SALISBURY, Md. - The City of Salisbury has lost its bid for an injunction against a local developer over the use of the downtown parking lot known as Lot 10.
Lot 10, which sits at 101-111 Poplar Hill Avenue in Salisbury, has been a continuing source of contention between the City of Salisbury and developer Mentis Capital Partners. In May, Mentis’ Nick Simpson threatened legal action against the city over alleged delays by Salisbury to release state infrastructure funds to develop the lot into a hotel and convention center.
On Aug. 19, Salisbury fired back with their own legal action. Officials said they are seeking a temporary restraining order, injunction, and judgment against Mentis to prevent them from privatizing Lot 10 until construction of the downtown project begins.
According to Salisbury leaders, the sale of Lot 10 to Mentis in February 2023 stipulated that the city would continue to use the lot as a municipal parking lot until Mentis notified officials of their intent to proceed with demolition and excavation for the project. The request for an injunction comes after Mentis announced its intent to convert Lot 10 to a private parking lot and terminate Salisbury’s ability to operate it as public, according to Salisbury officials.
Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor’s office claims Mentis has not applied for or obtained the necessary permits to begin demolition or redevelopment of Lot 10 and has breached the contract of sale and parking agreement by attempting to privatize the lot.
“The City entered into this agreement in good faith, ensuring that Lot 10 would remain available for public parking until redevelopment was ready to begin,” said Mayor Taylor. “The City has been and is willing to work with the Developer to make the project successful and an asset for Downtown.”
Salisbury’s latest legal action sought to prevent Mentis from closing or obstructing Lot 10 to public parking, collecting parking fees that reportedly belong to the city, and from terminating the parking agreement until the necessary permits are obtained.
"Our legal team is prepared to thoroughly review and respond to the court filings, addressing all claims appropriately and in due course," Nick Simpson of Mentis said in August.
On Sept. 12, the parking lot dispute reached Wicomico County Circuit Court.
It took about an hour and thirty minutes for Judge Leah Seaton to reach a decision. Though the Circuit Court Judge sided with the City on nearly every one of their arguments, one specifically led her to ultimately siding with Mentis. According to the judge, Salisbury could not prove that Mentis' privatization of the lot would cause irreparable harm - a prerequisite for a restraining order.
For now, Mentis is free to privately collect parking fees from Lot 10. The conflict between the developer and the city is far from over, however.
"If we can get the city to move forward with the sub-recipient agreement, and that opens up the grand funding flowing to the project, we will continue to move forward with the hotel and conference center," Simpson said on Sept. 12.
Mayor Taylor, however, flipped that argument back on Mentis.
"We need to see some activity, we need to see a site-plan, we need to see construction drawings, we need to see an approval process, he needs to get financing in place," Taylor said.
A hearing has now been scheduled for later this year during which a judge is expected to weigh in on the remaining disputes. Mayor Taylor says it is expected to be held in December.
