Planning & Implementation
Community Planning & Transformation
From vision to implementation — three decades of resident-led planning in Cherry Hill.
"For decades, residents shaped the vision. Today, CHDC helps advance that vision through housing, homeownership, preservation, and community investment."
CHDC helps translate adopted community plans into tangible, resident-centered investment.
Since 1995, CHDC has been a consistent participant in every major planning effort in Cherry Hill. We bring resident voices to the table, ensure that community priorities are reflected in final plans, and work to translate those plans into tangible neighborhood investment.
Too many community plans sit on shelves. Cherry Hill has produced three major plans over three decades — and CHDC has played a consistent role in helping move resident priorities from planning into action.
The projects CHDC is advancing today — BRHI homes, Patapsco Pointe, the Legacy Homeowner Repair Initiative — are direct expressions of the priorities Cherry Hill residents articulated in those plans. The vision was always there. CHDC helps advance it through housing, homeownership, preservation, resident engagement, and community-rooted investment.
Plan Snapshot
Cherry Hill 2000
Cherry Hill 2000 was the first documented resident-driven master planning effort in Cherry Hill's history — and it set the standard for community-led planning that would define the neighborhood's approach to development for the next three decades.
CHDC served as a core community partner in the Cherry Hill 2000 process, helping to organize resident participation, facilitate community conversations, and ensure that the plan reflected the genuine priorities of Cherry Hill residents — not the assumptions of outside planners or government agencies.
Over 39 organizations participated in the Cherry Hill 2000 process — a remarkable demonstration of the depth of civic engagement in Cherry Hill. The plan articulated a resident vision for housing, economic development, community facilities, and neighborhood infrastructure that would inform every subsequent planning effort.
What Cherry Hill 2000 Established
- The first comprehensive resident-driven vision for Cherry Hill's future
- A model for community-led planning that subsequent efforts built upon
- Priorities for affordable housing, homeownership, and economic development
- A framework for resident engagement in neighborhood decision-making
- The organizational relationships that enabled future planning partnerships
Plan Snapshot
2008 Cherry Hill Master Plan
The 2008 Cherry Hill Master Plan was a landmark achievement: the first comprehensive neighborhood master plan for Cherry Hill formally adopted by the City of Baltimore. Its adoption represented official recognition that Cherry Hill deserved the same level of planning investment as other Baltimore neighborhoods.
CHDC participated actively in the development of the Master Plan, working to ensure that the resident priorities articulated in Cherry Hill 2000 were carried forward and reflected in the City's official planning framework. CHDC's participation helped bridge the gap between community vision and government planning — ensuring that the plan was not just technically sound, but genuinely responsive to what Cherry Hill residents wanted.
The Master Plan established a long-term framework for housing, transportation, open space, and economic development in Cherry Hill — a framework that subsequent planning efforts, including the 2020 Transformation Plan, built upon.
Key Plan Elements
- Comprehensive framework for housing, transportation, and open space
- Formal City adoption — giving Cherry Hill an official planning foundation
- Resident priorities carried forward from Cherry Hill 2000
- Long-term vision for neighborhood investment and revitalization
- Foundation for the more detailed 2020 Transformation Plan
Plan Snapshot
2020 Cherry Hill Transformation Plan
The 2020 Cherry Hill Transformation Plan is the most comprehensive neighborhood plan in Cherry Hill's history. Developed over multiple years with extensive community engagement, the Transformation Plan establishes a detailed roadmap for housing, economic development, community facilities, open space, and neighborhood infrastructure.
CHDC played a consistent role in the development of the Transformation Plan — helping to ensure that resident priorities were reflected in the final plan and that the organization was positioned to help advance those priorities through housing, homeownership, and community-rooted investment.
Today, CHDC is advancing the Transformation Plan's priorities through active projects. BRHI, Legacy Homeowner Repair, and Patapsco Pointe each reflect priorities Cherry Hill residents articulated in the planning process.
Transformation Plan Priorities CHDC Is Advancing
- Blight reduction and affordable homeownership (BRHI)
- Legacy homeowner support and housing preservation (Legacy Repair Initiative)
- Mixed-income housing development (Patapsco Pointe)
- Resident engagement and community capacity building
Right Now
Advancing the Goals of the 2020 Transformation Plan
CHDC is actively advancing adopted community planning priorities through housing, homeownership, preservation, and resident engagement. Here is how the priorities from three decades of community planning are being built today.
Read the 2020 Cherry Hill Transformation Plan (PDF)Blight Reduction Homeownership Initiative (BRHI)
5 homes in active development, converting vacant and blighted properties into affordable homeownership opportunities — advancing the Transformation Plan's blight reduction and affordable homeownership priorities.
Learn more →Patapsco Pointe Development
Mixed-income residential development expanding housing options for Cherry Hill residents — aligned with the Transformation Plan's housing diversification priorities.
Learn more →Long-Term Community Investment Priorities
The 2020 Cherry Hill Transformation Plan identifies long-term priorities intended to support housing, community-serving uses, economic opportunity, neighborhood stability, and resident well-being. CHDC supports implementation of adopted community planning priorities through appropriate public processes, resident engagement, lawful disposition procedures where applicable, and mission-aligned support that benefits Cherry Hill residents.
"For decades, residents shaped the vision. Today, CHDC helps advance that vision through housing, homeownership, preservation, and community investment."
Support CHDC's Mission
CHDC welcomes sponsors, funders, donors, public agencies, residents, and mission-aligned supporters who want to strengthen affordable housing, homeownership, preservation, resident engagement, and long-term community benefit in Cherry Hill.