Paywalled, briefly:

Salisbury’s fight over downtown development escalated this week as Green Street Housing expanded its lawsuit against the city and its founder declared downtown closed to investment.

“Downtown development in Salisbury, Maryland is dead,” David Layfield said Friday. “It died the day [Mayor] Randy Taylor took office.”

The amended complaint alleges Salisbury breached a 2022 development agreement, denied Green Street access to an adjacent parcel promised under a 99-year, $1 parking lease and refused to sign a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement.

Taylor called the amended case “a weird one,” saying the project lacks final approval and adequate parking.

Layfield said Taylor’s actions threatened “generational destruction” of capital investment. Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce President Bill Chambers agreed the effects could be long-lasting.

“There is no doubt the anti-business atmosphere that now surrounds [the] city will have long-term impacts on the attractiveness of not only the city, but surrounding jurisdictions when developers and entrepreneurs seek new investment opportunities,” Chambers said.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/08/28/salisbury-developer-expands-5m-lawsuit-city/