Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration is moving forward with a plan to sell the property beneath the city’s Sisson Street waste station to a developer and move the dumping site to a new location — over objections from some neighbors.

Legislation authorizing the disposal of the Remington property, technically known as the Northwest Citizens’ Convenience Center, is due to be introduced to the Baltimore City Council next week. The city’s mayor-controlled Board of Estimates would also have to approve a land disposition agreement for the property.

Plans call for the the waste transfer station to be relocated to 2801 Falls Rd., a more remote site on the opposite side of an embankment from the current Sisson Street location. The new property, a portion of which sits in the 500-year flood plain, would be leased from Potts and Callahan, a Baltimore-based construction company, city officials said.

Khalil Zaied, the city’s deputy mayor for operations, said the Remington neighborhood and nearby Hampden have become increasingly attractive to developers, leading the city to explore selling the Sisson Street land. Developers, whom he declined to name, have expressed interest, he said.

“You keep it within the neighborhood a few blocks away,” Zaied said of the new location.

City officials have not announced a buyer for the Sisson Street property, but the move was prompted by interest in the site by Seawall Development, headed by Thibault Manekin, said Councilwoman Odette Ramos, who represents the area.

Ramos said Manekin, who has made campaign donations to both Ramos and Scott, approached her and other city officials years ago with an offer to buy the site, but city officials have struggled to find a suitable new location for the waste drop-off site.

During a series of neighborhood meetings, residents were adamant that they did not want the site relocated to a disenfranchised neighborhood, Ramos said.

Ramos argued that the Falls Road site would offer a location for dumping in the same neighborhood while allowing the city to improve accommodations for those who work there.

“No question this all started because someone was interested in the land, but I think it will be a long-term good thing for our workers,” Ramos said.

Residents are less enthusiastic about the plan. Representatives with the Greater Remington Improvement Association and Bikemore have expressed concerns about the new location.

Chris Billak, president of the Greater Remington Improvement Association, said his group hasn’t seen enough information to take a position on the new site, but the association would prefer to see the city follow through with previous plans to close the waste facility altogether. Offering temporary dumpsters periodically for residents would serve the same purpose, Billak argued.

Speaking for himself, Billak, a civil engineer, said he was concerned with plans to locate a waste facility next to the Jones Falls. A sliver of the new location sits in the 100-year flood plain, but more of the site is encompassed by the 500-year flood map.

Baltimore’s drop-off centers are not landfills. Trash and recyclables are hauled away on a nightly basis. But a substantial storm could easily carry trash and other pollutants into the falls, Billak said.

“It just seems like they have a property that they’re going to pigeonhole into this use,” he said.

Zaied said officials with the Maryland Department of the Environment have visited the proposed location. Any improvements the city makes will have to be on a portion of the property farthest from the falls, he said.

Also at issue are the plans for the Sisson Street site.

Seawall, the company behind the development of food hall R. House and Remington Row, has been a prolific developer in the Remington neighborhood. The company has amassed a number of parcels near the Sisson Street site, including almost an entire city block across the street. There, the company proposes a mixed-use complex, including apartments and retail space. Plans to include office space on the site were called off due to market conditions, Manekin said.

Last year, Seawall responded to a request for proposals issued by the Baltimore Development Corp. with a plan to build a grocery store on the site of the Sisson Street dumping station. BDC has not announced whether they selected a winning proposal for the location. The quasi-governmental group did not respond to a reporter’s inquiry about the status of the process.

Manekin said no decision has been made on his proposal, but if awarded, the twin sites on either side of Sisson Street, already dubbed Sisson East and Sisson West, would act as a gateway from Interstate 83 into the Remington community.

“The current experience coming on off of 28th Street, you’re looking at underused and abandoned warehouse buildings,“ he said. ”It doesn’t represent what they want to see for the entrance into the community."

The developer said he plans to attend more community meetings to feel out what residents are looking for before finalizing plans, but many have expressed interest in a grocery store. He said it’s too early to say whether the site will be high-density, including other uses, or a more traditional grocery store with a parking lot.

Billak said his association supports the redevelopment of the Sisson Street site on the condition that the new use is high-density and brings more residents to Remington to support area businesses.

“We’re concerned the plans may not match that vision,” Billak said.

The administration’s swift movement on the plan has stirred irritation in a community that feels that city officials have not followed through on other promises. Jed Weeks, executive director of Bikemore, a cycling advocacy group, said improvements to the pedestrian and cycling options on Falls Road, where the new waste station would be located, have been discussed for years but never materialized. The addition will worsen conditions, he argued.

The timing is also poor, he argued. The Baltimore Streetcar Museum recently announced plans to begin restoring a former railroad roundhouse next door that will someday house exhibits.

“The Jones Falls Valley is an opportunity for a world-class linear park system in the city,” Weeks said. “I don’t see how this would help that in any way.”

“This plan is moving at light speed,” Weeks added. “It’s a shame all these other improvements didn’t have that same urgency.”

Zaied said changes to the traffic pattern on Falls Road will be necessary to accommodate the waste facility. Some residents have said they are interested in a trail in the area, while others would like to see traffic restricted to one-way in certain areas. Those requests are under consideration by DOT and will require further community outreach, he said.

“All of that is doable and could be accomplished,” he said.

Most important to Zaied is the improvements that can be made to employee accommodations as a result of the move. A push to upgrade city facilities, particularly in the Department of Public Works, has been underway in the wake of several reports from Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming detailing poor working conditions, and the death of solid waste worker Ronald Silver II on the job.

“It could be an opportunity to invest in a brand-new facility that is going to improve the working condition for a lot of people, for the city, for our employees, and to be more efficient,” he said.

City officials plan to continue operating the waste station on Sisson Street until the new site is operational, a process that could take about two years, Zaied said. He expects the sale of the property to be completed by the end of the year if approved by the City Council.