Fifteen years ago, the Baltimore City Council foolishly rebuffed efforts by former mayor Sheila Dixon to establish a “land bank” to reduce the number of blighted properties in Baltimore. Councilwoman Odette Ramos states that she intends to introduce a bill establishing a city land bank in the near future. When she does, the council should pass it. Baltimore has a long-standing problem with vacant, derelict houses. Most are located in the cluster of poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods known as the “Black Butterfly.”
