Baltimore's city council voted narrowly Monday to sell part of Woodberry Woods to Loyola College. Ten council members voted yes on to the bill, six voted no, and three abstained from voting, giving the bill just enough support to pass in the 19-member council. President Sheila Dixon had to use a roll call to clarify the vote when the usual call of yea or nay did not produce a clear decision.

Loyola plans to use the land to build new stadiums that will replace older facilities it says are in disrepair. The college has stated that new, state-of-the-art stadiums will allow the college to attract a higher caliber of athletes, and of students in general. The thirty activists who showed up to oppose the bill did so for a wide variety of reasons, though for most the vote was the culmination of a long struggle to save Woodberry Woods.

Lois Drake, a resident of the area, said "It's a plus to have a green area in the city for people to go to. I walk with my husband in Woodberry Woods. You feel the presence of the woods around you. A stadium will change the atmosphere of the place."

Others worried about environmental implications, including Herman Heyn, a resident of Waverly, who said that, in Baltimore, "we already have a huge heat sink. We don't have to take down more trees." Jan Danforth, a local resident and activist who through the Urban Forest Initiative and the
Woodberry Planning Committee has helped lead the campaign to save the forest, said, "It's like a living classroom. There are salmanders, shrews, fox, deer, and 43 species of birds."

Some opponents criticized the city council for acting in the private rather than the public interest, including Towson University student Marjan Dinge, who said, "I understand that Loyola has parking problems, but this is not the solution. There needs to be more buses, better public transportation. Loyola College is a private religious institution. It acts much like a private business. Politicians should be representing the residents of the area as well as the private institutions."

Supporters of the bill in city council felt that Loyola's presence would be beneficial for surrounding communities. Robert Curran, of Baltimore's 3rd district, where Loyola is located, voted for the sale, noting that he felt the college had made a positive impact on his district by
purchasing and revitalizing various buildings.

Council members who voted against the bill cited the lack of evidence that construction on the site, part of which was once a landfill, will be safe. EPA tests, ordered by the city's land use committee, will not produce findings until August. At the second vote on the bill in May, council
member Keiffer Jackson Mitchell, Jr. of the 4th district, said, "I'm voting no on this because of the EPA report that was supposed to be out...I feel that, for the first time, development (is coming) before the health and safety of those who may be concerned." Mitchell again voted "no" at the third and final vote on Monday.

Environmental and community activists allege that not waiting for EPA results was a move of convenience on the part of the council, and of Mayor O'Malley, who has been a strong supporter of the sale. Jan Danforth has said that the city is trying to speed the turnover of possession so that it will not be held responsible for clean up of any hazardous materials the EPA might find.

Danforth also cited a lack of interest on the part of the media, saying of the Baltimore Sun, "there should have been some investigative reporting. The Sunpapers has been very short-sighted."