Delegate Sandy Rosenberg urges state study of aging Park Heights condominiums

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg on Wednesday asked the Judicial Proceedings Committee to back House Bill 956, which would direct the State Housing Department to study older condominium buildings to determine whether state assistance is needed to maintain safety and habitability.

"For the record, I'm Delegate Sandy Rosenberg here on behalf of House Bill 956," Rosenberg told the committee, describing the bill as a response to problems observed in the Park Heights Avenue corridor in Northwest Baltimore. She said many condominium units in the area are more than 40 years old and that "people on fixed income are having difficulty meeting the increased safety and maintenance needs of these properties." Rosenberg cited CHAI, the housing agency of the Baltimore Jewish Federation, as having worked with affected tenants and owners.

Rosenberg said the purpose of the bill is to establish whether the issue in Park Heights is "sufficiently present elsewhere in the state" to justify state-level assistance or underwriting for maintenance and repairs so the units remain "valuable properties and healthy places for people to reside in their senior years." She urged the committee to give HB 956 a favorable report.

During questioning, Senator West asked about the bill's passage history in the House. Rosenberg said it "was not opposed" and that it did not become a partisan issue. A committee member reported the House committee and floor tallies, saying, "The vote was 11 to 5 in ECM and 95 to 37 on the floor," a statement that the chair subsequently corrected on the record.

The hearing closed after brief remarks of thanks; no formal committee vote on HB 956 was recorded during this session. The chair then recessed the committee and gavelled out.

What happens next: The committee record shows the bill was presented and discussed; the transcript does not record a committee vote or further committee action on HB 956 during this meeting.