The plan for Philadelphia's second casino does not meet
zoning requirements because it lacks enough open space. Its proposed digital
signs also exceed limits, a city planning commission official said Tuesday.
That means the $500 million project in South Philadelphia
requires two significant changes to the underlying zoning code, Martin
Gregorski, director of the planning commission's development division, told
commissioners during a presentation on Live! Hotel & Casino Philadelphia.
"They don't have the open space that is required -
although they are having a two-acre-plus green roof on top of the building that
officially does not count for its open space," Gregorski said.
The meeting marked the beginning of public efforts by
Stadium Casino L.L.C., a partnership of Cordish Cos., of Baltimore, and
Greenwood Racing Inc., owner of Parx Casino, in Bensalem, to win local
approvals for their proposal.
Until now, efforts to start building have been stalled by
an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of the license award. Filings in
the appeal were completed last week, which means the justices can either
schedule oral arguments or make a decision based on the briefs.
Assuming that the license stands, the partners in Live!
Hotel & Casino Philadelphia still need to have a special zoning ordinance
passed by City Council and to obtain Planning Commission approval of their
master plan for the site at 900 Packer Ave.
The purpose of Tuesday's presentation, which went into
great detail on the layout of the casino, was to introduce the casino plan, not
seek approval. That will come later.
Members of the planning commission, including Nancy Rogo
Trainer, Drexel University's associate vice president of planning, wanted to
hear more about how the project fits into the Stadium District.
"Think about the pedestrian experience between
Citizens Bank Park and Live!" Trainer urged the partners, who were
represented by Greenwood Gaming chief executive Anthony Ricci and Zed Smith,
Cordish's chief operating officer.
Richard W. Hayden, a Saul Ewing lawyer representing
Live!, said the partners had reached deals to win support from three
neighborhood groups. Live! promised to spend $175,000 a year on community
projects even before the casino was built.
The annual support will then increase to $500,000 in the
first year of operation, Hayden said, before going to $750,000 in the second.
Then it will increase based on an index.
Local representatives of the National Action Network, a
civil rights group, appeared at the planning meeting, urging the commissioners
not to act on the Live! casino proposal until allegations of racist practices
by Cordish Cos. at sites in Kansas City, Mo., and Lexington, Ky., are resolved.
The Black Clergy of Philadelphia & Vicinity last
month published the result of an investigation that found no evidence of racism
in the Cordish Cos.
Source: Philly.com
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