As part of its campaign to combat homelessness, Baltimore has opened shelters in parts of the city where private facilities would not be permitted without City Council approval and greater public notice, officials acknowledge.
The city is not bound by its own zoning code, several experts agree, but the public notice requirements included in the city's zoning law could have addressed what has emerged as the primary concern raised by neighborhoods hosting city shelters: the last-minute notice received before the facilities were opened.
Though neighborhood leaders living near the shelters give the city high marks for mitigating the facilities' impact, many have said they felt blindsided by the process because they did not hear from the city until days before the shelters opened. "We weren't against the homeless coming to Edmondson High School," said David Smallwood, a member of the Uplands Community Association who ran an unsuccessful campaign for City Council last year. "It's just that we wanted to be a part of the decision-making process. It's just that people wanted their questions answered."
Baltimore has opened four temporary homeless shelters since last year, and two are still in operation, one in Edmondson Heights and another in Butchers Hill.
Dixon apologized this month to residents and parents for the short notice the city provided before it opened a shelter at Edmondson High School on July 1. Dixon said it took longer than expected to negotiate with the city school system.
"It wasn't done intentionally," Dixon said at the time. "But we all make mistakes."
Zoning rules permit homeless shelters only in limited areas and require the City Council to approve an ordinance before they open, a process that automatically triggers hearings and extensive public notice requirements, including posting of the property.
If a nonprofit group opens a shelter it must adhere to those rules.
But the city is using two arguments to sidestep the requirements. Officials say the city housing commissioner may declare an emergency and waive portions of the law. But that provision is in the building code, not the zoning code, and it is not clear whether it applies.
The city also points to a 1990 Court of Appeals decision that found that local governments are not necessarily bound by their own zoning codes. In that case, a neighbor sued Baltimore County after it built a 620-foot tower without zoning approval.
