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On Monday the Senate will vote on a new set of changes to Senate Bill 862, including a provision which will restore zoning and regulatory power over the casinos to the City. However, even though a vote is just 3 days off, the Senate has yet to make public the actual amendment that the Senators will pass on Monday.
We need to see that amendment.
Would you buy a house based solely on the assurances of the seller? Wouldn't you want to at least see the contract? Have tests done? Inspect the property? Same thing here.
The legal language protecting our rights is complicated, important stuff. We need to verify for ourselves that this amendment does what the Senator says it does. We can't just take Sen. Fumo's word for it.
Even a smart and energetic public servant like Sen. Fumo makes mistakes. There may be things he and his staff didn't think of. There may be changes unrelated to zoning that will hurt residents. We must see the amendment.
Senator Fumo announced on Wednesday that he had a change of heart. A press release on his web site informed residents that "the Senate has removed all local zoning preemption." We were told that the Senator "would drop his insistence on state preemption of zoning due to strong community opposition."
This is good news. At least among his fellow politicians, the Senator has a reputation for keeping his word no matter what.
But we must see the amendment.
Bottom line: Residents must be provided with a copy of the amendment and have the weekend to digest what it means. If the amendment still isn't ready to be released to the public by the end of today, it's not ready for the Senate to vote on on Monday.
Please write Senator Fumo and the other leaders in the Senate and tell them we must see the amendment.
Ed Goppelt, Faxbank Manager
webmaster@hallwatch.org
