SALISBURY, Md.- TidalHealth, The Greater Salisbury Committee and the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce sent urgent letters to the city of Salisbury. Those letters, prompting the city to honor contracts with developers that have been in stone for years.
Mike Dunn of the Greater Salisbury Committee says the train has left the station.
"This is the continuation of a plan that's been put in place starting a decade ago," said Dunn.
Concerns arose when Mayor Randy Taylor said he would not appeal a Wicomico County Circuit Court Judge’s ruling around density, stalling plans to build an apartment complex downtown. This prompted TidalHealth’s letter, which has plans to build its own complex for students. The City Council has decided to appeal the ruling in an effort to allow these projects to move forward. But the mayor’s decision to not back the appeal is worrisome to many, though Mayor Randy Taylor stands by his decision.
"We want it to be appropriately sized and dense for the space they are putting the development in," said Taylor.
There is also a letter from the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, pushing the city to not only move forward with projects but to do so in a timely manner so that any money promised to the city from the state, like for the convention center project proposed for Lot 10, is not pulled by the state. Taylor said the city is not sending money back to the state.
"We're not under any obligation to send money back to the state and that's not the direction we're headed," said Taylor.
However the back and forth and delays are still worrisome to those watching it play out, like Bill Chambers of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The projects that are in question were all a part of the approved master plan from 2017 and there is no reason at all that these developments should not continue at all," said Chambers.
As the mayor insists he is not delaying these projects.
"I think at the end of the day we're trying to do the right thing for downtown. We want development," said Taylor.
The next city council meeting will be on April 8th.
