Maryland Manual 1996-1997 Department of Housing & Community Development / 355

During World War II, the influx of workers into Maryland caused a housing shortage The Federal
Public Housing Authority built thousands of units on vast tracts, but existing communities were hard
pressed to provide necessary services and schools After the war, the federal Veterans Emergency Housing
Act permitted the sale of government barracks and construction equipment to counties and municipalities
to build or convert to civilian housing The Maryland Veterans' Housing Commission coordinated the
work of State and federal agencies dispensing funds or material to provide homes for returned veterans
(Chapter 878, Acts of 1947)

The private sector embarked on a postwar budding boom, marked by suburban developments containing
miles of modest houses on treeless Jots for veterans and their new families Federally funded highways
demolished housing and cleared slums, perpetuating the housing shortage, smce construction of public units
could not keep pace The Federal Housing Act of 1954 financed local and regional planning assistance,
including the Baltimore Regional Planning Council (created in 1956) Under the 1954 law, the Department
of State Planning oversaw comprehensive planning assistance grants in Maryland

Federal funds solved many problems and created new ones Poor families were displaced by highway
construction and slum clearance in the 1950s, and by urban renewal in the 1960s Private firms reaped profits
building expensive suburban homes while Maryland municipalities struggled with the continual lack of low cost
housing Federally subsidized pubhc housing of the 1960s gave way to subsidized rent policies of the 1970s

Maryland Housing and. Community Development Authority In 1969, the Maryland Housing and
Community Development Authority was created to encourage private construction of low and moder
ate income housing by grants and loans (Chapter 553, Acts of 1969) One year later, the Authority was
abolished and replaced with a new department

Department of Economic and Community Development The Department of Economic and Community
Development was formed in 1970 (Chapter 527, Acts of 1970) Within the new department, the
Community Development Administration assisted and funded community development projects that
provided some accommodations for families of limited income

The accelerating rate of postwar growth and change put Marylanders m danger of losing touch with their
past Poor families were not the only victims of urban renewal, structures of irreplaceable historical value had
been bulldozed for highways and development Cultural and historical agencies emerged in the decade after
1960 to preserve the collective memory and restore its physical symbols Joining the Department of Economic
and Community Development m 1970 were two such agencies mandated to stop destruction and save the
tangible evidence of Maryland's past First was the Maryland Historical Trust, created in 1961 and dedicated
to identifying and preserving structures of historical or architectural ment (Chapter 620, Acts of 1961) The
Trust also advised communities on the establishment of historic districts, a type of urban renewal which worked
well in Maryland Historical interest and the hope of developing a tounst attraction had spawned the St Mary's
City Commission by 1966, the offshoot of a study commission appointed m 1965 (Chapter 115, Acts of 1966)
Other commissions to preserve ethnic culture later were added to the Department of Economic and
Community Development the Commission on Afro American and Indian History and Culture (Chapter 386,
Acts of 1974), divided into two commissions in 1976 (Chapter 120, Acts of 1976), and the Maryland Ethnic
Hentage Commission (Chapter 116, Acts of 1984)

In 1971, the Department ofEconomic and Community Development was assigned responsibilities for overseeing
the implementation ofboth the Industrialized Building and Mobile Homes Act and the Model Performance Budding
Code (Chapters 662 & 663, Acts of 1971) The Building Codes Administration was established within the
Department to handle these duties and, m 1978, began to set energy conservation standards for buildings Other
energy related agencies such as the Energy Policy Office, which ongmated m the Department of Natural Resources
(Chapter 320,1976), became components of the Department of Housing and Community Development m 1987

Within the Department ofEconomic and Community Development, the Maryland Housing Fund was created
in 1971 to stimulate construction of low and moderately pnced housing by insuring lenders against mortgage losses
(Chapter 669, Acts of 1971) The Housing Fund m 1976 became part of the Division of Local and Regional
Development, which acted as a liaison between federal agencies and local communities Federal policy had shifted
to granting blocks of funds to the states for distribution to local governments and community action groups who
were encouraged to find innovative ways to meet their own housing and development needs The Division helped
communities apply for block grants At the same time, the Community Development Administration became
responsible tor the Maryland Home Financing Program and the Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program

As programs proliferated, the aims of economic and industrial development did not always mesh with
community goals, and housing as an issue remained critical in complexity The need for affordable housing
never abated, and communities required greater expertise to plan development that would enhance, not
compromise, the quality of life