SALISBURY, Md. – The City of Salisbury is asking a Wicomico County judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the developer of Parking Lot 30, arguing the legal fight is now moot after the City issued comments on the project's development plans.
SBY Market Center, LLC filed a petition for a writ of mandamus last week against the Mayor and City Council of Salisbury, the Salisbury Board of Appeals and Acting Department of Infrastructure and Development Director Judy Kuntz. The developer is seeking to force the City to hear an administrative appeal connected to the review of its proposed Parking Lot 30 development.
On Aug. 5, attorneys for Salisbury filed a motion to dismiss the petition or, alternatively, for summary judgment in the City's favor. The City also opposed SBY's request for an expedited court hearing.
The dispute centers on SBY's attempt to appeal the City's handling of the third phase, or P3, of its stormwater management and comprehensive development plan review.
According to SBY's petition, Salisbury's published Board of Appeals schedule listed July 7 as the submission deadline for the Aug. 6 meeting. SBY says it filed its completed appeal and paid the required fee that day. However, Kuntz later told SBY the cutoff had been July 6 and that its appeal would instead have to wait until September, according to court filings.
In a July 23 email included in the lawsuit, Kuntz acknowledged SBY's application was received "on the submission due date," but said it could not be scheduled for processing at that time. She also said the City would look into ways to clarify its public information moving forward.
SBY argues it followed the deadline Salisbury publicly advertised and that the City cannot enforce an earlier, unpublished cutoff. The developer asked the court to order Salisbury to hear its appeal Aug. 6 or, if that was no longer possible, within 14 days of a court order.
Salisbury, however, says the case should now be dismissed because DID issued its comprehensive comments on SBY's P3 plan on Aug. 3. The City argues that because SBY's underlying appeal sought action on that review, the requested action has now occurred and the lawsuit is moot.
The City also argues SBY did not have a valid appeal for the Board to hear because there had been no denial, violation notice, or final decision on the application. Salisbury further contends the Board of Appeals does not have the authority to compel City officials to perform the review SBY sought.
SBY's petition also accuses Mayor Randy Taylor of interfering with the project's review and deliberately delaying the process while pursuing changes to Salisbury's parking requirements. Salisbury rejected those claims as speculative and says the Mayor has no role in the Board of Appeals process.
