Planning Board Postpones Recommendation on Slots Parlor Zoning Changes

Planning Board voted 3-2 Monday to postpone making a recommendation on the proposed zoning amendment that would accommodate a slots-only casino at 300 Ames Pond Drive. 

The board will deliver their recommendation on the zoning amendment at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 at Tewksbury Memorial High School, before special Town Meeting.

This will allow board members to receive more information from Penn National Gaming regarding the impact of the project on Tewksbury before they issue a recommendation on the special Town Meeting warrant article.

Planning Board will receive additional information from Penn National Gaming regarding the proposed slots-only casino by Thursday, Aug. 15 and take the weekend to review before making a recommendation next Tuesday. 

The special Town Meeting warrant article establishes the Ames Pond overlay district, to be superimposed on properties adjacent to Ames Pond in the existing Office Research District.

In the overlay district, category 2 gaming establishments (slots parlors) will be allowed as presently defined by Massachusetts General Law upon the issuance of a special permit from Planning Board.

You can read more about the proposed zoning bylaw amendment here.

You can read the special Town Meeting warrant article here. 

Planning Board Vice Chair David Plunkett said he was expecting information regarding the impact the proposed slots-only casino would have on traffic, tax revenue and property values in town to be presented by Penn National Gaming on Monday.

"I was expecting a presentation," Plunkett said. "I'm hearing some questions tonight I would like information on. Granted this isn't the application process, but there is supposed to be a defined project in mind."

Plunkett also said he would like to know if the absence of a hotel at the proposed slots-only casino at 300 Ames Pond Drive would affect the tax revenue projections outlined in the host community agreement with Tewksbury.

Alex Stolyar, Vice President of Corporate Development for Penn National, said the decision not to include a hotel at the proposed Merrimack Valley Casino would not affect the company's revenue projections.

"The numbers never changed because the numbers never included a hotel," Stolyar said.

Stolyar said the decision to exclude a hotel from the proposed 300 Ames Pond Drive facility was made so the facility would not take away from occupancy rates at other local hotels.

Stolyar said a traffic impact study was underway, and that peak traffic times for Penn's locations are Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.

"If our customers can't easily access our facility, we've lost," Stolyar said. "Our goal is not to have traffic be as good as it is today, but be better than it is today."

Planning Board Clerk Nancy Reed and member Robert Fowler voted against scheduling a meeting on Aug. 20 before special Town Meeting.

Reed said she felt that there was not enough time before special Town Meeting to gather and review the information necessary from Penn National to recommend approval on the proposed zoning bylaw amendment. 

"There isn't enough time to get the information, and no time to have research done on our own behalf," Reed said. "It troubles me we're not getting this information. It's an indicator to me we don't have to have the information. We're supposed to just go for it because people say it's a good thing."

Planning Board member Stephen Johnson said he wasn't expecting to receive the results of a traffic impact study or revenue projections at Monday night's meeting, just to vote on whether the zoning changes were ready to be presented at special Town Meeting. 

"I thought I was coming to vote tonight on whether this was a solid zoning change," Johnson said. "That was what I thought we were working on, and what we worked on for two working sessions on. I didn't expect to be presented a traffic study or revenue numbers that no one else has seen yet."

Planning Board Chair Vincent Spada said he felt it is important the board review as much information as possible on the proposed development before making a recommendation for special Town Meeting. 

"Time and again I've seen over the years where we've recommended a zoning article [at Town Meeting] and it gets approved with no discussion," Spada said. "I think we've developed some trust and real credibility with this community."

During the public hearing, several residents stepped up to the microphone to voice their concerns regarding the proposed Merrimack Valley Casino. 

Bruce Panilaitis, a resident of Foster Road, said he was concerned the traffic impact study was being rushed and that it would not be representative of the Ames Pond area when school is in session.

"I'd like to understand why we're going to accept the study when it's not going to be indicative of the majority of the year," Panilaitis said. "We're pushing this project through without any information on traffic impact."

Selectmen Chair Scott Wilson said he shared the concerns of residents regarding the impact the proposed slots-only casino would have on traffic, but felt confident the roads in the area would be in better shape following the mitigation Penn National Gaming would be required to pay for. 

"I share your concern about traffic," Wilson said. "The Board Of Selectmen brought this issue forward knowing that there would be traffic studies be done."

Jean Olsen, a resident of Overlook Drive, said her bedroom window overlooks the site for the proposed slots-only casino, but that her main concern with the proposal is the effect it would have on the character of the town.

"When I look across to where this building and site is, it's going to be right across from my bedroom window," Olsen said. "It affects not just my house and myself but many other residents in the area. The addition of a casino, slots or otherwise, changes the character of the neighborhood."