Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith is asking legislators to condemn three Dundalk properties slated for revitalization ? marking the end of his policy not to seize land for economic development.
Smith wants to use eminent domain, or land seizures for public benefit, to acquire the last nine buildings of the Yorkway apartment complex, which the county wants to redevelop. The county has tried to buy the buildings instead, but property owners have been demanding prices far beyond appraised values, and condemnation is necessary to protect the neighbors of crime-ridden Yorkway, county spokesman Don Mohler said.
He said the county will continue to negotiate in hopes of a settlement.
“At this point, we have to move forward ? we can?t have the families of Dundalk waiting any longer,” Mohler said. “We can?t put it off anymore.”
The County Council is scheduled to vote on the request Monday. In May, Councilman Bryan McIntire, R-District 3, voted against paying one owner $350,000 for a building on less than one-fifth of an acre and appraised at $170,000. Calling the offer “grossly excessive,” he and other legislators implored administrators to consider condemnation.
Soon after the vote, Mohler sent lawmakers a plan for the remaining buildings: The county would offer owners the highest of two appraisals, giving them five days to accept. If they rejected the offers, the county would begin the condemnation process.
Tuesday, McIntire called the move a “victory for the taxpayers.”
“I think this shows the significance of making a point at the right time,” McIntire said. “It was silly, paying 200 percent of appraised value.”
Police responded to 3,800 calls at the 56-building Yorkway complex in 2005.
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