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A public meeting next week on casino plans is not meant to be a forum for debate on whether or not there should be a casino.
This town-wide meeting has been called in order for West Warwick residents to give input on zoning protections they feel are necessary should a Harrah's casino be constructed in the business park. It will be run on the assumption that the casino is being built.
According to West Warwick Town Manager Wolfgang Bauer, the public meeting, which will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. next Thursday, Aug. 17, in the Deering Middle School cafeteria, is being held to solicit input regarding zoning issues and zoning issues alone.
"This is not a [complaint] fest about the casino. This is not an 'I don't want this in my backyard' kind of thing. This is assuming it's going to happen, and we'll be looking at what the zoning ought to be like to try and mitigate the [zoning issues] impact and to make sure it's well planned and well zoned," he said.
"Anyone who wants to attend that meeting, particularly people from that neighborhood, it will give them an opportunity to present their concerns first hand on neighborhood-type issues," said West Warwick Town Council President John J. Flynn (Ward 2).
"They can express it themselves what their concerns might be based upon the street they live on or the neighborhood they live in and there is no middle person. They can directly tell the person here is my concern, here is my question, and then get an answer," he said.
"I think it will be good particularly for people from that area," said Flynn.
For those who oppose the casino completely, Flynn emphasized that this meeting is for "if the casino is built" what are the concerns.
"Obviously, we want public input on the planning," said Council Vice President Edward Giroux (Ward 3).
What's unique about this project, according to Giroux, is that, compared to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the town, through zoning and planning and the town council, has complete control over the zoning of the property, which is a good thing for the town.
"We really have almost double enforcement, not only in zoning but in the host agreement itself," he said.
"They're actually going to go over basically everything that my fellow councilmen and I have been discussing for almost two years on the quality of life, especially for that area, the people that are so close to it and will be impacted by it," Giroux said of plans for the meeting.
Attendees will be able to find out what's being done already, Giroux indicated, and give their input on their particular concerns as well as possibly bringing up issues that have not yet been considered.
"This is a public meeting so just about anything is on the table," he said, while noting that this is not a forum to debate the merits of the casino itself.
Bauer said that the meeting would be moderated by Larissa Brown, who is Chief Planner at Goody, Clancy & Associates. The firm was hired two years ago, according to Bauer, in order to assist the town with its zoning issues from a technical standpoint, and has been working in conjunction with a lawyer that the town has retained to deal with specific zoning issues.
"They are very skilled at this, and do this all the time for controversial kinds of things," said Bauer.
Bauer indicated that it was planned for residents to have speaking time to address zoning issues, and that, while he was unsure what the exact format of the meeting would be, the public would have a chance to voice its zoning concerns. One possibility brought up for discussion, according to Bauer, was splitting up into smaller "round-table" groups within which people could address particular types of concerns.
Clare Eckert of Rhode Islanders for Jobs and Tax Relief confirmed that a representative from Harrah's would be at the public meeting on zoning issues.
"A representative will be there as a resource for folks," Eckert said. Harrah's will not be presenting but will be there as a resource for Goody, Clancy and Associates, she said.
Councilman Peter F. Calci Jr. (Ward 5) said that he felt as though the planned public meeting and its moderator were "troubling."
According to Calci, e-mails he received from Brown discussing the proposed structure of the meeting contained language that he felt was "embarrassing" and "somewhat insulting." Calci then read from the e-mails, stating that Brown wrote that, were Harrah's representatives unable to attend the meeting to offer particulars of the building and zoning issues from their end, that she felt as though she should have "some clue" in order to "make [the meeting] work."
"So, she wants to have a clue. Well, I've got a couple of clues for her - and those clues are for her to do a little bit more homework regarding her preparation for this," said Calci.
"I understand that these meetings are beneficial and that she has a job to do. What I've told Brown and Bauer is that they have no idea of the controversy that this is," said Calci.
Calci indicated that he has personally hosted a similar meeting for Ward 5 residents in regard to a Herb Chambers dealership and that he was planning another such meeting in regard to the water resort proposed for the industrial park.
"The analogy that I drew to these types of meetings is that they are molehills and the other issue is Mount Casino," said Calci. "The type of controversy, the type of issue and passion [in these cases] are molehills compared to what we are talking about for the casino.
"I agree that [Brown] has a job to do, and I agree that she's going to do whatever job that she's been directed to do. And I would say that whatever consequence that comes out of this meeting is inconsequential to her personally. And whatever consequence comes out of this meeting is inconsequential to our town manager," Calci concluded.
The town has been in negotiations with Harrah's, the partner of the Narragansett Indians on this proposed venture, in order to try and compose a host agreement pact. According to the meeting notification, issues already "planned for inclusion in new zoning language" include a sound barrier and security wall; restricting casino access to I-95 with the exception of emergency access; lighting restrictions on the north side of the development; loading, service and trash pickup limits; no outdoor public address system, paging or music; no diesel vehicles to be owned by the casino; limits on idling time by vehicles visiting the site; restricting casino development beyond the Business Park zone; and a "hold-harmless clause."
According to prior statements from Calci, the hold-harmless clause would allow for protection of property owners who live in the residential neighborhood surrounding the casino, and will assure that they are compensated for any loss to property value as a result of the proximity to the casino. |
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