Urban Renewal Plans

Overview

An Urban Renewal Plan (URP) is a form of overlay zoning that is more restrictive than the city’s zoning code. Urban Renewal Plans regulate specific geographies ranging from small business districts to entire communities. Most Urban Renewal Plans include land use restrictions and design guidelines. Some Urban Renewal Plans also include acquisition and disposition authority.

History

Urban Renewal Plans in Baltimore date back to the late 1960’s. They are area plans adopted by the Mayor and City Council to establish and implement redevelopment goals. There are four major categories of plans: downtown, commercial corridors, industrial areas and neighborhood plans. Initially, URPs were based on large scale redevelopment plans, such as Charles Center, Inner Harbor and major residential redevelopment for areas such as the Harlem Park. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Urban Renewal Plans were used to encourage redevelopment of commercial corridors. The plans included authority for property acquisition, made recommendations for land use and zoning changes and established design standards for the corridors. Increasingly the plans included design guidelines and land use restrictions to improve these areas. In many cases the urban renewal plan served to provide desired regulations as the zoning code became increasingly out of date.

To view Urban Renewal Plans, click on an area on the map or choose from the list below.

Click here to view a pdf of the map above.