Mayor has not ruled out condemnation at West Covington

Fri Mar 7 10:59:46 MST 2008

The below article appeared in today's Baltimore Business Journal, and in it,
presents some very concerning information about the progress of the West
Covington Urban Renewal Plan.  Specifically, the aspect of eminent domain
and condemnation is apparently still being considered by the Mayor despite
the community's unilateral opposition to it:   

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Baltimore Business Journal - March 10, 2008
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/03/10/story5.html

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 <http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/> Business News - Local News

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Friday, March 7, 2008

Dixon hasn't ruled out condemnation at W. Covington

Mayor's stance could revive redevelopment

Baltimore Business Journal - by Daniel
<http://www.bizjournals.com/search/results.html?Ntt=%22Daniel%20J.%20Sernovi
tz%22&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial>  J. Sernovitz Staff

 <http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/112521-400-0.jpg?rev=2>
http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/112521-120-0.jpg?rev=2

Still Viable: Properties at West Covington in South Baltimore still could
face condemnation.

View Larger <http://cll.bizjournals.com/story_image/112521-400-0.jpg?rev=2>

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has not ruled out condemning 40 acres of
privately owned land in South Baltimore for a possible Under Armour Inc.
headquarters, despite concerns by high-ranking city leaders and property
owners about the controversial plan and what it would cost the city, a
mayoral spokesman said. 

Economic development efforts are always challenging, Dixon's spokesman
Sterling Clifford said, and the mayor hopes to find a way to proceed with
the project without needing to use its eminent domain powers. At the same
time, he said, that option remains on the table. 

"We rarely rule anything in or out absolutely," Clifford said. "Our hope is
always, when we're talking about those larger issues, is that it doesn't
have to get to that point [of condemnation]." 

Dixon could not be reached for direct comment. 

City Council introduced a West Covington Urban Renewal Plan in December 2007
identifying the West Covington properties for potential redevelopment.
Included are seven homes and three industrial businesses. At several public
hearings on the topic,
<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/gen/Baltimore_Development%20Corp
_BFCCB01EB9524057807DB8B5D621A9DA.html> Baltimore Development Corp.
President M.J. "Jay" Brodie -- who is pushing the City Council legislation
-- has said he believes the land could be more valuable and generate higher
taxes for the city if it were turned into a mixed-use development. Brodie
has declined to comment further on the project. 

Under Armour execs back Dixon 

Also last year, Kevin A. Plank, CEO of Under Armour, and J. Scott Plank,
senior vice president of retail for the sportswear maker, each donated to
Dixon's mayoral election campaign. J. Scott Plank donated the maximum of
$4,000, while Kevin Plank gave $1,000, according to state campaign finance
records. 

Through a company spokesman, Tai Foster, Under Armour executives declined to
comment on the West Covington proposal. 

Officials with the BDC have met with Under Armour executives about a
possible corporate campus at the West Covington land by Swann Park, and have
reviewed Under Armour sketches for what such a headquarters would look like.
Brodie has said the city would still need to consider other development
requests, and could not simply take the land and sell it directly to Under
Armour. The company is quickly outgrowing its Tide Point offices in Locust
Point, however, and is on the hunt for a new headquarters. 

Residents and business owners at West Covington, a 40-acre site along the
Middle Branch of the Patapsco River, spoke out against the proposal during a
Baltimore City Planning Commission meeting Feb. 21. In response, the
commission voted 7-1 against giving the BDC the right to seize their
properties in order to seek private development bids for the land. 

The only planning commission member to vote for the proposal was Elaine M.
Garven, assistant deputy mayor for neighborhood and economic development. 

The measure now goes to City Council's Urban Affairs and Aging Committee,
which could support or overturn the planning commission's recommendation. 

City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told the Baltimore Business
Journal on Feb. 29 she was given early assurances by the BDC that the
process would move smoothly and land owners in West Covington would be
willing to relocate. Rawlings-Blake said that is untrue, and she is worried
about the prospect of relocating property owners who do not want to leave.
Also of concern, Rawlings-Blake said, is the potential cost to relocate West
Covington's businesses if eminent domain powers are used. 

"The Council President's main objective in this whole thing is that all
parties can agree, rather than have to force anybody's hand at anything,"
said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for Rawlings-Blake. "Whenever there's an
issue like this, whenever there's one side against another, [trying to build
consensus among them is] always the first step." 

The city has used eminent domain for economic development projects in other
parts of Baltimore, including at the so-called superblock on the west side
and at the former Chesapeake Restaurant in the city's Charles North area. In
some cases, the city has used a form of condemnation called "quick take,"
under which the city can take immediate ownership of a property. 

The
<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/gen/Maryland_Court%20of%20Appeal
s_77A320F978F64C448E5CBDB610767D4A.html> Maryland Court of Appeals ruled
twice within the past year the city was unjustified in using quick take to
acquire land. 

Businesses reach out to Dixon 

<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/gen/Allied_Waste%20Services_2E41
9C78D10840F885344829D66697B7.html> Allied Waste Services and
<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/related_content.html?topic=Schus
ter%20Concrete%20Co> Schuster Concrete Co., two of West Covington's largest
businesses, sent a letter to Dixon on Feb. 27 proposing the city work
cooperatively with them on a comprehensive plan for the area rather than
seeking to take the land by condemnation. Ruppert Homes, which has a
contract to buy another West Covington property owned by Atlantic Forest
Products, also backed the letter drafted by Schuster lawyer Douglas N.
Silber. 

"The fundamental forces of the free market will accomplish the City's goal,
without forcing the City to take economic risks with scarce taxpayer funds,"
Silber wrote. Ruppert subsidiary
<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/related_content.html?topic=Ruppe
rt%20Management%20LLC> Ruppert Management LLC also donated $1,000 to Dixon's
election campaign last year. 

In an interview, Silber noted Ruppert already has plans to build a
residential development on Atlantic Forest's 13 acres. Silber said he
expects Ruppert's investment there will prompt West Covington's other land
owners to consider redeveloping their properties as well if given enough
time. 

The BDC recruited
<http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/gen/Browning-Ferris_Industries%2
0Inc_1A8E34DDF440462EA2B925B54794FCF4.html> Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.,
which later became Allied Waste, to develop its property on McComas Street
about a decade ago. Silber said he fears the city could wind up hampering
its business recruitment efforts if it displaces the trash hauler in favor
of a different use for the land. 

"I think that it would give some people pause," he said. 

The Urban Affairs committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on the proposal.
Councilwoman Agnes Welch, chair of the committee, said she is awaiting staff
reports on the proposal, including from the law and transportation
departments, but is aware of the controversy surrounding West Covington. She
said she wants to give the city and property owners enough time to reach an
agreement before the matter comes to her committee for a hearing. 

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