UPC Westside CDC is facilitating the community’s future growth and development. The UPC Westside CDC is developing economic programs and providing supports for redevelopment in the Westside.

The UPC Westside CDC is playing a critical role in building community wealth:

Development can have a substantial impact on the character of the community in which it is located. Harmful effects of land use can be prevented through zoning, housing and building codes, and community input. Other aspects of development are subtler and less amenable to exacting rules of thumb declared without specific development proposals. Among these are the general form of the land/structures before and after development, the spacial relationships of the structures and open spaces to proximate land uses, and the appearance of buildings and open spaces as they contribute to an area as it is being developed. Such matters require the timely exercise of judgement in the public interest.

A Design Review Process is implemented in the Upton Community to coordinate individual buildings or projects, which were often constructed at different times, into a harmonious whole. The Upton Community stands at the threshold of increased development pressures which will either act cohesively to enhance the physical environment or create incongruent development.

Communities that have adopted design review have direct benefits in the form of pleasant environments for living and working, preservation and maintenance of land, and ultimately increased property values and tax revenues to the city from improved property conditions, and prevention of blighted areas. It is the purpose of the Upton Community Design Review Process to prevent poor quality of design in the interior and exterior appearance of buildings erected and/or rehabilitated in the community. The goal is to promote and protect the health, safety, comfort, and general welfare of the community, to promote public convenience and prosperity, to conserve the value of buildings, to promote the community’s heritage, and to encourage optimal use of community resources.

All residential, single-family, multi-family and commercial development within the Upton Community of West Baltimore are subject to the community design guidelines contained herein. Developers seeking to work in the Upton Community should submit their proposed projects to the Upton Planning Committee Development Committee at 828 N. Carrollton Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21217.

Generally within 30-days developers will be provided an opportunity to share their plans at a community meeting for feedback and review. All projects submitted for review will receive a letter indicating community support or rejection, which will be shared with Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development and all relevant planning, zoning, and preservation agencies.

Click Here for  Development Guidelines and Protocol Documents