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 open space (CMOS): The community-managed open space designation removes the lot from the city’s active list of properties for sale.
If you contact the city about your project and request to have your lot categorized as CMOS, a city employee will come out to your garden and look at what you have accomplished. If, in the opinion of the employee, your project shows community involvement and investment, the city will move your adopted lot to the CMOS category; if not, your lot will remain in the adopted lot category and it may be listed for sale.
Adopted lots: If a lot does not qualify to be categorized as CMOS, Baltimore City considers the adopted lot to be in an interim use (i.e., a use that’s appropriate for the short term before the city has found a buyer). The city may place the adopted lot on the list of properties for sale. If the city receives an application to purchase the property, the city will notify the lot adopter, and she will have two weeks to submit a competing bid, if she wishes to purchase it.
Please keep in mind that the city, as the owner of the land, retains the authority to sell ANY of the lots adopted through the Power in Dirt program at any time, whether categorized as CMOS or not.
Check out our updated handout here.