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While our offices are closed to the public, our staff remains fully operational and is teleworking.
You may reach staff by calling their office line or by firstname.lastname@baltimorecity.gov. We are also regularly checking voicemails on our main phone line: (410) 396-7526 (PLAN)
UDAAP, SPRC & Planning Commission
Upcoming Meetings for Planning Commission & UDAAP are being held via WebEx.
- UDAAP will be meeting using Webex. All agenda item presentations will be posted on this webpage.
- The Site Plan Review Committee is continuing to meet.
- Planning Commission will be meeting on April 16. The Agenda is available online now.
PERMITS AND BMZA
- Permits are being reviewed and approved; Construction and inspections are continuing. More info and important phone numbers are on DHCD's website here.
- BMZA is on hold.
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SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION
- Almost 70 people attended the virtual Sustainability Meeting on April 1; Presentations and Minutes will be posted online on the BoS webpage.
- Sustainability is planning an Earth Day "virtual" Celebration on April 22, promoting the work of partners and friends via social media.
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CHAP
- In April, CHAP will hold a hearing in order for the Commission to address amending the official Rules to allow for remote hearings.
- CHAP staff is working remotely, continuing to review Applications for Authorization to Proceed, building permits, and Historic Tax Credit Applications.You can find CHAP's contact information here.
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April 1 was Census Day -- when you fill out your Census form, you enter information for every person staying with you on April 1, 2020. Political representation and federal funding are based on this count for the next ten years. Baltimore is typically undercounted, which means we get less representation and funding than we should receive. With this year's COVID-19 Pandemic we are facing an even greater challenge to make sure that #bmorecounts!
Why Does This Matter for Baltimore? According to WYPR, undercounting of hard-to-count communities during the census can severely affect critical funding. At stake, trillions of dollars in funding for schools, social programs, health care and economic development. Listen here.
What's New? First, the US Census has postponed field operations for at least a month. This means that they won't begin field operations until late April -- an important part of reaching hard-to-count populations. Further, in-person surveying has been suspended as of March 20. More in this article from PBS.
What's Next? The Novel coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak has forced many community efforts, like Baltimore's Census Complete Count Committee, to pivot away from public outreach plans and rely more on texting, phone banking, social media (including a video featuring rap artist Cardi B) to encourage people to participate in the count.
There are two steps you can take TODAY to help ensure that #bmorecounts:
1. Complete the Census today!
- It only takes 10 minutes via an online form OR you can respond by phone and get assistance from a live person (844-330-2020).
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2. Enter the #BmoreCensusChallenge Social Media Contest
- Post a Census 2020 themed picture or meme with the hashtag #bmorecensuschallenge
- Tag at least 3 friends.
- Tag us (@BaltPlan on IG and @BaltimorePlanning on Facebook).
- There will be GREAT prizes for both English and non-English posts.
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The Sandtown-Winchester Harlem Park Master Plan Collective is seeking proposals for consultant services associated with the creation of a Master Plan for the Sandtown-Winchester and Harlem Park neighborhoods in Baltimore, MD.
The Sandtown-Winchester Harlem Park Master Plan Collective was formed by several community organizations uniting for the common cause of community revitalization. The collective seeks to create a Master Plan that will document the community’s vision for its future. Through the creation of a Master Plan the collective seeks to facilitate and coordinate necessary neighborhood investment and to improve the community conditions surrounding health, safety, housing, transportation, economic opportunity and education.
More information on this website and Request for Proposals can be found here.
Our Community Planners are working remotely and practicing social distancing, but that does not mean that they are not in touch with people in Baltimore’s neighborhoods. Over the past two weeks our staff have been calling community leaders across the city to check to see how they are doing, ask about additional resources that their community may need, and remind them of the importance of completing the Census.
You can look up your community planner and call them on their office line via this map.
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The Department of Planning has been working to propose updates to the City’s forest conservation regulations.
The first of these updates is the creation of a policy to review requests for modifications to existing forest conservation easements.
The policy was adopted by the Planning Commission on March 5th and can be reviewed here. Additional updates are currently being drafted and will be shared on our website in the coming weeks.
CAMP (Critical Area Management Program) Seeks Public Input
The Critical Area Management Program (“CAMP”) is mandated by the State of Maryland, and is implemented in Baltimore City by the Department of Planning through its Office of Sustainability. The CAMP is important because it intends to protect and improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Office of Sustainability has been working since 2018 to update our CAMP, and we are seeking public input through April 17th.
You can find the draft CAMP here. On this Earth Day month, please take the time to review the proposed CAMP 2020- Your comments help us make our coastal zones a better and more sustainable place.
Food Scrap Collection at the Waverly Farmer's Market is self-serve until further notice.
In compliance with COVID-19 health and safety protocol, we will not be collecting data on food scrap drop-offs for the foreseeable future. Please continue to observe the guidelines of the program. If you have any questions, please email sustainability@baltimorecity.gov. Thanks!
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