DRAFT POLICY MEMO/ SUMMARY

Title Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date Policy Memo: Recommended Solutions to Baltimore’s Vacant Property Crisis Issue Statement Vacant and abandoned properties are still a severe issue in Baltimore, especially for areas left out of development. While many changes are visible in Baltimore following Mayor Brandon Scott's administration taking office in December 2020, at least 16,000 abandoned houses linger, posing a security risk and stifling development (Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development, 2023). Addressing this crisis requires a new, sustainable, Baltimore-specific policy intervention that augments existing schools-based efforts while being capable of serving the city’s disadvantaged children indefinitely Recommended Policy Solution The Baltimore Community Land Trust Initiative (BCLTI) Establishing BLCTI shall offer such trusts that would acquire, replumb, and retain vacant structures for the following primary purposes: Making cheap homes affordable for working subjects and stimulating enterprise. Next, the BCLTI would concentrate on the concept of land stewardship and oversee that land property, which is owned, is retained as a community asset instead of being used only for speculation and gentrification. Establishing Community Land Trusts (CLTs) CLTs would be established in relevant communities, especially those hit by vacancy...