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Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
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October 19, 2006
Local victory on
slots issue
Neighbors of Philadelphia's five proposed slot-machine parlors scored an unexpected political victory yesterday when Pennsylvania Senate leaders dropped efforts to override the city's zoning laws when it comes to casinos.
As the Senate was jousting with the House over changes to the state's 2004 law authorizing slot-machine gambling, State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D., Phila.), said he would give up his insistence that the state Gaming Control Board rather than the city rule the development of Philadelphia's two slots parlors. |
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Fumo said he had been concerned that a not-in-my-backyard mentality would lead to the abuse of local zoning laws to block the casinos.
"But because of strong community opposition, I am willing to try local control," Fumo said in a statement late yesterday. A spokesman for the majority Senate Republicans said GOP senators would likely support Fumo's position.
The neighborhood groups behind that opposition let out a collective, but cautious, cheer.
"If he does that, we won," said Marc Stier, a Mount Airy resident and member of the citywide activist group Neighborhood Networks. "I think we have convinced people that this is an issue of the city's control over its own destiny and that the future of the riverfront is something we should care about."
The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill Monday, when it plans to address all changes to the slots law the House passed on Tuesday.
That bill, which has circulated for nearly a year, now has Pittsburgh joining Philadelphia as the only municipalities in the state that would not have final say on casino development plans.
The 2004 slots law eliminated local zoning control in relation to casinos for any municipality in which a casino was proposed.
The state Supreme Court struck down that provision of the law, so currently all cities and townships, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, would regulate casino development, such as building density, traffic, and storm water.
In a bill first passed in March, the House introduced a clause eliminating zoning control only for Philadelphia; that part of the House bill was approved in the Senate last month.
Stier led a charge, coordinated by the Philadelphia watchdog Web site Hallwatch.org, that flooded Philadelphia state lawmakers with faxed protests over the legislature's bid to remove the city's local control.
State Reps. William Keller (D., Phila.) and John Taylor (R., Phila.) originally voted for preemption of the city's zoning laws, and had conceded the point as a necessary step in allowing casino development to proceed.
But yesterday, both said they would support Fumo's concession and expected House Democrats and Republicans to do the same.
At the same time, however, they would not guarantee passage of a bill if the Senate included objectionable changes on other issues.
That could be a victory for neighbors as well, because it would likely cause the bill to die until next year. That would leave current law, and the city, in control.
John Dougherty, a longtime Fumo rival, and potential mayoral candidate and leader of the Pennsport Civic Association in South Philadelphia, was in no mood to give Fumo credit. "The senator's amendment wasn't about good government; it was a white flag," he said last night.
Fumo said he would not tolerate obstructionism in the city zoning process, and said the Senate bill would include an amendment to expedite the city's notoriously tricky zoning appeals process by sending all casino appeals directly to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
"I will be watching very closely," Fumo said, "and will ask the legislature to revisit the issue, however, if local zoning procedures become simply a tool for delaying or preventing the building of casinos."
Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 610-313-8173 or jshields@phillynews.com. |
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Copyright (c) 2006 The Philadelphia Inquirer |
