A Baltimore County councilman has introduced legislation that would allow a Catonsville developer to temporarily store construction equipment in an area zoned for office-residential, a move that would benefit one of his largest campaign contributors.

Steven Whalen, of Whalen Properties, was scheduled for a code enforcement hearing after being cited for improperly storing construction equipment near the northbound access ramp of the Baltimore Beltway’s inner loop and Kenwood Avenue in Catonsville.

Whalen is constructing a multistory medical office building there, but the equipment was not for that project. Instead, Whalen had rented that site to a contractor who was working on a project for the State Highway Administration.

The county issued an order for the contractor and landlord to move the equipment in May. The owner asked for an extension and the violations continued, officials said, so the county scheduled a September code enforcement hearing.

However, the county postponed the hearing because Councilman Pat Young introduced Bill 67-25, which allows for storage in properties zoned Office Building Residential (OR-1) if that storage is related to a highway construction project through November 2027, when the contractor will be finished.

“It was brought to the department’s attention that Bill 67-25 … includes provisions that would directly impact enforcement issues at the location,” county spokeswoman Erica Palmisano said. “In light of that, the hearing was postponed until Nov. 6 and the case remains open.”

Since 2020, Whalen has contributed $20,050 to Young’s political fund. Young was elected to the County Council in 2022; prior to that, he was a state delegate representing southwestern Baltimore County. More than half of that money went to Young in 2025, when Whalen and family members contributed $12,200, according to the state campaign finance database.

In addition to those contributions, We Actually Clean, a business on Hilltop Road in Catonsville that is listed as the address of Whalen’s son, contributed $3,000, records show. Tom Whalen registered the business in November 2023. The business is listed in good standing, but it appears to have no website or customer reviews.

Young said he has returned contributions that Whalen made since 2024 because he has opted to publicly finance his campaign for county executive. Young said it was the contractor, not Whalen, who called to ask him for help. He said he called Whalen to get more information when he realized that Whalen owned the property.

The Catonsville Democrat said the bill is tailored for the property because it is the only one having this issue, and he didn’t want to extend the ability to store construction equipment in all residential-office zones, or allow the contractor to do so in perpetuity. The contractor told him that they had not factored in costs for storing equipment elsewhere, and Whalen’s site was close to where they were working.

Plus, Young said, if the state were storing the equipment, they would not have to abide by the zoning law. It just doesn’t extend to contractors, even though they’re doing the exact same thing.

“Everyone felt comfortable to save these guys some time and trouble since they were working on Frederick Road,” Young said.

Whalen did not return calls seeking comment.

The developer also contributed significantly to Catonsville’s previous councilman, Tom Quirk, who helped Whalen secure approval for a planned unit development so he could build the medical complex. A state prosecutor charged Whalen with five counts of violating campaign finance laws relating to $7,500 of those contributions to Quirk. Whalen pleaded guilty in January 2013 and was fined $58,000, which he paid that day. The judge sentenced him to probation before judgement.

Quirk was not charged and cooperated with the investigation.

Paul Dongarra, a Catonsville activist who has been following the case closely, said he was disappointed by Young’s legislation.

“This is a bill for one person, for one purpose, and it’s wrong,” said Dongarra, who ran against Young for the council seat in 2022 and criticized what he considers Young’s deference to developers.

Young insists that is not the case here.

“I didn’t think of it as a favor, because Steve didn’t ask me for anything,” Young said, adding that he’s gotten no calls about it from neighbors in the area.

The proposal generated so little discussion at a recent council meeting that Chairman Mike Ertel joked he couldn’t imagine anyone would object.

Ertel said he expected the bill to pass Monday night. “He framed it as helpful where the state highway was doing work,” Ertel said.

Councilmen also generally practice councilmanic courtesy, where they don’t interfere with local issues in their colleagues’ districts.

Whalen is a fixture in the council chambers. He’s testified against the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and in favor of building more affordable housing. He’s developing The Promenade, a 1.3 million-square-foot entertainment and restaurant district that was the subject of lengthy legal battles with neighbors. The council approved several zoning changes to allow the project to move forward.