Working to protect Gettysburg and its legacy

Buffer zone would keep casinos from most of Adams
Locals testified on state legislation to block casinos from historic sites.

The SugarHouse Casino opened in Philadelphia with two leggy showgirls posing next to a bespectacled Benjamin Franklin re-enactor.

The mix of gambling and history has proven a point of debate as the Pennsylvania gaming industry booms. The issue was raised again Wednesday as state lawmakers considered a bill to block casinos from opening near the Gettysburg battlefield and Flight 93 National Memorial.

"I think it's a real shame to see the father of our country pushing slots," John Lawrence, R-Kemblesville, said.

But a Gettysburg businessman argued that visitation to historic sites would increase with a casino nearby. [Studies and reality prove otherwise.]

"I think history and tourism and a casino work well together," Brendan Synnamon said.

Synnamon was among those to testify during a public hearing on plans to legislate a 10-mile buffer around Gettysburg National Military Park and the Flight 93 National Memorial outside Shanksville. If passed, the bill would exclude a casino from most of Adams County.

Opponents of the legislation include two Gettysburg business owners who saw the proposed bill as an infringement on local zoning laws.

"It is unconstitutional and an affront to our state laws to draw a line around our area and exclude a legal business," said Thomas Gilbert, a member of the Pro Casino Adams County group.

Lawmakers, though, said the precedent has already been set and local zoning was trumped when casinos opened in Philadelphia.

"No offense to the taxpayers of Adams County, but I think these men that shed their blood paid the ultimate tax bill," said Rep. Mike Fleck, R-Huntingdon County. "That trumps local control for me. We should not sacrifice our focus for the almighty dollar."

Officials from Preservation Pennsylvania and the Civil War Trust attended the hearing in support of the legislation. Vietnam War veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha said lawmakers have a responsibility to protect the legacy of the battlefield.

"There are things you don't get to do on certain pieces of land because they represent something far greater to others," said Bucha, who was asked by the Civil War Trust to testify in favor of the bill.

The legislation was introduced by Rep. Paul Clymer, R-Bucks County, but it has languished for more than a year. Renewed interest came after court documents indicated Gettysburg businessman David LeVan might want to pursue a new casino opportunity in Adams County.

In response, a coalition of preservation groups increased efforts to breathe new life into the bill. The National Trust for Historic Preservation worked to push the bill through the Legislature and Preservation Pennsylvania called on its members to write lawmakers to support the bill. Similarly, historians and the local group No Casino Gettysburg pushed for its passage.

But the Adams County commissioners and the local group Pro Casino Adams County have opposed the legislation. The commissioners argued state lawmakers were interfering in an Adams County issue.

And Pro Casino Adams County said a casino would bring jobs and boost the local economy.

Buffer bill has failed before

Similar legislation was first introduced in 2006 by then-state Rep. Stephen Maitland, R-Gettysburg.

At the time, LeVan was working to build a stand-alone casino in Straban Township, within a mile of the park's eastern boundary.

Three years later, state Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Chambersburg, proposed an amendment to establish a 12-mile buffer around the park but it was overwhelmingly defeated by a state Senate committee.

Alloway's amendment was borrowed from Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bucks County, who introduced a 15-mile buffer around the park to be attached to the 2009 table-games bill.

That was removed too.

Santarsiero, Alloway and Clymer all voted against legislation to allow table games in Pennsylvania casinos.

Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester County, chairs the Gaming Oversight Committee and he has questioned the wisdom of legislating buffers. He has said such laws would open a floodgate of buffers around schools and churches.

Schroder will determine when the bill will arise for a vote. He was absent at the hearing but Clymer was hopeful the law can be voted upon in March.

The latest version of the buffer bill was proposed after plans failed to establish the Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino less than a mile from the southern border of the Gettysburg battlefield.

That project failed last year to receive a license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Now, Mason-Dixon is appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court.





OTHER PA CASINOS NEAR HISTORIC SITES:



Opponents of legislation that would block casinos from opening near the Gettysburg battlefield and the Flight 93 National Memorial are pointing to the existence of other casinos near historic sites.

Last year, the SugarHouse Casino opened about two miles from Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

The Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh is about two miles from Point State Park across the Allegheny River. The park is scattered with monuments commemorating fighting during the French and Indian War.

And the Lady Luck Casino is scheduled to open at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, in Wharton Township, Fayette County. That casino will be located less than two miles from Fort Necessity National Battlefield, the site of the opening fighting of the French and Indian War in the summer of 1754.

Proponents of the buffer legislation argue that none of these sites carry the historical significance of the Gettysburg battlefield.

TO COMMENT ON THE BILL:

The House Gaming Oversight Committee is accepting public comments on legislation to block casinos from opening within 10 miles of the Gettysburg battlefield and Flight 93 National Memorial.

Comments should be sent to Rep. Curt Schroder at cschrode@pahousegop.com. The mailing address of Schroder's district office is 315 Gordon Drive, Exton, PA 19341.

Letters to his Harrisburg office should be sent to 41A East Wing, House Post Office Box 202155, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2155.