Bragging rights for Charles Village, Annapolis
Its piece on Charles Village includes this commentary on the neighborhood's taxing structure:
Recognizing the limits of their authority to address safety concerns, residents, citizen groups, and alliances from Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood turned to the Maryland State Assembly for help. They proposed establishing a benefits district so they could collect a small levy from property owners for additional security and sanitation services. At the time such districts had been established for U.S. downtowns and commercial zones only and not for residential areas.The neighborhood's proposal was approved, enabling the Charles Village Community Benefits District to be formed in 1994. Funded by a minimal levy on property values, the district has successfully managed to cut crime in half since its inception while serving as a model for three additional service districts in Baltimore.
Other neighborhoods on the list include Society Hill in Philadelphia, Old Town in Wichita, Kansas and Greater Park Hill in Denver.
The APA, meanwhile, praised Annapolis' Main Street for its "three centuries of history and well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings."
We now return you to your regularly scheduled depressing economic news. Did you see the big ad in the paper today by a bank that just wanted to note for the record that it's a safe place to put your money?
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Comments
Thank you for posting this. It is nice to see you posting something positive about the city. This should not be clumped in with bragging rights or the financial market. This is an exclusive success.
It should be noted that this honor bestowed on Charles Village is rooted in community-based activism. The community set up a special benefits district, a tax, to make up for the services the city wasn't providing.
I lived in Charles Village during the early-mid 90's, while it has never been a "bad" neighborhood. It was cheap rental land, mainly for college students. The homes for the most part were neglected. But a strong neighborhood association, good community amenities, and great housing stock and streets have made this area a success.
This is a positive example and great honor for this neighborhood.
Posted by: Dunn | October 9, 2008 11:32 AM
I dunno. These "community benefits districts" always seem to me to be a way for middle-class types to say "tough luck, Sandtown-Winchester" or "too bad for you, Park Heights". If you want to have that kind of thing, I think you should move out to Columbia or something. The city should rise or fall as a whole. By the way, I live in one of these districts now, so it's not sour grapes.
Posted by: Cheap Jim | October 9, 2008 11:43 AM
I like the middle class coming back to the city. It should be encouraged.
Posted by: Dunn | October 9, 2008 12:10 PM
@Dunn,
Just as long as we have a middle class....they are soon to be a thing of the past.
Posted by: Kevin | October 10, 2008 8:56 AM
@ Cheap Jim:
I don't think people in Charles Village are snickering at Park Heights or any of the other underserved neighborhoods in Baltimore City. There's nothing wrong with being middle-class, wanting to live in a safe, productive urban area and banding together with your neighbors to ensure this type of success.
What would be great would be a forum for like-minded people across the city to reach out to the people who worked so hard to achieve this in Charles Village. They have built a successful model and there's no reason why it can't be replicated throughout the city.
Patrick
Posted by: Patrick | October 12, 2008 2:58 PM