Crucial Harborplace redevelopment vote will be counted, Maryland Supreme Court rules

BALTIMORE -- An important ballot question needed for the future of the Inner Harbor's Harborplace will now be up for public vote in Baltimore, reversing last month's ruling by an Anne Arundel County judge that called the measure unconstitutional, the Maryland Supreme Court decided.

Voters will decide whether MCB Real Estate, a private company, will be able to execute plans to rebuild the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

In September, an Anne Arundel County judge ruled that ballot Question F, which asks voters if they would support rezoning portions of the Inner Harbor so that a developer can build on it, including the Harborplace project, was unconstitutional . Thursday's ruling overturned that decision.

MCB Real Estate plans to tear down the existing pavilions along the Inner Harbor to build a mixed-use complex that would include high-rise buildings. The 4.5-acre space would have eating places, commercial uses, multifamily residential development and off-street parking.

Question F will be determined at the polls on November 5.

"I applaud the swift and decisive ruling by Maryland's Supreme Court of Baltimore City's Ballot Question F," Baltimore City Councilmember Eric Costello said. "The attempt by a tiny group of opponents to use the legal system to block Baltimore residents from using their constitutional right to have their voices heard at the ballot box was soundly rejected by the State's Supreme Court. The future of our City is back in the hands of the voters, where it belongs."

Opposition to Question F

Thiru Vignarajah, an attorney for a group of Baltimore residents opposed to the question, argued in court that most Baltimoreans can't understand the question and that the wording is confusing.

"You've got a resolution that is word salad masquerading as a ballot question," Vignarajah said.

The question calls for the removal of "public park" status for the Inner Harbor Promenade to make way for more mixed-use development, including the massive, nearly billion-dollar Harborplace plan.

Argument for the ballot measure

Attorneys representing Baltimore City and the Maryland Board of Elections argued in court that the lawsuit was filed too late and after a 30-day judicial review period.

"Those are the items that the state board of elections is responsible for when it certifies the content and arrangement, not the substantive legality, underlying questions candidates or any other issues attendant to the election," said David Kobrin, assistant attorney general and counsel to the Maryland Board of Elections.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott previously said that the Anne Arundel County judge "overstepped."

"A judge from Anne Arundel County shouldn't be telling the voters what to do," Scott said.