By Tashi McQueen,
AFRO Political Writer,
tmcqueen@afro.com
The City Council, led by Council President Nick Mosby, passed two formerly stalled inclusionary housing bills to third reader on Nov. 20. All city council legislation has to be read three times and passed by the full council before it can be sent to the mayor’s desk, where he can either sign or veto the bill.
“I’m so excited that we have an inclusionary bill that we can finally be proud of after 17-plus years,” said Mosby. “This is just a step in the right direction. It’s not the end all be all, but it’s moving us in a way that we haven’t been in for at least 17 years.”
The “Inclusionary Housing for Baltimore City” and the “High-Performance Inclusionary Tax Credit” bills were heard on the council floor and moved to third reader after over a year and a half of stalling. The city’s previous inclusionary housing bill expired on June 30, 2022, leaving no inclusionary housing laws in place for Baltimore City.
“This is a city-wide effort to make homes available for any family who makes under $60,000 a year,” said Argentine Craig of the League of Women Voters of Baltimore City, a non-partisan public policy organization. “We are so pleased to have the city council say yes to these two inclusionary housing bills.”
According to the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, Inclusionary housing can reduce racial segregation and promote access to good schools, better employment opportunities, and communal stability.
After many discussions on the bill throughout the days and mornings before the city council meeting, there were some fiscal concerns from Mayor Brandon Scott and his team, which he “cleared” up just before the vote.
“My administration wholeheartedly supports the vision of inclusive and affordable housing here in the city of Baltimore and laying the framework to prioritize inclusionary housing,” said Scott. “We have to be very intentional about undoing racial and social economic segregation as well as the decades of purposeful disinvestment that is in many of our communities. This bill is a part of that larger work.”
Mosby adamantly advocated for “no cap” during the rally outside of city hall and helped shoot down an amendment that would have created a cap.
As introduced by Councilman James Torrence (D-District 07), the amendment read that no further high-performance inclusionary housing tax credit shall be granted beyond 400 affordable units that have been completed or occupied.
“We don’t have caps on other financial benefits in the centers. And we shouldn’t have tax credits on the backs of taxpayers who’ve been paying for far too long and have not been included in communities that are growing, bustling and thriving,” said Mosby.
An important amendment passed was the percentage of units that must be affordable to low-income households. The original bill had 10 percent, and Mosby’s amendment changed it to five percent.
The council must vote on both bills one more time in order for them to go to the Mayor’s desk.
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