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The Pennsylvania State Senate voted 50-0 to pass an amendment to Act 71 that provides for the unelected Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) in Harrisburg to preside over all zoning and inspection issues for the two casinos the law mandates must be located in Philadelphia. What does this mean for Philadelphia? In addition to the city losing the right to enforce city zoning and safety codes, this amendment also includes language that gives the PGCB pre-emption rights not only over properties where casinos will be sited, but also to property "adjoining, including connection by a pedestrian walkway, bridge or easement, to the land-based location of the licensed facility", which means that the PGCB can legally grab the entire riverfront, piece by adjacent piece, if it so desires. Other bad news for the city include provisions that allow for an increase in the allowable casino floor area, so sites with a 400,000 sq. ft. footprint could build in, by building up, 4.8 million sq. ft. of floor space, and a reduction of the parking spots required at each site, which will place the additional burden on the city. Casinos will be allowed to hook up to city utilities without being charged a fee and will be given riparian rights to the riverfront by the state.
This amendment, SB 862, was the brain-child of State Senator Vincent Fumo. Governor Rendell expressed his wishes that zoning authority be taken away from the city over the summer, and has only deplored that the amendment didn't apply to all Pennsylvania cities. That's right, just Philadelphia. It's likely that Mayor Street and the City Council will sue the state over this issue. The city's elected officials have up until now been silent in the face of growing citizen outrage over the issue of casinos. Act 71 was passed late at night, without a public debate, tacked on at the last minute to legislation being considered just before the July 4th recess in 2004. Write your elected officials, including Senator Fumo and Governor Rendell at http://www.hallwatch.org/faxbank/fumozoning. |
