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Council seeks DHCD records, expenditures for crime-prevention-through-environmental-design pilot
Summary
Councilmember Torrance asked for detailed expenditures and the implementation plan for DHCD’s crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) pilot, expressing concern that $700,000 in demolition, rehabilitation and developer incentives may not match local renovation costs or a coherent citywide strategy.
Councilmember Torrance asked for a line-item accounting and the plan for a DHCD initiative described in materials as a crime-prevention-through-environmental-design (CPTED) investment during the Budget & Appropriations Committee hearing on June 1, 2025. Torrance asked for the expenditures, the submitted CPTED plan, and project locations within two weeks.
Torrance said the $700,000 listed as expended for demolition, rehabilitation and developer incentives raised questions about scale and cost-effectiveness: "So to see that housing has $2,000,000 to actually invest in it without a coherent strategy worries me." He noted that renovation of a single vacant home in West Baltimore can cost between $160,000 and $180,000, and that lighting and conduit work for a larger CPTED project can be expensive.
Acting Chief Recovery Officer Elizabeth Tatum responded that CPTED funding was designed as a pilot and that the DHCD investment includes both design elements (lighting, fencing, sight-line improvements) and renovation of vacant structures. Tatum said she would coordinate with DHCD to supply requested expenditures and documentation; city staff confirmed at the hearing that financial data on expenditures could be provided within two weeks.
Ending: Torrance asked for the plan and expenditures in writing and said he wanted a follow-up conversation about whether the pilot represents a coherent citywide strategy or a piecemeal approach; the administration agreed to provide expenditure records promptly and to coordinate the follow-up discussion.
