Gov. Moore pledges ‘zero’ Baltimore City vacants on campaign stop

At an election event Monday night, Baltimore City and Baltimore County faith leaders pressed Gov. Wes Moore for commitments on their priorities: protecting immigrant communities, aiding men and women getting out of prison and improving neighborhoods.

When the discussion turned to vacant housing, Moore kept it brief as he addressed a crowd of almost 2,000 people in Woodlawn.

“We will be at vacants-zero in the next 12 years within the city of Baltimore,” the first-term Democrat said to a round of applause.

Community and city leaders joined forces almost three years ago to tackle vacant homes, one of Baltimore’s most entrenched problems. Moore’s administration later signed onto the plan, and as he eyes a second term and a political future that could include 2028 presidential aspirations, the city’s fortunes are becoming tied to his own.

Though a decline in vacant homes began before Moore took office in early 2023, the governor said his administration has helped drive the momentum, including by increasing funding and overseeing a collaborative, solutions-driven approach with several partners. The number of vacant homes that the city has labeled uninhabitable has declined by about 20% since Moore took office in 2023, from more than 14,000 then to about 11,400 now.

Moore acknowledged the work of Mayor Brandon Scott, who took office in 2020, and BUILD, the grassroots, interfaith group that hosted the Monday event at Morning Star Baptist Church in Woodlawn. BUILD organizers have for decades pushed elected officials to address vacant housing.

Scott and other leaders have pledged to eliminate all of Baltimore’s vacant homes by 2038. Moore echoed that vow Monday.

The path to zero isn’t simple.

Baltimore has struggled to track and count its vacant building inventory and lacks enough code enforcement officers to hold many negligent owners accountable. Vacant land has increased over the last decade. And the city and state have not secured the full amount of money they say they need to eradicate the problem for good.

Moore and his Republican challenger, Del. Dan Cox, took turns addressing the packed congregation at the BUILD forum.

Cox — whom Moore handily beat four years ago — offered a markedly different approach to vacant housing than his opponent. He suggested getting rid of property taxes for older adults and dismantling the tax sale system.

“I want to end that,” Cox said. “If you’ve paid off your house, the government shouldn’t take it.”

Both Moore and Cox said they would work with BUILD and other partners to keep long-term Baltimore residents in their homes — a goal that faith leaders said warrants more focus as city neighborhoods receive new investment.

BUILD organizers highlighted how the city’s vacant housing problem harms its residents.

Diana Lansey, 77, took the stage to say she was forced out of her West Baltimore house earlier this year after her basement flooded with water and oil from a vacant house up the street.

She said she spent months shuttling between hotels and has since moved into an apartment. Her house and two of her neighbors’ properties remain empty and unlivable.

“We just want to go back home,” Lansey said.

Scott, who also appeared at Monday’s event, said the city would also commit to working on preventing displacement through a collaborative and comprehensive approach.

To Lansey, the mayor promised: “We’re rebuilding your house, and you will be going back home.”