Casino towns face zoning obstacles

Casino towns face zoning obstacles
By Michael Morton/Daily News staff
MetroWest Daily News

Any city and town targeted to host a potential casino in the state would first have to change its zoning, a local lawmaker said yesterday, Friday leaving a developer eyeing Milford with the same hurdle as his counterpart in Foxborough.

The Foxborough proposal has dominated headlines recently, with mogul Steve Wynn looking to lease land from Patriots’ owner and influential businessman Robert Kraft. But the town’s Planning Board recently turned down a needed zoning change, telling Wynn to return with more specifics about his $1 billion plan.

Given that there’s only one casino license available for the region in which both towns sit, the Foxborough hurdle may have cheered supporters of a proposed Milford casino and worried opponents.

But Democratic Rep. John Fernandes of Milford, an attorney with zoning experience, said no municipality has an existing category allowing casinos and would need to create one.

That would require a two-thirds vote at Town Meeting, part of what Fernandes called a three-legged approval “stool” before any casino goes forward: the zoning change, a referendum with a simple majority vote and a negotiated deal with town leaders.

“Nobody’s going to push this through the community if they don’t want it,” he said.

The developer interested in Milford, David Nunes, wants to build a $700 million, 300-square-foot casino at the junction of Rte. 16 and Interstate 495.

The project is hailed by some for its potential job creation and tax boost but eyed warily by some in neighboring Holliston and Hopkinton.

In the casino legislation signed by Gov. Deval Patrick, “surrounding” communities are singled out for mitigation aid, although the designation is not specifically defined.

Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, said nearby towns will have to push for their inclusion, to be determined by a five-member gambling commission that Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley and Treasurer Steve Grossman will name.

“Nothing is a given,” Dykema said. “It’s based on likely impacts a community would face.”

Once an application is formally submitted and a community is named as a neighbor, the bill calls for studies to identify needed mitigation and costs before town negotiations begin with the developer.

But it doesn’t appear a surrounding town would be able to block a project, Fernandes said, even though the final bill did not include his proposed mandate for the commission to break any stalemate.

Fernandes also expressed confidence in the legislation and the plan for establishing the independent commission. Lawmakers will not be able to lobby the commission as it writes its regulations and makes it decisions, he said.

“We have no role at this point,” Fernandes said, other than additional legislation if problems arise. “And it’s appropriate we have no role.”