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Senator McCrae proposes higher tax rate on long‑vacant nonprofit properties to spur reuse
Summary
Senate Bill 550 would authorize local jurisdictions to impose a higher property tax rate on nonprofit‑owned parcels that have remained vacant or unimproved for five consecutive years. Sponsor said the measure targets long‑term vacancies that depress neighborhood values and that local governments would define vacancy and significant improvement.
Sen. Cory McCrae told the Ways and Means Committee that Senate Bill 550 is an enabling tool to give local governments the authority to apply a higher property tax rate to nonprofit‑owned parcels that have remained vacant or have not received “significant improvements” for five consecutive years.
McCrae described a block in Baltimore City where multiple adjacent parcels owned by a nonprofit organization sat vacant for decades. He said the parcels were taxed at nominal amounts—“about a hundred dollars a parcel”—and that the lack of redevelopment depressed neighboring property values. “SB550 is simply about accountability and ensuring the long term vacancies, regardless of ownership, aren't stalling growth and opportunity in our neighborhoods,” McCrae said.
Under the bill as presented, the determination of vacancy and what constitutes “significant improvement” would be made by the local jurisdiction. The sponsor said the bill had been amended in response to stakeholder concerns: the eligibility trigger was moved from three to five years and the language was drafted to exclude small‑scale commercial activity where properties are in productive use. McCrae said the mayor’s office supported the concept and that he had exchanged language with institutions that had raised concerns.
Committee members asked technical questions about how a jurisdiction would identify qualifying parcels, how the tax would be structured administratively and whether nonprofits of all sizes would be subject to the change. McCrae said the bill is enabling; local governments would determine administrative definitions and exemptions. He described the measure as a local‑control tool and said it had passed the Senate 47–0.
Supporters framed SB 550 as a way to give jurisdictions a lever to encourage reuse and redevelopment of long‑vacant land while giving owners time to repurpose property. No formal opposition testimony was recorded at the hearing; McCrae said the measure had been negotiated with some of the institutions that initially raised concerns.
