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September/October 2012
■
The Port of Baltimore
[
13
]
ZONING
— . — . — . — . — . — . — . — . — .
New ‘Maritime
Zone’ Could
Further Protect
Port Functions
M
aritime-related
companies are
reluctant to invest
in port facilities without
assurances that such
facilities are insulated
from non-industrial
developments on their
boundaries, and that
vehicular and rail access
are not interrupted.
In Baltimore, those
assurances came in the
form of a Maritime Industrial
Zoning Overlay District
(
MIZOD). Created in 2004,
the MIZOD helps to curb
encroaching residential and
commercial development
around the deepwater Port
of Baltimore. The special
zoning district prevents
developers from asking for
an extra two or three blocks
that might extend their reach
into land needed for port
operations such as piers,
warehouses and marine
terminals.
Originally, the zoning
overlay district was created
for 10 years and would have
expired in 2014, but concern
still existed. “People
watched it for four years
to see if it was real, and
then it dawned on us that
there were only six years
left, and we wondered how
the City Council would be
disposed to extending it,”
said Rupert Denney, who
serves on the board of the
Baltimore Industrial Group
and is a past chairman of
the Baltimore Port Alliance.
With the backing of
then-Mayor Sheila Dixon,
the MIZOD was extended to
2024
with one caveat — in
2014,
property owners could
petition to be removed from
the district. While there’s no
guarantee that this would
happen — petitioners would
have to demonstrate why
they shouldn’t be in the
special district and prove
that removing them will not
hurt the maritime industry
—
the uncertainty could
affect further investment in
the Port.
As 2014 approaches
—
and as the Port of
Baltimore is enjoying
steady business growth
and investment in capital
improvements — the Port
and the maritime community
are working with Baltimore’s
Department of Planning to
help craft a new “Maritime
Zone” as part of the City’s
comprehensive rewrite of
the complete zoning code.
The new Maritime Industrial
(
MI) zone would mirror the
MIZOD in every way, but
unlike the MIZOD, which has
a “sunset” provision, the MI
district would be law.
The Baltimore City
Council could adopt a new
Comprehensive Master
Plan by the beginning of
2013. “
This would provide
a seamless transition from
the original legislation into
the new,” said Denney,
“
while at the same time
demonstrating to investors
the importance Baltimore
City’s Mayor and Council
attribute to the Port of
Baltimore.”