Increasing public transportation, limiting suburban sprawl and revitalizing older neighborhoods are among the issues to be discussed today at a rally to promote regionalism throughout Baltimore and its surrounding counties.
About 2,000 people are expected to attend Rally for the Region 2002, sponsored by the Citizens Planning and Housing Association (CPHA) at the Baltimore Convention Center.
CPHA, a coalition of organizations from Baltimore and the five surrounding metropolitan counties, has raised its profile in recent years. For the past two years, members have held rallies during the General Assembly's 90-day legislative session in Annapolis.
Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the expected Democratic candidate in this year's gubernatorial election, is scheduled to give a brief speech at today's rally. Michael Morrill, spokesman for the lieutenant governor, said Townsend's remarks would touch on themes that are "very much in synch" with CPHA's platform.
"We've been talking throughout the campaign about building community," he said. "We share their vision for building a stronger community."
CPHA is preparing to make its presence known during next year's legislative session. One goal will be to restore millions of dollars in funding cut from the Community Legacy Program in this year's General Assembly. The program provides funds to revitalize older neighborhoods.
The association would like to see a dedicated fund established in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties and matched by the state to help older parts of the region. Matthew Weinstein, regional policy coordinator for the group, noted that requests for state Community Legacy funds far surpassed what was available.
"Obviously, there's a huge demand for community revitalization in the older neighborhoods," Weinstein said.
Reviving these neighborhoods clustered in the city and around the Baltimore Beltway could decrease the migration into the outer suburbs and limit sprawl, which has become a concern of many in rural areas, Weinstein said.
As new housing has gone up, older housing has been left behind. CPHA estimates the region has 70,000 vacant houses. The overwhelming majority are in Baltimore, but the surrounding counties have experienced increased vacancies.
"If you talk to people in the older communities in Baltimore County, they'll tell you we've had houses sitting vacant for years," Weinstein said.
Another proposal calls for encouraging developers to include moderate- to low-income housing in their plans. A Montgomery County law on the books for 30 years requires 15 percent of the homes in developments larger than 50 units to be affordable or available for purchase by the county public housing authority. A similar law has been in effect in Fairfax County, Va., for about 10 years.
Both laws have been successful in producing economically integrated neighborhoods without decreasing property values or damaging the quality of life, Weinstein said.
"They don't rely on Section 8 and they don't rely on building projects in the suburbs," Weinstein said.
The association will be looking for ways to get federal transportation funds for the area. Improving mass transit and making it widely available are key elements of CPHA's platform.
"We're saying that money is better spent building a regional rail system," Weinstein said.
Today's projected attendance and the number of sponsors have doubled since the association's first Rally for the Region in October 2000. Those numbers show an increased awareness that none of the metro area's jurisdictions can stand alone, Weinstein said.
"What we see is a growing consensus around the region," Weinstein said. "The challenge is to do this in a way that works for everyone."
The CPHA rally will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Convention Center. Free parking and shuttle service will be available between Stadium Lot H and the Convention Center.