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If a developer were truly interested in erecting a high density structure in a community zoned for lower density development, all the developer has to do is apply for conditional use zoning. It happens all the time...thats what the BMZA is for, the Board of Municipal Zoning & Appeals. BMZA meetings are held weekly and the approval of conditional use zoning is quite common.
Now your dealing with piecemeal development. We are talking about master planning here. Small area plans etc. This is over many of your heads I see. You have to think big picture. We are talking about planning for entire sections of the city. Any developer can get through zoning, but the question is, what are we building for this area? What type of neighborhood are we trying to create?
It doesn't take a whole decade to change the zoning code. When enough money and lawyers are involved, the zoning code is not much of a problem at all. Holland and Knight makes its butter off doing exactly that.
The correct past participle for "rewrite" is "rewritten," btw.
People also like to drive in DC and will continue to drive.
One thing Baltimore probably has to factor in is that it does not have a terrific transit system. So there might be reluctance to add thousands of people to a neighborhood when there's no real way to control congestion.
You probably already know this, but driving is going to continue to get harder and harder to do in DC. This is by design too. Why do you think our traffic camera fines are so high? Why do you think we are eliminated the minimum parking requirement? Many corridors will be losing lanes for buses and streetcars. Did you think the cities goal of having over 70% of the city commute by a means other than an automobile by 2032 would not come with casualties? Drivers are losing the fight in DC.
Now your dealing with piecemeal development. We are talking about master planning here. Small area plans etc. This is over many of your heads I see. You have to think big picture. We are talking about planning for entire sections of the city. Any developer can get through zoning, but the question is, what are we building for this area? What type of neighborhood are we trying to create?
But that's really just a variance, right? I think MD's talking about a rewrite of the entire code. I could be mistaken.
Even if you're changing the zoning, I don't see why that would be much of a problem for a billion dollar development company like Clark. They have the best lawyers and they fill the campaign coffers of elected officials. Are Baltimore City Council members supposed to say, "No, please don't bundle $200,000 for my re-election campaign so I can walk all over my opponent to a job that gives me power, prestige and a guaranteed high six-figure salary with your firm once I leave office!"
Well, for one, no developer is going to go that far when they can just build somewhere else. Baltimore is not one of the six gateway markets. The ROI is not high enough for all that. It's better to just get it right now so developers don't have to jump through hoops. That's the problem.
Well, for one, no developer is going to go that far when they can just build somewhere else. Baltimore is not one of the six gateway markets. The ROI is not high enough for all that. It's better to just get it right now so developers don't have to jump through hoops. That's the problem.
I don't think one particular developer has to go that far. I mean, the real estate industry has lobbyists, right? So the Council will understand which way the political winds are blowing and draft legislation accordingly. Local pols are owned by developers (and teacher's unions) so it's not like the real estate lobby would have to jump through hoops to achieve changes in the zoning code.
I don't think one particular developer has to go that far. I mean, the real estate industry has lobbyists, right? So the Council will understand which way the political winds are blowing and draft legislation accordingly. Local pols are owned by developers (and teacher's unions) so it's not like the real estate lobby would have to jump through hoops to achieve changes in the zoning code.
NIMBYS control the city. If a developer wants to build a by-right development, there is nothing they can do to stop the height or density. If the zoning does not allow the density or the height for the building the developer wants to build, NIMBYS hold the power. I thought you knew how this works. Zoning can protect developers from the density police.
NIMBYS control the city. If a developer wants to build a by-right development, there is nothing they can do to stop the height or density. If the zoning does not allow the density or the height for the building the developer wants to build, NIMBYS hold the power. I thought you knew how this works. Zoning can protect developers from the density police.
It also protects the residents, who are important as well. I am by no means anti-developer or development, but I'm not sure I agree with your gung-ho attitude to let them do whatever they want.
It also protects the residents, who are important as well. I am by no means anti-developer or development, but I'm not sure I agree with your gung-ho attitude to let them do whatever they want.
I'm not saying let them do whatever they want. Im saying target areas through zoning that need to absorb the growth in the city. That is what zoning is about. That way, there is no argument. The areas for high density will get it and areas for low density will remain that way. Uncompatible zoning in changing cities across America is the only reason the word NIMBYS exists to begin with.
NIMBYS control the city. If a developer wants to build a by-right development, there is nothing they can do to stop the height or density. If the zoning does not allow the density or the height for the building the developer wants to build, NIMBYS hold the power. I thought you knew how this works. Zoning can protect developers from the density police.
That's not really accurate. Powerful NIMBYs such as the ones living in Beverly Hills, Georgetown, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, etc. control the city. These are the guys that sit on the Board of Trustees at their alma mater and can lean on the Admissions Office to have your kid rejected. Or they can blackball you and ensure that nobody in your industry will ever hire you. But most so-called NIMBYs are not like that.
You often write as if little ol' Trammel Crowe and Clark Construction with their army of Williams & Connolly litigators are just outmatched by the ushers's board of Mount Bethel Baptist Church in West Baltimore. It's a completely unfair fight, right? I guess J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo are just outmatched by the American people, too. Better raise taxes on the American people so they can lawyer and lobby up.
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