Welcome to another edition of our monthly newsletter. As you can see, we are as busy as ever. This issue highlights many of the happenings at the Department of Planning this Fall: the Planning Academy; the Capital Improvement Program process; Made in Baltimore; proposed signage amendments to the Zoning Code; and the presentation of the final Baltimore Green Network Plan to the Planning Commission.

As this will be the final issue of The Compass with me in the Planning Director role, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and sincerely thank all of the talented staff at the Planning Department for their service to Baltimore. They are instrumental in making good things happen in the City, both large and small—bringing stakeholders together to collaborate on neighborhood and strategic plans, improving the urban design of proposed building projects, designating historic properties and promoting their rehabilitation, preparing residents for natural disasters and increasing city resiliency, generating state of the art GIS maps and analysis, increasing the availability of healthy foods in underserved neighborhoods—the list goes on. Every day, their collective passion for improving Baltimore motivates Planning staff as they engage with residents, developers, consultants, agency peers, institutional representatives, elected officials, community associations and non-profit partners. This group of planning professionals, along with our dedicated administrative and support staff, represents some of the best and the brightest in their fields. I have been constantly impressed with their desire to improve departmental operations, city policy and programming, and outcomes for city residents and stakeholders, with a special focus on addressing difficult and longstanding equity issues.  It’s been an honor for me to lead--and learn from--this planning team for the last 9 years, and I look forward to many great things to come from Baltimore’s Department of Planning.

Finally, my thanks goes to all of you for being partners with the City of Baltimore in moving us forward. Though some tough challenges remain, and progress can sometimes seem elusive, the strength, savvy and spirit of the people of Baltimore give me confidence that our best days lie ahead.

Sincerely,

It is with immense pride that the Department of Planning announces the official release of the Baltimore Green Network plan this month.  The plan heralds a new vision for Baltimore that imagines an interconnected system of natural and recreational spaces throughout Baltimore City – including landscaped plazas, parks, urban gardens and forests. The release of the plan is a culmination of more than two years of planning in partnership with residents and community based organizations, including dozens of meetings and feedback from hundreds of individuals. 

A copy of the plan document may be found on the Department of Planning website or on the Baltimore Green Network website.

The Baltimore Green Network plan will be presented to the Planning Commission for adoption on September 27, 2018 at 2:00 pm in the Stanton Board Room, located at 417 East Fayette Street, 8th Floor. If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, it will also be viewable through live-streaming using this link.

Date: (Saturday) September 29, 2018

Time: 9:00 AM- 12:00 PM (Breakfast/Check in begins at 8:30 AM)

Location: Baltimore Convention Center (1 W Pratt Street)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY!! 

REGISTRATION CLOSES 9/26

Applications are being accepted now for the Green, Healthy, Smart Challenge Grant, which supports student-led environmental projects in City Schools with awards of up to $2,500. Details and application here.

The MECU Neighborhood Event Grants program awards cash grants to Baltimore City nonprofit neighborhood associations and community-based organizations for the purpose of producing a free-to-the-public special event.

New this year, with special thanks to the support of MECU, Baltimore’s Credit Union, eligible groups can receive up to $5,000. 

Learn more via this link.

The Made In Baltimore Store Grand Opening on October 5th 

This will be MIB’s sixth pop-up store, and their longest to date.  The shop will be open October 5th through the end of February 2019, Thursdays through Sundays from 12-7pm.  

The MIB store will exclusively feature products from Baltimore City-based makers and manufacturers, ranging from clothing to furniture to personal care to food and more.  

More information is available at: https://madeinbaltimore.org/

The Fall session of Planning Academy is now underway, and the public is encouraged to follow along by downloading materials for the course and viewing video on our website HERE.

This is the inaugural edition of Planning Academy, and we are excited to have 30 participants join us from throughout Baltimore City for this six week introduction to planning and community development.

The 10th INSPIRE plan is headed to Planning Commission for Adoption on Thursday, October 18.  For more information and to read the Draft Arlington Elementary School INSPIRE neighborhood plan please visit the Arlington page on INSPIRE’s website.

Arriel Humphrey is joining us to work on the INSPIRE program:

Arriel grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arriel is an advanced year student at University of Maryland School of Social Work with a concentration in Community Action and Social Policy. 

She is thrilled to be working in the Department of Planning’s INSPIRE program because the INSPIRE program embodies many of the concepts within macro-level social work practice. 

Uniquely different from clinical social work practice, macro-level social work includes community organizing and development, social planning, political and social action, program and resource development, and other forms of advocacy. 

Arriel's internship/ field placement extends through April 2019.  It’s a 9-month internship made possible through a partnership between the Department of Planning (INSPIRE program) and the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Arriel is looking forward to learning about the aspirations and ingenuity of each neighborhood and participating in efforts to strengthen the community.

Sha'Von Terrell is joining the Office of Sustainability

Sha’Von Terrell is a Master’s of City and Regional Planning candidate at Morgan State University. She is a native of Leesburg, GA.

Sha’Von is interning in the Office of Sustainability for the fall 2018 semester. She is responsible for collecting, responding and analyzing comments regarding the Baltimore City Sustainability Plan. Moreover, she is passionate about community engagement and development and is looking forward to being involved in creating a sustainable Baltimore.