Single-family zoning bill stalls as Baltimore residents oppose piece of mayor’s plan

BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — The final bill of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s five-piece affordable housing legislation stalled during a lengthy City Council hearing Monday, as testimony from dozens of residents urged members to pump the brakes.

Heard by the council’s Land Use & Transportation Committee, Bill 25-0066 would allow single-family homes of more than 1,500 square feet to be converted into duplexes across the city. Single-family homes of more than 2,250 square feet and 3,000 square feet could be modified into multifamily homes containing up to three and four units, respectively, if the bill passes.

Scott and Councilman Ryan Dorsey — who chair the committee — have framed the bill as a way to make Baltimore’s housing options more affordable and flexible. But those against the bill chastised it as a giveaway to developers while gutting decades-old zoning rules that have allowed the city’s Black middle class to flourish.

Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.