Arundel slots casino site wins county approval 

Posted: 8:45 pm Mon, December 21, 2009
By Nicholas Sohr
Daily Record Business Writer

ANNAPOLIS — After months of delays, the state’s largest proposed casino won critical local approval Monday night, finding the last assenting voice in an unlikely corner of the Anne Arundel County Council.

Council, however, also approved a competing zoning measure at their standing-room-only meeting, effectively leaving the decision in the hands of County Executive John R. Leopold.

Leopold could not be reached for comment, but has been a vocal supporter of the plan submitted by the Cordish Cos. for a 4,750-machine casino next to Arundel Mills Mall. He could veto either bill, leaving in place the one that mirrors the state constitutional amendment approved by voters last year, or the competing measure that limits the county’s single gaming facility to sites south of Route 32, eliminating Arundel Mills.

“I think the administration has been consistent in the past nine or 10 months that they would implement the constitutional amendment,” said Joseph Weinberg, Cordish president and principal. “I continue to be optimistic that we’ll end up with a bill that provides zoning at Arundel Mills.”

First on the agenda Monday night was bill 81-09, which Cordish opponents introduced to keep slots away from the mall in favor of the Laurel Park horse racetrack. The bill passed 4-2, with ardent Arundel Mills supporter Councilman Ronald C. Dillon Jr. casting a surprise vote in favor, citing the need for the revenue boon slots would bring

The pro-Cordish bill, 82-09, came next, with Councilman James Benoit providing the surprise. Benoit has, and remains, an opponent of legalized gaming as a revenue stream, but voted in favor of allowing the casino at Arundel Mills.

Benoit called his vote “a statesman-like decision” to avoid the “fundamentally bad public policy” of bill 81-09.

“It violates every sense of fair play and decency businesses expect from their government,” he said.

Benoit’s vote and 4-2 final tally were met with smiles and groans from the pro- and anti-slots groups that packed council chambers and another room down the hall linked to the proceedings with a closed-circuit television.

“When one (casino) opens, I hope none of you attend,” Benoit said.

Cordish’s plan calls for a 200,000-square-foot casino with 4,750 slot machines, restaurants and a live entertainment venue to be built outside the west entrance of the mall. The casino would create 2,500 construction jobs, employ about 1,500 in permanent positions and pay $337.4 million in taxes to the state and county, according to an analysis of the plan conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

After the meeting, Councilwoman Cathleen M. Vitale said she would continue her opposition to the Cordish plan outside of the council chambers. The project still needs a host of permits and approvals from groups like the State Highway Administration.

“I intend to stay on the state agencies to protect the community” around Arundel Mills,” Vitale said.

Council’s action Monday night came ten months after Cordish emerged as the only viable developer interested in the Anne Arundel County gaming license.

The Laurel Racing Association submitted a bid for the license, but the commission threw it out because neither Laurel nor its parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp., submitted a required $28.5 million application fee. The company has been fighting the commission’s deision in court, and challenging the portion of state law upon which the rejection was based. Magna filed for bankruptcy on March 5 and its properties, including the Laurel track, are scheduled to be auctioned in January.

Council saw the first gaming-related zoning bill introduced March 3, and, in the months following, postponed a series of hearings, withdrew and introduced new bills, all while waiting for the state slots commission to blink first.

The referendum passed by Maryland voters in 2008 requires the five gaming sites around the state comply with local zoning laws. Council and the commission each wanted the other to act first on the Cordish proposal. The Video Lottery Location Commission eventually did, granting a conditional license to Cordish on Dec. 7.

That same night, council had scheduled a hearing on the proposed zoning changes. Ninety-nine people signed up to testify, and during a five-hour meeting, outlined both the intense local pushback to the plan and the support it has as the county, state and private sector struggle through challenging economic times.

While would-be neighbors argued they assumed slot machines were headed for Laurel Park — the law only requires the Anne Arundel casino be within two miles of Route 295, meaning the track and the mall both qualify — horsemen and racing officials issued dire warnings to council, forecasting doom for their industry.

Supporters of the Arundel Mills proposal questioned the push for slots at Laurel Park, holding up the mall site as the only viable option on the table.

With 15 minutes to spare before the meeting’s midnight deadline, council decided to postpone a vote until Monday, when their numbers would be restored. Councilman Joshua J. Cohen was sworn in as mayor of Annapolis earlier in the day, Councilwoman Tricia L. Johnson missed the meeting due to a medical emergency and Chairman C. Edward Middlebrooks had previously recused himself, citing unspecified business connections — he was later cleared to participate by the county ethics board, but still chose to withdraw from the debate on Monday night.

The absences left council with only four active members and both bills facing certain defeat if put to a vote that night.