Baltimore to Vote on Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Baltimore is the latest city to use a voter referendum to address the question of public financing of affordable housing.

According to a Baltimore Sun report, the new ballot proposal would update the city charter to enable the creation of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which would provide loans and grants for the construction and maintenance of housing for low-income homeowners and renters. The advocacy group Housing for All Baltimore proposed the fund’s creation and successfully collected enough signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot.

However, the proposed charter amendment is vague regarding how this new fund would be financed. Odette Ramos, executive director of the Community Development Network of Maryland, told the Baltimore Sun that the fund could involve public and private financing, with the mayor and city council determining which projects would receive funding.