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Casino Neighbors: "Street/Rendell Go to Hell"
By Ed Goppelt
Tuesday, 12/04/07
(1196749341457)
Angered by a pair of decisions that greenlight one casino for construction and advance the chances of the other, residents protested at the site of the Foxwoods Casino in South
Philadelphia late yesterday evening. Braving the bitter cold, about 75 Philadelphians chanted "Street/Rendell go to Hell", "lame duck deal" and "the people say no" to TV cameras.
At issue were two decisions which came to light late yesterday afternoon, one by the state Supreme Court, the other by the City of Philadelphia.
SugarHouse Casino got an early Christmas present from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday when the Court bypassed City Council and granted SugarHouse the building permits it needs to begin construction on its casino. SugarHouse had tried and failed to get the necessary permission from City Council.
In particular the Court rezoned the SugarHouse parcel as a casino district, approved SugarHouse's plan of development, and authorized the striking of certain defunct streets from the SugarHouse property. Read the opinion.
The Inquirer reported today that SugarHouse is mere weeks away from construction while the Daily News reported that the casino could receive its permits from the City as early as today. One regulatory permission the casino does not currently have and was not given by the Court are its so-called Act 537/state DEP approvals. These permits concern the casinos sewage and storm water management plans. Ultimately they are governed by federal law perhaps explaining the reluctance of the state Supreme Court to order their issuance.
The other bombshell yesterday was Foxwoods Casino's announcement that it had inked a deal with the City. The so-called "Development Agreement" calls for Foxwoods to pay various taxes and to fund a new sewer line. In exchange the City agreed to a "streamlined development process." In addition the City "agreed on a good faith basis to assist Foxwoods in obtaining all necessary permits and approvals for the Project."
Yesterday's rally recalled the equally cold night of December 20, 2006 when residents protested the Gaming Board's decision to award licenses to SugarHouse and Foxwoods.