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Did you miss the Spring Open House events? There's still opportunities to get involved this summer and more this fall.
 During the Listening phase of this planning process, the Department of Planning hosted a series of Open House events to identify topics of high priority to the public.
If you missed the Open House events, you can view the video from the virtual Open House via this link.
You can review the raw input from all the open house events here, and leave additional comments and input on the same page. You can also view the maps and data gallery we shared at each event by visiting this link, and leave additional feedback.
What's Next? Listening Phase continues...
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Engagement continues this summer with our Community Engagement partner organizations and Storytelling Ambassadors leading the way.
- Our survey is a quick way to provide initial input during this early stage of planning. The goal of this survey is to provide an additional online option for residents to provide general input if in-person engagement is not possible. This survey is an opportunity for our team to get a general sense of public sentiment about different approaches to planning and development.
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We will synthesize what we heard during this initial Listening Phase of the planning process into a summary report available to the public by September. Staff will dive into deeper research on high priority topics identified during the Listening phase.
In Fall, the Creating Phase begins...
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From there, we will do additional engagement to dig deeper into priority topics. We will focus on understanding the issues related to each of the top priority topics elevated by the public during the spring/summer engagement. By hosting deeper public discussions, we aim to develop implementable and realistic recommendations.
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These recommendations will be the foundation of a draft plan, which will be prepared in 2023 with additional public engagement/revisions.
 No Boundaries youth organizers and Dept of Planning staff share about career aspirations and pathways
No Boundaries Coalition, a Community Engagement Leadership team partner, visited our office with a group of youth organizers to the Department of Planning on July 8. The organizers interacted with planners from every division and talked about career paths into the urban planning profession.
Then, the organizers worked with staff to develop and design an engagement strategy for youth. The organizers will use this strategy to engage their peers on the Comprehensive Plan in coming months.
In August, Department of Planning staff will join the Design Your Future summer program at the Enoch Pratt library. This five week program is for teens to explore potential career paths. Our team will be sharing career paths related to urban planning, and facilitating a hands-on exercise related to the Comprehensive Plan update.
The program has a waitlist currently; if interested, please sign up via this link and note that our team will be presenting on the afternoon of August 1.
More info on the entire summer program at the Enoch Pratt for teens here.
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Druid Heights Community Development Corporation (CDC) Awarded Grant
The $29,998 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust was supported by Department of Planning staff. The grant is part of CBT's Chesapeake Bay Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns Grant Program.
Overall, the program awarded over $1 Million on Friday, June 24th to support green infrastructure projects that will improve communities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The funding received by Druid Heights CDC will help implement a greening project to reduce stormwater runoff that would otherwise drain into the Jones Falls watershed and the Chesapeake Bay.
The project will transform a series of vacant lots into a community-envisioned green space by incorporating trees, bioswales, and other stormwater management facilities. The design was created in partnership with Department of Planning urban design staff, Druid Heights CDC and neighborhood residents as part of their overall strategic vision for their West Baltimore neighborhood.
For more information on this project, please contact Ren.Southard@baltimorecity.gov
 Ren Southard, DOP Urban Designer, with JohnDre Jennings, Druid Heights CDC Executive Director, pose with design renderings created with Department of Planning to support this project
 DOP Policy Administrator Tamara Woods Presents Larry Reich Award to Ms. Danise Jones Dorsey
On June 5, 2022, Tamara Woods of the Department of Planning presented the Larry Reich Award to Ms. Danise Jones-Dorsey at the Neighborhood Design Center's 2022 Annual Awards. The award is co-sponsored by the Neighborhood Design Center and the Baltimore City Department of Planning and is given annually to an individual whose volunteer and professional work exemplifies a special commitment to grassroots planning and design.
The award honors decades long Baltimore City Planning Director Larry Reich (1965-1990), who is most notable for his role in the City’s Downtown Renaissance. The award commemorates his pioneering of community-based City Planning with a focus on transformative design. Ms. Jones- Dorsey’s professional career, board leadership and grassroots volunteer work equally span decades as a former Deputy Commissioner of HABC and now the Chairperson of the Northeast Housing Initiative (NEHI). Staff excitedly announced that for the first time this honor would come with a cash award that the Department of Planning has pledged to support for the next 5 years.
Please join the Planning Department for Virtual Meetings in July to Discuss Guidelines for Areas of Special Signage Control
There are two virtual meetings scheduled for Wednesday, July 13th at 12-1:30pm and 7pm - 8:30pm to discuss adding new guidelines for Areas of Special Signage Control to the Baltimore City Design Manual.
Any updates will need to be adopted by the Planning Commission at a future date. The meeting will be formatted as a listening session to allow residents and stakeholders an opportunity to provide their thoughts to staff. Some topics where discussion is encouraged include;
- Visual clutter and where signs are appropriate,
- Compatibility with architectural design,
- Impact to residential properties,
- Protection of view corridors,
- Example of Sign Types to be discussed – Electronic Signs, Wall Signs, Painted Signs,
- General Advertising (billboards) as it relates to Areas of Special Signage Control
Please note that Areas of Special Sign Control are only allowed in C-1, C-1-E, C-1-VC, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, I-MU, OR, PC, and TOD Zoning Districts. Below are the links to the meetings. Please contact Caitlin Audette with any questions at 410-396-8354 or caitlin.audette@baltimorecity.gov.
ASSC Public Listening Session WebEx Webinar Info
Afternoon Meeting (12 noon)
Date and time: Wednesday, Jul 13, 2022 12:00 pm | (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Join link: https://bmore.webex.com/bmore/j.php?MTID=ma1d927c4039435439c296faec7eb0b6b
Webinar number: 2330 757 2023
Webinar password: Planning (75266464 from phones)
Join by phone
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
+1-646-992-2010 United States Toll (New York City)
Access code: 233 075 72023
Evening Meeting (7 PM)
Webinar topic: ASSC Signage Guidelines Listening Session- Evening
Date and time: Wednesday, Jul 13, 2022 7:00 pm | (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Join link: https://bmore.webex.com/bmore/j.php?MTID=m2a0ffcee2723e19bdfc0625b7a386453
Webinar number: 2339 417 1590
Webinar password: Planning (75266464 from phones)
Join by phone
+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
+1-646-992-2010 United States Toll (New York City)
Access code: 233 941 71590
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