Why Baltimore County needs to pass the HOME bill

Right on the heels of a week in which the passing of congressman Elijah Cummings put the spotlight on his civil rights and social justice legacy, Baltimore County will stand at the crossroads of an important housing anti discrimination law.  A portion of Baltimore County sits in Cummings' district. There is no doubt where the late congressman stood when it came to fair and affordable housing and equity. For example, H.R. 1737, the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2019 intended told help provide people with access to affordable housing, lift them out of poverty, and begin to create generational cycles of wealth, is cosponsored by Cummings. The bill that also addresses vouchers and access limitations is still before Congress.

Fair Housing remains elusive, 51 years after the Fair Housing Act of 1968

County Executive Johnny Olsziewksi initiated County Bill 49-19, dubbed the HOME act. The bill, which was introduced by Council Chair Tom Quirk on the Exec's behalf , aims to end landlord discrimination against housing voucher holders. The bill stipulates under the title "Property values; change in nature of neighborhood":

 Whether the person is acting  for monetary gain or not, a person may not engage in discrimination by representing that the existing or potential proximity of real property owned, used, or occupied by persons of a  particular race, creed, religion, physical or mental disability, color, sex, national origin, age,  sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, status as a veteran, SOURCE OF INCOME, or marital status will or may result in: (1) The lowering of property values; (2) A change in the racial, religious, or ethnic character of the block, neighborhood, or area in which the property is located; or (3) A decline in quality of the schools and institutions serving the area.

A second run for a Housing Non Discrimination bill in
Baltimore County

Preventing discrimination against housing voucher holders seems a simple enough goal in 2019, but not obvious enough that not several  County Council members already registered opposition.

The bill will be heard in a public County Council "Work Session" on 10-29-19. At this point, it is entirely unclear whether the bill has a chance to pass. A similar bill introduced under Kevin Kamenetz did was defeated with only one yes vote. The Citizen Planning and Housing Association (CPHA) explains the matter of vouchers on their website:

Formerly known as Section 8 Vouchers, the Housing Choice Voucher program is a federal program developed in the 1970s. They are distributed to low income individuals and families who qualify by local housing authorities. Many times recipients do not receive their voucher until they have been on the waiting list for a very long time. In Baltimore County, the average wait time for a voucher is nine years. A voucher can only be used in the jurisdiction it is issued in.

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 After recipients are awarded their voucher, they may take it to any property that accepts it and charges the amount of rent that is within the guidelines set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The voucher does not necessarily pay for all of their rent. Recipients are required to pay 30% of their income towards the rent. Those portions of the rent not paid by the tenant are paid by the local housing authority with funds provided by HUD to the landlord through direct deposit. The only requirement for landlords is that they pass a basic housing inspection in order to receive payment.

Problem is, many landlords tell potential renters flat-out that they don't accept vouchers. Because this kind of discrimination is so common, the federal government’s largest housing program for the poor doesn’t work like it should. Families with vouchers designed for the private market find much of the private market closed to them. A policy that was supposed to disperse the concentrated poverty of public housing projects now creates new concentrated poverty in private apartments and in neighborhoods where certain landlords have specialized in voucher tenants.

When voucher holders are considered "second class renters" based on the fact that their income is low enough to qualify for rent support, it is discrimination based on income and continues a long and torturous history of segregation by class and race in America that some like to still apply:

"There isn't any question that affordable housing and the transference of poverty from Baltimore City to Baltimore County has had an impact on our taxpayers and the quality of life in our neighborhoods, there's no question; I stand by that. Other candidates do not have the nerve or guts to say that, but I will." Then Delegate Pat McDonough as candidate for County Executive

It’s un-American and I think there’s a lot of unintended consequences that will arise out of this. Mark Baskervill, Campaign for Liberty

The push towards more equity and justice in housing in Baltimore County isn't entirely voluntary; in fact, it is mandated by the the Conciliation and Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA), a consent decree of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) imposed on Baltimore County as a result of law suits brought against the County for violations of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. In the suit the County was accused of perpetuating segregation, discriminating against African-Americans, families with children, and residents with disabilities through the county’s zoning policies which restricted the development of affordable housing. The plaintiffs also alleged that the county spent most of its housing money on programs mostly benefiting white residents  while demolishing thousands of subsidized low income housing units for families in the name of revitalization programs.

Concentration of black residents in Baltimore County
BMC Report

The consent agreement requires Baltimore County to build or rehabilitate 1,000 affordable rental units by 2027 in more prosperous neighborhoods through private development of rent restricted housing units. This summer Baltimore County officials stated that more than half of the required 1,000 affordable homes are built or in the pipeline. Required is also legislation to prohibit voucher discrimination.

“We have both a legal and moral obligation to expand access to affordable housing in Baltimore County, and the HOME Act is a critical piece of the puzzle. Discrimination of any kind is wrong, and we have to do everything in our power to expand economic opportunity, improve equity, and eliminate pockets of poverty in our communities.” (Olszewski)

One of the proposed developments in East Towson, Red Maple Place, will have a community input meeting on the 29th of October, a day after the bill workshop. The proposed development by Homes For America would create 56 affordable housing units on a 2.5-acre parcel of land at 413 E. Pennsylvania Ave.

“I believe it is important for Baltimore County to address the housing needs of our older adults, veterans, people with disabilities and all families. It is a matter of fairness and dignity” Councilman Patoka)

Placing affordable housing has met with acrimony and hostility in a County that is still the most segregated County in Maryland by some diversity measures. Baltimore County has a history of discrimination against poor people and people of color that goes  hand in hand with segregation and discrimination in Baltimore City. Race segregation was the motive behind a Baltimore County instigated state law that essentially prevented Baltimore City from annexing any land beyond its current boundaries since 1948. Dale Anderson, a Democratic county executive from 1966 to 1974, campaigned on a promise to keep public housing out of the county. He was later convicted and served time in a federal penitentiary but still got elected afterwards as a County Delegate.  The county has never had any public housing. It has a long racially charged history of obstructing fair housing (in 1970, after the Fair Housing Act of 1968, HUD withheld sewer funding from Baltimore County because of its support for residential segregation).

BMC Report

Like American suburbs in general, Baltimore County suburbs benefited from the effects of redlining and block-busting in the City and was gladly accommodating the white families leaving the City. Thanks to urban flight and general growth of the region Baltimore County has overtaken the City in size and has now over 832,000 residents, with only a bit more than a quarter of the population black and a poverty rate less than a 1/3 of that in the City.

Arguably, the emptying of the City’s White population into the County began as
early as 1910, when racial tension in the City of Baltimore caused the City to
codify segregation “to compel by law the separation of the white and black races in their places of residence; to prohibit the negro from intruding himself and his
family as permanent residents in a district already dedicated to the white race, and equally, to prevent the white man from forcing himself upon a district given over to the negro.” (Baltimore County Metropolitan Council report about "Impediments to Fair Housing Choices" in Baltimore County)

Listening to some of the objections against the HOME bill (or similar legislation passed earlier this year in the City), one has to wonder if 1966 isn't still just around the corner. The SUN reported recently that only two of the seven council members, Democratic Councilmen Julian Jones of Woodstock and Izzy Patoka of Pikesville, have publicly announced support for the anti discrimination bill. In 2016 a similar bill failed 6:1 with the only African American Council member being the single supporter of the bill.

Concentrations of existing affordable housing

A 1970 hearing of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights examined the use of“discontinuous street patterns” in Baltimore County, concluding that the layout of roads had the effect of isolating Blacks from their surroundings, particularly from adjacent White residential areas. The County has also been accused of expulsive zoning practices from the 1950s to the 1980s. This refers to the rezoning of residential Black neighborhoods such as Turner Station as commercial areas, while nearby White neighborhoods are left untouched. Expulsive zoning also refers to the rezoning of areas surrounding Black neighborhoods to lower densities to create a buffer that effectively prevents expansion. As a result of zoning changes, Turner Station’s population dropped from over 9,000 to 3,557 during the 1950s. Overall, arguably due to such policies and practices, the County’s Black population fell from 18,026 to 17,535 between 1950 and 1960, despite the County’s overall population increase during those years from 270,273 to 492,418 (82%). (BMC report).

According to information on Baltimore County's Office of Housing website per the 2016 Q4 Picture of Subsidized Households data, the average voucher household contains 2.2 persons and has a household income of $15,836 per year. 96% of households were very low income (VLI) and 77% were extremely low income (ELI). 26% of households had wages as a major source of income, 3% of households had welfare (TANF, General Assistance or Public Assistance) as their primary source of income, and 68% of households had other income (Social Security, Disability or Pension) as their major source of income.

Of all households participating in the Baltimore County Office of Housing Housing Choice Voucher program, 31% include at least one person with a disability. 46% of households with a head of household 61 years or less were headed by a person with a disability. 72% of households headed by someone 62 or older were headed by a person with a disability.

Affordable housing (SUN photo)

72% of all voucher households were headed by minorities with 69% of all heads of households being Black and 0% being Hispanic. More than 25,000 families are on the county’s voucher waiting list, according to Marsha Parham-Green, Director of the county housing office. Most people face a wait time of more than a dozen years.

“I don’t believe that we should be forcing property owners into contracts with the federal government. I think there’s something wholly un-American about it.” (Councilman Crandell) 

“in my opinion, spreading poverty around does not eliminate poverty.” (Councilman Marks)

 The distribution of voucher households in Baltimore County communities shows a concentration of voucher holders on the east and west sides of the County. The full population is given in parentheses, showing the relatively small number of vouchers even in areas of concentration (With an average of 2.2. persons per household the total voucher population in Dundalk is 3.2 %):

Randallstown (32,430) : 533 HCVs
Dundalk (63,597) : 934 HCVs
Essex (39,262) : 558 HCVs
Middle River (25,191) : 462 HCVs

Montgomery County MPDU regulations

Milford Mill (29,042): 568 (HCVs)
Pikesville (30,794) : 395 HCVs
Reisterstown (25,968) : 329 HCVs
Woodlawn (37,879) : 355 HCVs
Towson (55,197) : 242 HCVs
Perry Hall (28,474) : 118 HCVs
Lutherville (6,504) : 1 HCV
Timonium (9,925) : 3 HCVs

A Statewide anti voucher discrimination law failed several times. In Maryland Howard and Montgomery County, the City of Frederick, and the City of Annapolis have passed anti voucher discrimination laws. Such a law also exists for certain properties within Baltimore City and in the following states across the nation: Utah, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington, DC.

Banning rejecting of tenants solely because they are using vouchers alone will not solve the problem of discrimination. Landlords can come up with all kinds of other reasons to select their preferred tenant. The HOME bill would need to be embedded into a set of other policies, such as inclusionary zoning which has been very effective in Montgomery County where all larger developments need to have affordable housing units. Also effective is a requirement that rental units need to be licensed and will be regularly inspected. Baltimore City has those requirements now in place for all rental apartments, market rate or not. This takes away part of the objection against vouchers, that they make renting more "cumbersome" because of the required HUD inspection.

If the HOME bill would  get defeated once again, it would make Baltimore County look really bad just when the new County Exec is trying to reinvent the County's image as innovative, creative, transparent and equitable. 

Klaus Philipsen, FAIA

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