilman Bullock, and the

[1:18:28] other members of the committee. Um,

[1:18:32] this committee will be for the purpose

[1:18:34] of considering proposals to revise the

[1:18:37] city charter and to recommend ultimately

[1:18:40] bills, multiple bills to uh revise the

[1:18:43] city charter to the full city council.

[1:18:46] Um, I want to announce kind of a bunch

[1:18:50] of hearings. Um, these are all at the

[1:18:53] time at this time falling under the

[1:18:55] category of legislative oversight

[1:18:58] LO250038.

[1:19:00] Um, but I think at some point in the

[1:19:02] course of going through this, we're

[1:19:04] going to end up with some bills that we

[1:19:05] want to consider and vote. So, some

[1:19:08] additional hearings will have to be

[1:19:09] called uh specifically as bill hearings

[1:19:12] when those matters uh come uh to

[1:19:15] introduction.

[1:19:17] Um,

[1:19:19] also before I do this, I'll just also

[1:19:20] note that um I had an email scheduled to

[1:19:24] go out to all the members here uh during

[1:19:26] the meeting this evening. You all have

[1:19:28] in your inbox um a document that was uh

[1:19:32] sent to me by Hillary Roelly from the

[1:19:33] law department that combi it's 200 some

[1:19:36] pages. A lot of it is actually bills

[1:19:38] that were drafted in the past. Um but uh

[1:19:42] it is a fairly comprehensive uh uh uh

[1:19:46] compilation of documents from many

[1:19:48] charter review commissions that have

[1:19:50] occurred over many decades in the city.

[1:19:53] There is one document in particular in

[1:19:55] there from Vic Turvala who's a former

[1:19:58] city law department uh employee and who

[1:20:00] is an expert not just on Baltimore

[1:20:02] City's charter but on charters in the

[1:20:04] state of Maryland in general and he

[1:20:06] brings 30 years of experience advising

[1:20:08] counties in the state of Maryland on how

[1:20:11] to write and revise charters. There's a

[1:20:13] 12-page document in that packet, pages

[1:20:15] 17 through 29, written by Vic that gives

[1:20:19] a wonderful and simple foundational

[1:20:22] understanding of what is the charter and

[1:20:25] what belongs in a charter and what

[1:20:27] doesn't belong in a charter and how it

[1:20:29] can be challenging to change a charter

[1:20:31] when it has things already in it that

[1:20:33] don't belong in it. I really strongly

[1:20:35] encourage every member of the council to

[1:20:37] to give a look over Vick's document in

[1:20:39] that package that is attached to the

[1:20:41] email in your inboxes. Um, with that,

[1:20:44] uh, the charter review special committee

[1:20:48] will hold its first hearing here in the

[1:20:51] Duburn's chamber on November 5th, 2025

[1:20:56] at 400 p.m. It will hold its second

[1:20:59] hearing here on November 9th at 400 p.m.

[1:21:04] It will hold third hearing December 3rd

[1:21:08] at 5:30 p.m. It will hold a hearing

[1:21:11] January 21st, 5:30 p.m. It will hold a

[1:21:15] hearing on February 4th, 5:30 p.m. It'll

[1:21:19] hold a hearing on February 18th.

[1:21:24] I'm sorry, the second one. I said the

[1:21:26] 9th, I meant 19th. Um, there not n

[1:21:30] November 9th. November 19th at 4 p.m.

[1:21:33] Uh, where was I? January 21st, 5:30 p.m.

[1:21:36] February 4th, 5:30 p.m. February 18th,

[1:21:40] 5:30 p.m. March 4th, 5:30 p.m. March

[1:21:44] 18th, 5:30 p.m. March 21st,

[1:21:48] 11 a.m. April 8th, 5:30 p.m.

[1:21:54] Uh,

[1:21:56] that's it. Thank you, Mr. President.

[1:21:58] » Thank you, Council Member Dorsy. We now

[1:22:00] move to regular announcements. Members,

[1:22:02] please wait to be recognized to make any

[1:22:04] regular announcements.

[1:22:08] Uh, starting Councilman Bullock.

[1:22:13] » Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be brief.

[1:22:15] Um, as most of you know, uh, this past

[1:22:17] weekend was the Baltimore Running

[1:22:19] Festival.

[1:22:19] » I love running. I love doing the

[1:22:21] festival every year. Um, but this was a

[1:22:23] a pretty special one. I want to note,

[1:22:25] um, at the start line, I saw uh, Council

[1:22:27] Member Parker and he both we both ran

[1:22:30] the half marathon. um saw each other up

[1:22:32] until around mile 10 and he caught him

[1:22:35] again at the at the finish line. It was

[1:22:36] good to welcome him at the finish line

[1:22:37] after you finished. I was

[1:22:42] » No, I was just saying. Oh, so but no,

[1:22:46] » Brandon Scott.

[1:22:47] » No, no, no. He left. Anyway, but but

[1:22:51] what I want to also say though is

[1:22:53] running is also a metaphor for life. It

[1:22:54] tells us a lot. And what I want to talk

[1:22:56] about is also our colleagues I saw along

[1:22:58] the way. So as I was getting through

[1:23:00] after I come around mile 10 wound up

[1:23:02] seeing council member Ramos and she's

[1:23:04] cheering and that gave me a little bit

[1:23:06] of energy and so start picking up a

[1:23:08] little bit and as I pass Council Ramos

[1:23:10] then I hear Bulock and it's Dorsy. It's

[1:23:13] Council Member Dorsy and so he's on his

[1:23:15] bike. He rides up besides me takes

[1:23:16] what's now an iconic picture of running

[1:23:19] through the city. But I say that to say

[1:23:20] that it's important for us to support

[1:23:22] each other as colleagues. That's right.

[1:23:24] um to also uh celebrate each other as

[1:23:27] colleagues, push each other along the

[1:23:28] way. And I know over the past week um

[1:23:30] there's been conversation around us

[1:23:32] being colleagues, how we treat one

[1:23:33] another, but I think this is an example

[1:23:34] of what we can do um as a unit. So

[1:23:37] again, I encourage that behavior. I'm

[1:23:38] thankful for my colleagues and being out

[1:23:40] there. It was a fun time. Those who

[1:23:41] haven't done it, I encourage you to do

[1:23:42] it sometime.

[1:23:45] » Thank you, Council Member Bulock. Since

[1:23:47] Council Member Parker was not here to

[1:23:49] defend his honor, we uh we'll hear from

[1:23:53] him later. Council member Torrance.

[1:23:56] » Oh.

[1:23:58] » Oh, yeah. You know what? You're

[1:24:00] absolutely right. Uh, I believe Glover

[1:24:02] came in second in the overall. Um, thank

[1:24:07] you to Councilman Glover for his efforts

[1:24:10] in the race.

[1:24:12] Councilman Torren. Thank you, Mr.

[1:24:14] President. Um, on a somber note, I want

[1:24:17] to just lift up the name of Wes Henson,

[1:24:19] captain defense, who is one of our super

[1:24:21] fans for the Baltimore Ravens. Um, on a

[1:24:24] personal note, he is the uncle of a

[1:24:26] personal mentor of mine, Valerie Henson.

[1:24:28] Um, Wes was a super fan, um, who would

[1:24:32] cheer on the Ravens even when we were

[1:24:35] fair weather fans sometimes and want to

[1:24:36] fire people, you know, but cheerfully he

[1:24:41] participated in so many events. Um,

[1:24:43] often people saw him at the games, but

[1:24:45] he was there when young people who were

[1:24:47] experiencing hardship through cancer and

[1:24:49] other diseases needed just a cheer me

[1:24:52] up, but in addition to he went to senior

[1:24:54] homes and other places to actually give

[1:24:56] cheer. Um, he took it as his personal

[1:24:59] role and I think that we should honor

[1:25:00] him as his services will be tomorrow.

[1:25:02] » Thank you. Councilman Torrance, could

[1:25:04] you say his last name one more time?

[1:25:06] » Wes Wes Henson.

[1:25:08] » Henson.

[1:25:10] Thank you, Council Member Ramos.

[1:25:14] » Uh, thank you, Mr. President, and

[1:25:15] colleagues. I just want to uh publicly

[1:25:17] announce the uh task force on uh the

[1:25:20] Citizen Street um transfer station. Uh

[1:25:24] the task force meets this evening after

[1:25:25] this meeting. Uh for the first meeting,

[1:25:27] it will be an organizational meeting and

[1:25:29] then further meetings will be announced

[1:25:31] uh and we will have public testimony um

[1:25:34] as well at at subsequent meetings. uh

[1:25:37] and the membership. Um I'll be putting a

[1:25:39] lot of the updates and things on our

[1:25:41] website. So, and I know the mayor will

[1:25:43] also be doing that um as well. And just

[1:25:45] want to note that uh sort of

[1:25:47] everything's on the table. We're not

[1:25:48] just looking at one site. We're looking

[1:25:50] at a lot of different sites. We may even

[1:25:51] be looking at keeping it there. So, uh

[1:25:54] at the again, we start tonight um right

[1:25:57] after this this meeting on the first

[1:25:58] meeting. Thank you.

[1:25:59] » Thank you, Council Member Ramos,

[1:26:00] Councilman Conway.

[1:26:03] Thank you, Mr. President. Um, for the

[1:26:06] last 10 months or so, I've been uh a

[1:26:10] part of this amazing group of people uh

[1:26:13] in a in a program called the leadership.

[1:26:15] Um, over the last couple years, a couple

[1:26:17] of my colleagues have participated in

[1:26:18] this wonderful pro program. Um, but I

[1:26:20] think my my cohort did it best, the 2025

[1:26:23] cohort. Um, and this this program is is

[1:26:26] is awesome uh if only uh for a couple of

[1:26:29] reasons. It pulls together leaders from

[1:26:31] the private sector, the public sector,

[1:26:33] from the nonprofit sector, uh, across

[1:26:36] the city and puts them in a room and

[1:26:38] talks about the hard issues facing the

[1:26:40] city and how folks can work together to

[1:26:42] understand those issues first and then

[1:26:44] eventually tackle them. Um, I want to

[1:26:45] take a moment for the folks that are

[1:26:47] still here because it's been a long

[1:26:48] meeting. Um, and I told them they would

[1:26:49] get some fireworks. Uh, if you guys

[1:26:51] could stand up, I want to acknowledge

[1:26:52] you guys. Um, so this is the 2025 class

[1:26:56] of the leadership. Appreciate you guys

[1:26:58] coming out.

[1:27:04] the the not the best class ever, but the

[1:27:06] greatest class ever. We we we officially

[1:27:08] dawn that. Um the leadership is um

[1:27:12] accepting applications exactly two weeks

[1:27:14] from today. Uh will be the deadline for

[1:27:17] folks interested in the program. I

[1:27:19] highly, highly, highly recommend it.

[1:27:20] It's something I've considered for a

[1:27:21] while and finally actually went through

[1:27:23] the program this year. Um it's been

[1:27:25] truly phenomenal. I've made some

[1:27:26] incredible friends and I I really um

[1:27:28] hate the prospect that we are about to

[1:27:30] finish soon. Um it's incredible how much

[1:27:32] we've gone through and how much we've

[1:27:33] seen. Um I highly recommend for my

[1:27:36] colleagues that have not gone through

[1:27:37] the program to consider applying. You

[1:27:38] have two weeks till today. Uh November

[1:27:40] 3rd at midnight is the deadline. Thank

[1:27:43] you.

[1:27:44] » Thank you, Councilman Conway. Thank you

[1:27:46] to the leadership. Want to also

[1:27:47] recognize Carolyn Blake Blakey who led

[1:27:51] uh Council President Jack Young's staff.

[1:27:54] Uh, thank you for rejoining this

[1:27:56] chamber. It's good to see you. All

[1:27:59] right, other announcements hearing and

[1:28:03] seeing none, I will ask for a moment of

[1:28:05] silence for Wes Henen.

[1:28:13] Thank you. Tonight's district spotlight

[1:28:16] comes from Council Member Bullock of the

[1:28:17] 9inth District. Council member, the

[1:28:19] floor is yours.

[1:28:24] Make sure that

[1:28:30] right here.

[1:28:39] All right.

[1:28:47] » You have to elevate me again.

[1:28:49] » Yeah.

[1:28:49] » Okay. Well, elevate me.

[1:28:52] Get it, man.

[1:29:05] » Do you feel elevated?

[1:29:08] » I don't feel elevated just yet.

[1:29:22] All right.

[1:29:27] » All right. That's great.

[1:29:52] I go back to sleep.

[1:29:57] » Don't y'all leave.

[1:29:59] » We see you up there.

[1:30:03] » I got to go.

[1:30:09] Well, you'll like this one, Dorsey. But

[1:30:15] » Hey, man, come on. You like this. You

[1:30:17] like it. You like it.

[1:30:22] [Music]

[1:30:50] All right.

[1:30:53] » Can we see now?

[1:30:54] » All right. All right. All right. That's

[1:30:56] good.

[1:30:56] » Almost.

[1:31:08] So if you were to stop sharing

[1:31:11] the web

[1:31:17] share, did you want to share your

[1:31:28] second?

[1:31:28] » It was showing up before.

[1:31:30] » Yeah, it was

[1:31:34] back to the webex because it should be

[1:31:35] in that window. That's where I was.

[1:31:47] » That's not There it is.

[1:31:51] » We got

[1:31:53] all right. There we go. All right. Thank

[1:31:56] you.

[1:31:58] All right, colleagues. I'll be I'll be

[1:32:00] brief. There's a lot more here, but

[1:32:01] let's just get it get it going. So, we

[1:32:04] could talk about this district um all

[1:32:06] day and all night. I will say um there

[1:32:08] are a couple of um highlights that we

[1:32:10] can uh recognize. I don't know why this

[1:32:13] is um doing that. Let's do this.

[1:32:18] Well, maybe I'll just cut to the

[1:32:19] highlight. Do you want to do that?

[1:32:22] » All right. Let's go ahead and do this

[1:32:25] because this is not doing what I wanted

[1:32:26] to do.

[1:33:07] Is this the one here? I just want to

[1:33:09] show a video.

[1:33:11] Let me just try to get the best videos.

[1:33:15] Sorry.

[1:33:19] It should be this one here. The movie.

[1:33:22] » Yeah. Okay. But I want to do this one.

[1:33:25] » You want to do this one first?

[1:33:26] » Yeah. I mean, there's a bunch of stuff

[1:33:28] that I want to show these videos, but I

[1:33:29] can't,

[1:33:29] » Right? I don't know what's going on

[1:33:31] because it was working earlier. So, you

[1:33:36] » I mean, I have the person here that I

[1:33:37] want to actually do. That's why I needed

[1:33:38] it to to work. All right. How about

[1:33:40] this? I will do I want to do floor

[1:33:42] privileges today and then we'll come

[1:33:44] back and do the the the showcase. Okay.

[1:33:46] So, I'm going to show you I'm going to

[1:33:47] show you something really quickly and

[1:33:48] then I do want to I do need to show this

[1:33:50] though. Okay. So, all right.

[1:33:59] All right.

[1:34:02] [Music]

[1:34:05] » Sound should be working.

[1:34:07] [Music]

[1:34:36] Heat. Heat.

[1:34:38] [Music]

[1:36:03] Heat. Heat.

[1:36:15] [Music]

[1:36:26] Heat.

[1:36:32] [Music]

[1:36:41] Heat.

[1:36:43] [Music]

[1:36:48] Heat. Heat.

[1:36:51] [Music]

[1:37:13] [Music]

[1:37:28] Heat. Heat.

[1:37:32] [Music]

[1:37:47] Heat. Heat.

[1:37:52] [Music]

[1:38:44] Heat. Heat.

[1:38:51] All

[1:38:52] [Music]

[1:39:19] right.

[1:39:23] [Applause]

[1:39:26] Now that was the end of the

[1:39:28] presentation. So you'll get the rest

[1:39:30] next time. But the reason why I wanted

[1:39:32] to do that um there are a couple

[1:39:34] reasons. one that is that that beautiful

[1:39:38] sound that you heard was coming from no

[1:39:40] other than Ramilia Sabanova who is

[1:39:42] actually with us this evening

[1:39:44] » And she is a worldrenowned uh pianist

[1:39:46] classically trained also I was thinking

[1:39:48] about Dorsy in terms of the Peabody

[1:39:49] conservatory she's also spent time there

[1:39:52] and she is also part of what you will

[1:39:54] find out in the future around the Union

[1:39:55] Square sore so square is one of our

[1:39:58] fabulous neighborhoods in the 9th

[1:39:59] district and she's been responsible for

[1:40:01] helping to cultivate artists and that

[1:40:03] experience

[1:40:04] And it speaks to the diversity of our

[1:40:06] district and of our city. And as we

[1:40:08] welcome folks, whether you're from

[1:40:09] Eastern Europe or you're from Latin

[1:40:11] America or you're from Africa, there is

[1:40:13] a place for you here in Baltimore. And

[1:40:15] there's a place for you here in the

[1:40:16] ninth district. And so, Mr. President, I

[1:40:18] did want to uh extend floor privileges

[1:40:20] if possible so we can honor Ramilia for

[1:40:22] her contributions to music and art here

[1:40:24] in Baltimore and in the ninth district.

[1:40:26] » Floor privileges granted. Come on up.

[1:40:29] [Applause]

[1:40:44] So, I'll I'll read this um and make sure

[1:40:46] we familiar gets it. But again, uh be it

[1:40:49] hereby known the city council of

[1:40:51] Baltimore resolution. Be hereby known to

[1:40:53] all that the city council of Baltimore

[1:40:54] offers a sincerest congratulations to

[1:40:57] Ramilia Salavanova in recognition of

[1:40:59] your artistic contribution to the Union

[1:41:01] Square so this entire membership extends

[1:41:03] his best wishes on this memorable

[1:41:05] occasion and direct this resolution to

[1:41:06] be presented on this 20th day of October

[1:41:09] 2025 signed by council president Zo and

[1:41:11] myself council member John Bulock and

[1:41:12] all the members of the council. We

[1:41:13] really appreciate you.

[1:41:36] Thank you so much. Hello everyone. Um,

[1:41:39] I'm truly honored to receive this

[1:41:41] recognition. For more than two decades,

[1:41:44] I've dedicated my life to sharing

[1:41:46] classical music, art, and culture with

[1:41:48] communities around the world. and for

[1:41:51] the past seven years here in Baltimore

[1:41:54] and it's been a joy and privilege to

[1:41:57] contribute to this city's vibrant

[1:41:59] artistic life and on behalf of the Union

[1:42:03] Square Sar as you mentioned it's a salon

[1:42:05] concert series that we run in Union

[1:42:07] Square I would like to say that uh we're

[1:42:10] very grateful to be recognized because

[1:42:12] we work very hard to support local

[1:42:14] artists and young generation of artists

[1:42:18] and we always strive to create a

[1:42:20] beautiful and meaningful experience um

[1:42:22] for our community. We're very thankful

[1:42:25] to the city of Baltimore and John Balik

[1:42:27] for their continued support. Thank you

[1:42:29] so much.

[1:42:30] » Thank you.

[1:42:44] » All right, the next Thank you, Council

[1:42:47] Member Bullock. Looking forward to

[1:42:48] hearing part one of this two-part

[1:42:51] series. The next regular meeting of the

[1:42:53] Baltimore City Council will be held on

[1:42:55] Monday, October 27th at 5:00 p.m. There

[1:42:57] being no further business before this

[1:42:59] body, this concludes the 16th regular

[1:43:01] meeting of the 74th term of the

[1:43:02] Baltimore City Council.

City Council Hearing; October 20, 2025

Agenda

Transcript