Balmer Sun, Planned ICE detention center in Howard County gets permit revoked
Howard County government revoked a building permit Monday that had been issued for a planned federal immigration detention facility in Elkridge, County Executive Calvin Ball announced Monday.
The detention center has been under construction in a former warehouse building in an office park at 6522 Meadowridge Road in Elkridge, according to Ball, who proposed emergency legislation late Friday to block permitting in the county for privately owned buildings to operate as detention centers.
Across from the proposed detention facility is the isolated Meadowridge Landing, a shopping square with a liquor store, a laundromat and a variety of food spots. A quiet residential neighborhood is tucked just behind the shopping center, and Ball said, within a mile radius are several schools, health care facilities and other entities that raise concerns about community safety with such a facility nearby.
Ball’s emergency legislation, co-sponsored by Democratic council members Opel Jones, Christianna Rigby, Liz Walsh, and Deb Jung, is set to be read Monday night at a County Council legislative meeting. The bill would prohibit permitting for privately owned buildings that are operating as detention centers in Howard County.
The first step is for four of the five council members to approve placing the emergency bill on their agenda. If approved, a public hearing on the bill would be set for Wednesday.
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