Until it was disclosed in an upbeat but vague press release, the public had no idea that P. David Bramble’s real estate company was slated to get a lucrative tax break for its plan to reconfigure Baltimore’s Inner Harbor with retail and high-rise apartment buildings.

That’s because when the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) approved the massive property tax reduction for MCB Real Estate – up to 95% for as long as 25 years – they did so in a secret meeting never advertised to the public.

The topic had been broached at an earlier BDC meeting, but again not publicly.

It was only raised after the board of directors, which Mayor Brandon Scott’s deputy mayor Calvin A. Young III chairs, voted to go into a private “executive session.” The topic appeared nowhere on the public agenda.

Those closed meetings violated Maryland’s Open Meetings law, the Baltimore Business Journal and Baltimore Brew contend in a September 3 complaint letter sent to the state’s Open Meetings Compliance Board.

“We believe that the lack of notification on an agenda – and the secretive nature of holding meetings and closing meetings by this public agency – are a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Law,” wrote BBJ editor in chief Jessica Iannetta and Baltimore Brew publisher and editor Fern Shen.

• Baltimore Harborplace redevelopment is slated for a massive tax break (Brew, 8/31/26)

• BDC approves incentives for 3 major projects, but details are scarce (BBJ, 8/31/26)

The two media organizations allege that the BDC and its board broke the law not just by holding closed-door meetings, but by not disclosing, advertising or allowing public access to financial analysis or debate regarding the award o tax incentives for Bramble’s Harborplace and two other redevelopment projects.

The BDC did not respond to multiple requests from The Brew for comment. President and CEO Otis Rolley told the BBJ the meetings were closed to the public based on advice of the BDC’s outside counsel, a lawyer from a local private firm.

“I want this on the record. I have no problem sharing pubic information; there is no cloak-and-dagger secret hidden away that BDC will operate in private,” he told the BBJ’s Melody Simmons.

“Disturbing” non-transparency

The tax breaks are Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOTs, awarded through the newly created Downtown RISE district.

Downtown Rise legislation, approved by the Maryland General Assembly, extends the city’s existing authority to grant PILOTs to private developments in the downtown area.

Due to its location, the Harborplace project became eligible for the benefits, as did the planned $300 million redevelopment for a new “University City” pushed by the University of Maryland, Baltimore, on downtown’s West Side.

The BDC also announced that it would establish the Crown Cork & Seal Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to advance a 31-acre redevelopment off Eastern Avenue between Highlandtown and Greektown now underway by developer Bill Struever.

Shen said the BDC’s failure to follow the Open Meetings Law in awarding the PILOTs is especially disturbing considering how little opportunity there is for public input in the process.

“The new downtown PILOTs skip right over other city agencies. And no City Council approval is required, so no public hearings,” she said.

“With the BDC being the only body required to analyze whether to hand out these multi-million-dollar subsidies, it’s especially concerning to see them do it in violation of the Open Meetings Act.”

A Past Violation

The complaint comes amid continued public debate over Bramble’s sweeping Harborplace makeover project, which involves demolishing two low-rise pavilions along the public waterfront, to be replaced by twin apartment towers and a large retail/commercial building owned by MCB.

“The Inner Harbor Coalition (IHC) has been frustrated by apparently intentional misdirects and difficulty obtaining accurate information on the project,” a statement released by the group’s chair, Bill Pencek, noted today.

“From what we have learned, MCB’s project is a very bad business deal for the residents and taxpayers of Baltimore and for the challenges facing our downtown, despite claims to the contrary,” the statement continued.

• The Future of Baltimore’s Harborplace (Full Brew coverage of MCB’s controversial plans).

Baltimore City has a history of closed-door approvals for whopping tax incentives for development, the Brew and BBJ letter noted.

In 1997, for example, the Kurt Schmoke administration approved a PILOT agreement that resulted in a $1 annual property tax bill for the 750-room Marriott Hotel at Harbor East owned by the late bakery-magnate-turned developer John Paterakis Sr.

In 2015, the BDC met behind closed doors to consider a TIF tax increment financing request for Port Covington spearheaded by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank.

The meeting at which the BDC approved the $660 million Port Covington TIF was closed, sparking a protest filed by the BBJ, Baltimore Brew and Baltimore Sun with the Open Meetings Compliance Board

For its 2015 violation, the BDC was required to acknowledge that it was found to be in violation of the Open Meetings Act. A majority of board members were also required to sign a copy of the ruling.

The board ruled in favor of the public’s access, saying the BDC had improperly excluded the public and reporters while discussing the tax increment financing request for Port Covington, since rebranded as Baltimore Peninsula.

Per the compliance board’s rules, the BDC was required to acknowledge that it was found to be in violation of the Open Meetings Act. A majority of board members were also required to sign a copy of the ruling.

• BDC violated Open Meetings Law by shutting out reporters, board rules (5/23/16)

Shen and Iannetta pointed to the BDC’s past violation in their letter to the Compliance Board.

“We ask for your consideration of the latest issue and note its importance to the public and its right to know what is going on regarding awarding PILOTs to private developers,” the complaint said.

Approval at Unannounced Meeting

The BBJ and Brew letter notes that the PILOT applications were presented to the BDC board in secret, beginning at its August 25 bi-monthly meeting.

The board’s published agenda provided no notification that the PILOT applications would be addressed. The matter was taken up only after the board voted to close its meeting.

Instead of taking a vote on the PILOTs then, the board reconvened on Friday, August 28, in an unscheduled and unadvertised session to continue its discussion and to vote on the PILOT applications.

The PILOT applications were presented to the BDC board in secret, beginning at its August 25 meeting and continued with an unannounced meeting on August 28.

The BDC issued a press release the following Monday, August 31, stating that the Harborplace and University City PILOTs had been approved by the board and were headed to City Hall for final consideration.

The August 31 press release did not state when the PILOTs were approved.

It wasn’t until the BBJ spoke with BDC President and CEO Otis Rolley on September 1 that the existence of the Friday meeting – and the vote on the PILOTs – was disclosed.

The Board of Estimates are expected to take up the PILOT agreements within a month. Since Mayor Scott controls three of the panel’s five votes, approval of the tax breaks are an almost sure thing.