MANAGING BALTIMORE'S INNER HARBOR OPERATIONS:
The Need for Direct Day-to-Day Authority and Empowerment

Report from the Greater Baltimore Committee's
Inner Harbor Management Task Force

INADEQUACIES CAUSED BY LACK OF INNER HARBOR MANAGEMENT

The issues discussed in this section are based upon numerous meetings and discussions conducted with city representatives and interested stakeholders focusing on the harbor. Throughout those meetings a number of common themes and anecdotal stories highlighting deficiencies, caused by lack of harbor management, were brought to the attention of the task force. The problems identified in this section are based in part on actual events or management failures that have been or are prevalent throughout the harbor operations. Their very presence tells a story of dysfunctional management.

• Erosion of city control in reconciling a 30-year-old master plan with more than a half-dozen urban renewals plans that currently apply to Inner Harbor areas.
  
• Fragmented authority and oversight responsibilities among city agencies over planning, design and development issues that impact the appearance and use of the waterfront as development activity expands.
  
• Poor and inadequate general maintenance of all built features, including walkways, fountains, landscaping, lighting, signage, streetscape amenities, etc.
  
• Lack of adequate security, appropriate authority, and understanding and enforcement of existing rules and regulations.
  
• Poor and inconsistent general maintenance of property - grass mowing, trimming, planting and weeding, watering, litter clean-up, trash collection disposal, benches, cleaning of graffiti, etc.
  
• Lack of written standards and permitting process for uses and structures, present and future (ticket barns, kiosks, etc.).
  
• Lack of control and enforcement of regulations pertaining to signage, banners, directional signs, etc.
  
• Lack of coordinated transportation controls - neighborhoods surrounding the harbor cite serious concerns over traffic, transit and parking related to harbor development both currently planned or under construction.
  
• Lack of transit and vehicular access to Inner Harbor. Although a world class entertainment and tourism center, it lacks world class access.
  
• Inner Harbor Promenade - portions of the promenade are controlled by as many as five city agencies.
  
• Lack of coordination between city officials and Maryland Port Administration. This became readily apparent in the dispute involving the proposed pedestrian right of way to provide enhanced waterside security at the World Trade Center and the installation of pilings on Lot #10 in front of the Science Center to provide streetside security.
  
• Failure to involve the Army Corps of Engineers/Coast Guard, etc. on the operations in and around the harbor.
  
• Lack of an updated marina master plan that was developed ten years ago and its relationship with land-based uses at the harbor (Marina Master Plan currently under review).
  
• Lack of park rules and regulations are not being enforced - police are at times not aware of the existence of park rules and regulations and/or are not inclined to enforce them due to other public safety demands.
  
• Lack of written procedures for control of leases - there is considerable question as to who has authority to execute leases and who is in charge of enforcing leases, etc.
  
• Limitations on the types of issues that come before the Inner Harbor Task Force, its lack of regularly scheduled meetings, and its inability to address day-to-day management decisions.
  
• Concerns on the part of many constituents - civic leaders, business leaders, merchants, city and state agencies - that without some aggressive move to turn around and recapture the west shore, once envisioned as the "gateway" to Baltimore's tourism jewel, the economic engine of tourism and downtown economic development are jeopardized. The west shore has the appearance of neglect, sight lines from Pratt and Light Street are interrupted by scattered and unplanned temporary structures that have sprung up on property, prominent trailers occupy a large chunk of property, and minimal or no landscaping maintenance occurs.
  
• There is an agreement allowing two ships to be docked along the shoreline. There is a newly expanded trailer for ticket sales, and a recently executed lease extension on the trailer.
  
• When the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Centers wanted to discuss the construction of a Visitor's Center on the west shore, it was discovered that no process existed for a group seeking to propose or construct a new facility. There was no designated contact person to seek assistance and to provide advice. The BDC maintains control pertaining to aesthetics and design but not with the construction or management operations of a new facility.