What's at stake in the Anne Arundel slots vote - Bizjournals.com

What's at stake in the Anne Arundel slots vote - Bizjournals.com

Monday, 01 November 2010 14:02 administrator

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Anne Arundel County voters will be asked to decide Tuesday whether to let Baltimore developer Cordish Cos.

build a casino at the Arundel Mills shopping mall, a project that is being opposed by a group that wants a casino at Laurel Park race track instead. Both Cordish and representatives from No Slots at the Mall, which wants slots to be built at Laurel Park instead, claim their site is the better of the two locations. In advertising campaigns, they each claim they could start building a casino much quicker than the other. But how soon can voters expect to start gambling in the county? Here’s a look at the potential outcomes: • If voters approve the so-called Question A, Cordish Cos. would get to keep the zoning it needs to build a 4,750-machine parlor at Arundel Mills. County Planning Director Lawrence R. Tom said the developer could get the approvals it needs to start building by as early as January; • If voters reject Question A, that would prevent a casino from being built anywhere in Anne Arundel County by stripping the county of zoning allowing a casino to be built anywhere in its borders. “That puts us back to square one, there is no zoning for any property in Anne Arundel County,” said Donald C. Fry, chair of the Maryland Video Lottery Terminal Location Commission charged with awarding slot machine licenses. In that case, Fry said the following would need to happen for a new site to emerge for slot machine gaming: • Anne Arundel County Council would need to pass a new zoning bill establishing where a casino could be built in the county; • Fry’s commission would then wait until the window to appeal that zoning bill has expired; • If a challenge is successful, voters would need to wait until 2012 to vote to approve or reject that bill; • If that zoning is not challenged, Fry’s commission would then move to seek new bids from developers, potentially to include bids from Cordish and from the Maryland Jockey Club , which wants to build slots at Laurel Park instead; • It could take about a year for Fry’s commission to study proposals, complete a background check on potential developers and award slot machine licenses to a new developer; • The county planning department would then need about a year to review and approve plans for that casino, delaying construction until 2012 or later. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (410) 454-0515.
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