Hearings of the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA) are held in person in the Planning Department Boardroom on the 8th floor of the Benton Building, 417 E. Fayette Street. Zoning hearings begin at 1 pm. The Board meets at 12:30 pm for a general session. That session is open to the public under the Maryland Open Meetings Act, but the Board takes no testimony on the matters discussed there.

Before the Hearing

If you want the Board to consider documents, photographs, plans, or letters, provide them one of two ways:

  1. Email them to bmza@baltimorecity.gov by 1 pm on the Monday before the hearing. Material received after that time is not distributed to the Board in advance.
  2. Bring eight printed copies to the hearing (five copies for an alley or footway case) and submit them in person when your case is called.

The hearing room has an HDMI connection for a laptop if you want to show something on screen. Paper copies are more reliable, and the Board keeps only what is submitted on paper or by email, so bring the copies even if you plan to present from a laptop.

Written testimony from people who cannot attend follows the same deadline: email it by 1 pm on the Monday before the hearing.

At the Hearing

  1. Arrive by 1 pm. Cases are not always called in docket order. If the appellant is not present when the case is called, the Board may dismiss it.
  2. Sign in. Everyone who intends to speak signs in before testifying with their name, mailing address, and email address.
  3. Order of testimony. The appellant presents first, followed by anyone speaking in support. Anyone in opposition then testifies and may present evidence. The appellant has the last word in rebuttal, and testimony closes.
  4. Decision. The Board typically votes at the close of testimony. The written resolution follows and is posted under Decisions and Resolutions.

Watching from Home

CharmTV usually streams zoning hearings live at charmtvbaltimore.com/live-stream and on Comcast channel 25, and posts recordings afterward on its YouTube channel. Streaming depends on CharmTV's schedule and is not guaranteed. Watching is not a substitute for attending: the Board can only hear testimony from people present in the room or submitted in writing by the deadline above.

Questions

Email bmza@baltimorecity.gov or call 410-396-4301. Staff can explain the process but cannot give legal advice or predict how the Board will decide a case.