Williams to serve as inaugural Director of Permitting & Development Services while also leading Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals

BALTIMORE, MD (August 29, 2025) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the appointment of Deputy Mayor Justin Williams to serve as Baltimore City's inaugural Director of Permitting and Development Services, a newly created position designed to streamline development processes as part of the administration's Bmore FAST initiative. Williams will also serve as Interim Executive Director of the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA), succeeding Rebecca Witt, who resigned earlier this month to take a role in private practice. Williams will assume his new duties immediately while maintaining leadership of BMZA.

"I am grateful that Deputy Mayor Justin Williams will be bringing his years of public and private experience to the role of Director of Permitting and Development Services and interim director of Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA)," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "As Baltimore is reimagining the how we tackle vacant homes in the city, through a $3 billion investment over the next 15 years, the role of permit czar will play an integral role that will oversee the numerous offices that issue city permits, and Justin with his wealth of knowledge of both city hall, its departments, and his private sector experience, is the right person for this job."

The Director of Permitting and Development Services position, informally known as "Permit Czar," represents a cornerstone of the mayor's office comprehensive development reform strategy outlined in the recently released Bmore FAST report. This role will serve as Baltimore's primary coordinator for all development-related approvals and processes, with authority to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, drive implementation of process improvements, and serve as an objective mediator when conflicts arise between applicants and city reviewers.

The role represents the first phase of potential organizational reforms outlined in the Bmore FAST report, which envisions possible creation of a dedicated Development Services Coordination Office and longer-term evaluation of consolidating development functions into a unified department.

Williams brings extensive experience in both public service and private practice to the role. As Deputy Mayor since 2022, he has overseen a portfolio of multiple agencies with substantial staffing and budget authority, including the Department of Housing & Community Development, Department of Planning, and the Mayor's Office of Small and Minority Business Advocacy & Development (SMBA&D). His portfolio encompasses the agencies most directly involved in development approvals and neighborhood revitalization.

"This appointment represents a pivotal moment for Baltimore's development ecosystem," said Justin Williams. "The creation of this role demonstrates the Mayor's commitment to fundamental reform that will support our historic $3 billion vacant property initiative while making development processes more efficient for projects of all sizes."

Williams' appointment comes as Baltimore prepares to deploy unprecedented resources toward neighborhood revitalization through the $3 billion partnership between the city, state, Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), and the Greater Baltimore Committee. This initiative aims to rehabilitate a minimum of 37,500 vacant properties over the next 15 years while generating more than $5 billion in additional private investment.

The Bmore FAST initiative, which stands for Facilitating Approvals and Streamlining Timelines, includes more than 30 specific recommendations to modernize Baltimore's development processes, from enhanced digital tools and expanded language access to streamlined review procedures and improved coordination between city agencies.

Williams' unique combination of legal expertise and municipal leadership experience positions him to address the coordination challenges that have historically created delays in Baltimore's development approval processes. His recent work includes principally drafting the comprehensive Bmore FAST report that outlines Baltimore's development reform strategy, launching the PermitStat performance management program to identify and address systemic bottlenecks in development services, and working with the Fire Department's Office of the Fire Marshal to establish a third-party plan review program to accelerate approvals while maintaining safety standards.

The Georgetown Law graduate has served on numerous boards and commissions, including as Vice Chair of the Maryland State Board of Elections and the Maryland Stadium Authority. Most recently, he was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to serve on the Maryland Coordinated Permitting Review Council, reinforcing his standing as a leader in permitting system reform.

In the interim, City Administrator Faith Leach and Chief of Staff Calvin Young will assume the responsibilities of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development role.