Dispute stalls private developer’s plans to build school in Maryland

From The Baltimore Sun: The fate of a proposed $23 million public school paid for by a private developer in western Anne Arundel County, Md., is at an impasse. County Councilman Jamie Benoit and developer Andrew P. Zois disagree about whether it is legal for the council to review the lease agreement between Zois' Polm Cos. and the Imagine Global Village Academy, which would operate the contract school. Polm has offered to build the school in exchange for zoning approval to construct a 1,000-home development called RiverWood. Benoit has demanded to see a copy of the lease agreement, arguing that the terms of the lease are essential to the school's success. But Zois says his lawyer has advised him against showing the council the lease agreement because it would amount to illegal spot-zoning.