BALTIMORE CITY MATERIALS

General laws

1. Charter. The basic powers and structure of government for Baltimore City are set forth in the Baltimore City Charter (1996) This is a 1964 revision with amendments to June 30, 2000 [KFX1101.A61]. Published by the Baltimore (City) Department of Legislative Reference.

2. Code. The Baltimore City Code, 2000 is published by the Baltimore (City) Department of Legislative Reference. Article 32 of this Code incorporates The BOCA National Building Code, which is a code of "model building regulations for the protection of public health, safety and welfare" that is published every three years by the Building Officials & Code Administrators International, Inc.

3. Public General Laws. Laws that are passed by the Maryland General Assembly for the entire state and that impact on Baltimore City are located in the Annotated Code of Maryland [KFM1230 1957.A2 / KFM1230.5.M5]. Indexed in main Code index volumes.

4. Public Local Laws. The Code of Public Local Laws of Baltimore City (art. 4 of the Code of Public Local Laws of Maryland.) (1980 and 1997 cumulative supplement) [KFX1101.A621] contains the laws passed by the Maryland General Assembly that apply only to Baltimore City. Edited and published by the Department of Legislative Reference.

5. Ordinances. These laws, which are passed by the City Council, can be found in two places: a) The Ordinances and Resolutions of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore [KFX1101.A5] lists ordinances by Ordinance number i.e., the number assigned to a City Council bill when signed by the Mayor. The Ordinances are arranged chronologically as passed. b) In the Baltimore City Code (2000) [KFX1101.A6], the ordinances have been arranged by numbered articles i.e., subjects.

6. BOCA Basic/National Building Code. [KF5701.B84] This model building code was published by the Building Officials & Code Administrators International every three years through 1996. Baltimore City adopted the 1996 Code as of December 1997. Use the Code in conjunction with local amendments adopted by the City Council. The amendments can be found in the Baltimore City Dwelling Code. BOCA, however, has been replaced by the International Code Council and its International Building Code [K3538].

7. Rules of the Baltimore City Council. All rules of the Council can be found in the publication, Rules of the City Council, 1989.

8. Law Making Process. A description of the law making process in the city of Baltimore is in the City of Baltimore Municipal Handbook (1990). [KFX 1104.M8 1990].

Zoning laws

1. Baltimore City Code. Volume 1 of the Code incorporates the zoning articles and contains the language of Ordinance 1051 as passed in 1971 along with amendments. [KFX1101.A6 1983]. Ordinance 1051 has been reprinted in a separate publication entitled: Zoning Code of Baltimore City. [KFX1112.B3.Z6 2000].

2. The City of Baltimore Municipal Handbook contains a good explanation of the duties of the city agencies that deal with zoning issues, i.e. the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals and the Baltimore City Department of Planning. [KFX 1104.M8 1990].

3. Zoning Law Manual 1990. This MICPEL (Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education for Lawyers, Inc.) publication contains a chapter written by Albert Figinski and Stuart Berger dealing with zoning practice and procedure in Baltimore City. The forms and checklist make it a good place to begin research. [KFM1658.Z66].

Housing code

1. Baltimore City Code. The Housing Code is located at the end of Article 13 on Housing and Urban Renewal. [KFX1101.A6].

Landlord and tenant law

1. Baltimore City Guide to Local, State and Federal Laws Governing Tenant-Landlord Relations. This book covers common landlord-tenant problems and is a good place to start. It includes housing code violations, escrow accounts, eviction and where to go for help. [KFX1112.1.B3L35 1995].

2. Practice Manual for the Maryland Lawyer. (3d ed. with 2002 supplement) Chapter 10 of this MICPEL publication includes forms and contains a short concise approach to the law of landlord-tenant. [KFM1281.M3 1993].

Building codes

1. Baltimore City Building Code, 1997 consists of BOCA National Building Code, 13th ed. 1996; CABO Model Energy Code, 1995 ed., and local amendments to the 1990 BOCA Code. [KFX 1112.A2 1997]. It must be used in conjunction with BOCA.

2. Building Officials and Code Administrators International. BOCA National Building Code, 1996 ed. This is incorporated, with modifications, as Article 32 of the Baltimore City Code. [KF5701.B84].

Courts

The courts of Baltimore City are part of the Maryland court system. The District Court (First District) is the lowest level court. Housing, traffic matters and some civil and criminal matters are handled at this level. The Circuit Court (Eighth) handles major civil and criminal cases and cases in which parties are entitled to jury trials. The Court of Special Appeals is the intermediate appellate court and the Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Maryland System. The Orphan's Court of Baltimore City deals with wills and estates and has jurisdiction over the appointment of guardians for minors. Useful sources for court information include:

1. The City of Baltimore Municipal Handbook, 1990. This work contains a listing of all Baltimore City Courts including addresses and telephone numbers. [KFX1104.M8].

2. Maryland Lawyers Manual. The Baltimore City section is a source for names, addresses and telephone numbers of court personnel. Updated annually. [REFERENCE KF192.M36M3].

3. Maryland Manual (2001). The Judiciary Chapter contains organizational charts, names, addresses, telephone numbers, and descriptions of the courts. [REFERENCE JK3831].

Court forms

Each of the courts for Baltimore City has its own practice forms. Sources include:

1. District Court Forms (1984 and 1986 supplement). This MICPEL publication contains an extensive list of forms, civil and criminal, that have been adopted by the Maryland District Court. There is a list of forms by form number and a subject index. [KFM1714.D5D57].

2. Robert D. Klein, Maryland Civil Procedure Forms with Practice Commentary (3d ed. 2000). The majority of Circuit and appellate level forms can be found in this volume. [KFM1730.A65D542 2000].

3. G. Liebmann, District Court Law and Practice (1976). Forms are included in every section. [KFM1715.A73M32].

4. G. Liebmann, Maryland Practice: Civil Procedure Forms (1984 & Supp. 2002). Volumes 3 & 4 of Maryland Practice contain all of the basic Circuit Court forms. [KFM1715.A73M32].

5. M. Rowland, District Court Practice Manual: Civil (2000 ed.). A selected list of forms is reproduced in Appendix A. [KFM1714.D57 2000].

City agencies

1. The City of Baltimore Municipal Handbook 1990 contains information on all city agencies. An organization chart for Baltimore City government can be found in this source. Arranged alphabetically by agency name, section IV includes a short description, names, addresses, telephone numbers, publications (if any) and enabling legislation. [KFX1104.M8].

2. Maryland Lawyers Manual. The Baltimore City section lists selected agencies that are primarily court related. [KF192.M36M3].