County moves forward with condemnation

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.