An ongoing legal battle between the Town of Sykesville and Warfield Historic Properties has dominated the conversation around this year’s town election, where the mayor’s seat and two council seats are at stake.

The developers of Warfield at Historic Sykesville, a mixed-use housing and commercial area on Route 32, filed a $20 million lawsuit against the town in February, the latest move in a years-long battle.

For Mayor Stacy Link, who was first elected in 2021 and is running to retain her seat, the battle with Warfield developers has not only been a dark cloud over her time in office, but also throughout her reelection campaign.

“I am concerned that my residents are growing weary of all of this,” she said. “It started with strangers knocking on their doors. Then propaganda texts and emails. … There’s just so much ignorance and 99% of it from people not living even in our ZIP code let alone living and voting in Sykesville.”

Sykesville sold the Warfield property to the development group in 2018. The town filed a breach of contract civil lawsuit against Warfield Historic Properties in Carroll County Circuit Court on May 25, 2023, demanding that Warfield pay back $1.2 million earmarked for preserving historic buildings and return ownership of 12 structures to Sykesville so they can be preserved.

Town Manager Joe Cosentini said the town wanted to reclaim the historic buildings because Warfield Companies was making “little or no progress” in restoring them, which the company agreed to do when it purchased the property in 2018.

Developers are now suing the town for $20.4 million, claiming that they have suffered a loss of economic value because the town did not allow them to establish high-density housing. The development saw 145 townhouses completed in 2023.

Link says she has spent weeks defending her character and her handling of the Warfield issue.

In interviews and on her Facebook page, she has called accusations that she refuses to meet with Warfield developers “misleading and false.” Link said she will not meet with them behind closed doors.

Link also contends that Warfield representatives met her opponent in the mayoral race, Robert Whittaker, as well as the three nonincumbent council candidates, to garner their support.

“It turned into things that would indicate that they’re really looking for support from these candidates so that when they’re elected, they will side with the developers,” she said. Steven D. McCleaf, senior vice president of Warfield Companies, confirmed the meeting in a statement Friday.

“In late March, a nonincumbent candidate requested a meeting with Warfield’s principals to learn more about the Warfield project,” McCleaf stated. “In response, we met with all four new candidates in early April and provided them access to the same information, which is also online and available for public review. We will continue to make project information available to citizens in the future, including those running for public office.

“We had not met any of the four new candidates prior to meeting with them in April,” he said.

Whittaker also confirmed the meeting.

“They met with all the nonincumbents,” he said. “It was really for information purposes only. The [Warfield issue] is like a 50-chapter book. Everyone knows a couple chapters, but I don’t know everything.”

Whittaker said he is a proponent of property rights, which grants the owner the authority to determine the best use of their land. But before deciding which direction to take, he needs more information.

“We have to have those conversations,” he said.

Link said paid consultants have also injected themselves in the town’s election by attempting to recruit residents to run against the incumbents.

“A woman like me says, ‘Bring it on,’ because I know my town and its people,” she said. “These outsiders are underestimating Sykesville. Sykesville is smarter and more informed than any outsider. But the lasting effects of this outsider and special interest intrusion are concerning to me.”

The Sykesville general election will be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, at the Town House, 7547 Main St. Candidates for mayor include Link and Whittaker. Town Council members Elizabeth Guroff and Leo Keenan are running for reelection against new candidates Mark Carbone, Gregory Hilliard and Alexandra Ries. There are two council seats available.

Have a news tip? Contact Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@baltsun.com and 240-315-7029.