Bar Bad Bars: Protest of Renewal
This virtual workshop on Thursday, February 1 is designed for community groups and local residents - especially those preparing to protest a liquor license renewal in 2024.
Federal Legislation 2021: Good News
Much encouraging news for urban farmers and for boosting food security is coming out of federal legislation. The $2.3 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, containing the Emergency Coronavirus Relief Act of 2020, was finally signed into law on December 27th, including both emergency COVID relief as well as regular FY 2021 appropriations which shapes how …
SNAP in 2020
2020 has been a huge year for SNAP benefits in Maryland, with unprecedented pandemic-related need but also because SNAP has just started being offered for online grocery shopping this year. On need: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, hundreds of thousands more Maryland residents have enrolled in federal food assistance programs, according …
Legal Tools for Urban Agriculture in Baltimore City
Community Law Center has created a new resource for those engaged in urban agriculture in Baltimore City. This manual consolidates and provides a brief overview of the laws, regulations, rules and policies involved in urban agriculture projects in Baltimore City. While not legal advice, the manual should point you in the right direction to understand …
Senate Bill to Provide Incentives for Supermarkets to Move into Baltimore’s “Food Deserts”
Check out this blog post, written by a Community Law Center volunteer, about the Senate Bill authorizing a tax credit in Baltimore City for supermarkets that move into the city’s most food-insecure neighborhoods.
Sustainability Through Side Yards
Guest Post by Robin Jacobs, Director, Strategic Legal Services Projects, Community Law Center Urban agriculture opportunities come in many forms, but perhaps one of the most prevalent ones is simply right before us: in our yards. Many people take great pride in their yards, even small yards in row home communities. Expanding access to yard …
Urban Agriculture Property Tax Credit in Baltimore City: First Reader Committee Meeting at City Hall
In a public hearing before the Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee, members of Baltimore’s City Council heard discussion about the proposed Council Bill 14-0420 to implement an urban agriculture property tax credit. Councilmember William “Pete” Welch and others introduced the first draft of the bill, which was then referred to a number of Baltimore …
Greening the Rooftops in Baltimore City
As the summer heats up and the rain continues to pour down, you may be thinking about how to cool your house and reduce rainwater runoff. Green roofs (also called living roofs) are a great option to help keep pollutants out of the city’s drain system and reduce flooding. Typical green roofs, which usually consist …
Maryland State Legislature Passes New Urban Agriculture Tax Credit Bill
On April 5, 2014, the Maryland General Assembly passed the “Property Tax Credit – Urban Agricultural Property” bill authorizing Maryland counties and the City of Baltimore to implement a property tax credit for urban land used for agricultural purposes. The bill identifies Urban Agriculture Property to be any land larger than 1/8 acre and smaller …
Proposed Legislation to Increase Cost of Registering Pesticides in the State of Maryland
On March 6, 2014, the Maryland General Assembly in both the House (HB0621) and Senate (SB0700) passed the third reading of the Registration of Pesticides Bill. This bill, which is set to go into effect of July 1, 2014, proposes financing a statewide pesticide database by charging chemical manufacturers an additional $10 (on top of …
Proposal to Restrict the Use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides Withdrawn from Consideration
Twenty-Second District Delegate Anne Healey introduced HB 1285, “Neonicotinoid Pesticides – Restricted Use,” in the Maryland House Environmental Matters Committee on February 7, 2014. It is a relatively short bill, proposing only to reclassify the use of neonicotinoid pesticides as “restricted use” chemicals, meaning that only “certified applicators” would be permitted to use them. The …
Proposed Zoning Code Amendment Tries to Weigh Community Input with More Extensive Community Gardens
In February 2014, Baltimore City Councilmember Mary Pat Clarke introduced an amendment to the proposed Zoning Code Rewrite, which may have an impact on community gardens and urban farmers throughout the city. The proposed zoning code, without the amendment, provides a new name for community gardens – Community Managed Open Space (CMOS). CMOS means any …
Baltimore City at the Forefront of Urban Beekeeping
Honey bee populations nationwide have decreased by a third each year since 2006, a phenomenon the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) attributes in part to a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Nearly sixty percent of Maryland’s honey bee population disappeared in winter 2013, causing scientists to question why the state’s honey bees suffer …
Mobile Farmer’s Markets in Baltimore City
Food Deserts in Baltimore City In October 2013, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot temporarily suspended Baltimarket, the Virtual Supermarket Program administered by the city health department. Since its launch in March 2010, Baltimarket has partnered with Santoni’s Supermarket to deliver groceries to neighborhood drop-off points. The Virtual Supermarket Program …
Baltimore City’s newly adopted urban agriculture policy.
In November 2013, the Baltimore City Planning Commission adopted Baltimore City’s first urban agriculture plan. The plan’s stated purpose is “to increase the production, distribution, sales, and consumption of locally grown food within Baltimore.” Check out the text of the new urban agriculture plan, uploaded to the Baltimore Office of Sustainability’s website. The plan’s recommendations …
New adopted animal regulations for Baltimore City!
Baltimore City Health Department’s Animal Control Program has released the final version of their updated 2013 animal regulations. See the the final regulations here: AC Reg – Wild Exotic Hybrid Animals – September 26, 2013. A few highlights from the updated regulations, as they apply to animals commonly kept for urban agriculture/gardening purposes: Honey bees: – …
New Draft Animal Regulations for Baltimore City!
Baltimore City recently released a draft set of updated regulations for urban animal husbandry. AC Reg – Wild Exotic Hybrid Animals – August 2013 – DRAFT FOR COMMENT (3) Above is a link to the draft regulations. Comments are due to the Animal Control office of the Baltimore City Health Department by August 31, 2013. …
Gardening in publicly owned parkways.
By now, most people with an interest in urban agriculture have seen this Ted Talk boasting over 1 million views, given by Los Angeles guerrilla gardener Ron Finley. In 2011, according to this LA Times article, Mr. Finley received a citation from the city, ordering him to remove his vegetable garden on what the city …
Community Law Center in the news!
The Baltimore Sun recently ran an article on the city’s Adopt-A-Lot program, outlining the reasons that many believe the program provides insufficient land tenure rights for communities. Community Law Center was featured in the article as a legal resource for Maryland community groups — check it out here: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-adopt-a-lot-sales-20130702,0,2116734.story. If you’d like to read the “plain …
Who’s the owner?
So there’s a vacant lot in your neighborhood. It’s filling up with trash, high weeds, and vermin, and you want to create a beautiful community space there instead. What do you do? Your first step should be to contact the owner of the property: here’s how to figure out the owner’s contact information. If the …
Land Security for Community Open Spaces.
As discussed in a previous post, CLC attorneys and interns have been cross-checking Baltimore City’s Adopted Lot list against the list of properties that are currently for sale under the City’s Vacants to Value program. In the spring, CLC found over 150 adopted lots that the city was actively trying to sell through VtoV. These …
Land access advocates nationwide.
596 Acres is a New York City organization that connects individuals and community groups with vacant land. They’re creating a list of land access advocates in other cities throughout the United States, and they’re looking to add to it. http://596acres.org/en/resources/land-access-advocates-nationwide/ Beside Community Law Center’s Urban Agriculture Law Project in Baltimore, of course, which other groups …
Zoning code media coverage & precision of language.
A recent Baltimore Magazine article highlighted the new urban agriculture regulations in the proposed Baltimore City zoning code; unfortunately, the imprecise language in the article obscured the nuances of the new code, laid out in previous posts on this blog. The article states that: “[a]nother aspect of the code is creating opportunities for community gardens, which …
Updated explanation of the Adopt-A-Lot/Power in Dirt program.
Recently, we have come to understand more about how Baltimore City manages its Adopt-A-Lot program; therefore, we’ve updated our Adopt-a-Lot/Power in Dirt explanation to reflect our new understanding. Adopted Lot v. Community Managed Open Space: There are two overlapping categories of lots in the Adopt-A-Lot program: adopted lots and community managed open spaces (CMOS). Community-managed …