Watch CBS News

Port Covington Work Session Postponed As Controversy Continues

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A work session scheduled for Monday on a controversial development deal has been postponed.

The city, the developers, and community advocates are trying to settle arguments over tax breaks and affordable housing.

Some say it's going too fast, others say it's moving too slowly, but the Port Covington deal is still going forward with a $500 million city subsidy in the pot, WJZ's Pat Warren reports.

Port Covington is a mostly industrial 200 acres of waterfront property in South Baltimore.

In the months since an ad appeared promoting the Sagamore Port Covington development project there, there has been a series of debates and arguments over assurances that it will do what it says -- bring jobs, boost the economy and benefit the city as a whole.

But it also means a multi-million dollar investment on the part of the city.

"I think that it's much much much bigger in terms of subsidy dollars from city government," said Councilman Carl Stokes.

Baltimore City Council is voting to give hundreds of millions to a private investor with no written guarantee of good jobs for Baltimore folks.

The Baltimore Washington Laborers District Council is looking for guarantees. This ad urges council members to make sure those guarantees are there.

Councilman and Committee Chairman Carl Stokes says despite the amount of money involved, the actual project is less controversial than others have been.

"I don't know anyone who doesn't want to see Port Covington move forward," he says. "We're also going to see many of the things that citizens are asking for in terms of affordable housing, making sure there's good workforce development, a good hiring number--I think we're also going to see those things as part of the total package."

There will be further discussions in the coming weeks.

The legislation was written and submitted by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who is leaving office in December.

The next Port Covington work session is scheduled for Thursday, September 8 at the War Memorial Building Downtown.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.