Restorative Justice Commission urges Lakeland reparative steps; council asks staff for budget, legal follow-up

The Restorative Justice Commission urged the City Council to prioritize actions aimed at repairing harms visited on Lakeland residents during urban renewal, recommending a new "Lakeland Legacy" designation and city-backed policies to help former residents return.

"The priority is the repair of the harm," Maxine Gross, chair of the Restorative Justice Commission, told the council as commissioners described a narrowed set of priorities drawn from a 33-item report.

Aaron Brink Johnson, the citys equity, inclusivity and outreach coordinator and staff liaison to the commission, summarized how the commission reduced its list to eight top recommendations that fall into two categories: legacy-member benefits and advocacy. On the legacy-members side, the commission proposed creating a Lakeland Legacy Group to serve as the beneficiary body for programs tied to repair. On advocacy, commissioners prioritized exploring a right-of-first-refusal policy for certain properties in the Lakeland Urban Renewal District so designated entities could have a prioritized chance to buy properties before they hit the open market.

Commissioner Ian Row explained the right-of-first-refusal concept as a legal mechanism permitting a government entity or designated beneficiary group to reserve the opportunity to purchase specific properties ahead of open-market sales. He said the commission envisions the policy focusing first on larger parcels and on entities that would place properties back into owner-occupied hands rather than on ordinary private-home sales.

Council members pressed for legal and programmatic detail. One council member called for consultation with the city attorney and staff about whether the Lakeland Legacy Group should be formed by resolution, and several members asked staff to return with budget-level estimates for FY27 and options for implementing priorities like scholarships, home-repair grants and possible earmarks of future Western Lakeland tax revenue. A council speaker also recommended pursuing a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes pilot with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for Lake Armisia as a regional funding source.

City staff said they would coordinate with legal and regional partners and return with budget work-session materials. The council did not adopt a final ordinance or appropriation in the session; members directed staff to develop options and to bring them forward during the budget process.