Reston Casino: Alcorn Seeks Answers On Authorization Process

RESTON, VA — Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn shared a letter with the other members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors that he sent to County Executive Bryan Hill asking several questions about the process it would take to authorize a casino in the county.

"There's a lot of chatter in Hunter Mill right now about a possible casino, and certainly there have been a couple of bills in the General Assembly," Alcorn said, during Tuesday's board meeting. "So, I don't think we know for sure that there's going to be legislation next year. But certainly if there is, I thought it would be helpful for us to have more information about the process."

After thanking Alcorn on behalf of the board for the letter, Chairman Jeff McKay said the only thing he knew about the casino proposal was that there wasn't a proposal.

"I keep getting asked all the time, 'Where's it going to be? Who's going to do it? When are you going to vote on it?'" he said. "There is no proposal on the table. There's absolutely nothing that's been proposed."

McKay acknowledged there had been discussion about the Virginia General Assembly potentially putting a casino bill forward.

"And obviously our legislative committee will be tracking that so that we can make sure we comment on that, should that actually happen," he said. "Just to reassure folks of where we are in the process, there is no proposal. There is no bill that anyone has seen. If there is a bill, that will absolutely be discussed at our legislative committee if there is a bill in Richmond."

On Sept. 25, Patch reported that Comstock Companies wanted to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. Alcorn told Patch then that Comstock had not come to him about its casino plans.

"I oppose putting a casino on the Silver Line and Comstock should be aware of my position on that, it has not changed since I first became aware of casino interest in the Dulles corridor late last year," he said. "The land around these stations is already valuable for so many other socially beneficial uses, and plopping a casino into these emerging transit oriented development communities during their formative years is a bad idea.”

The possibility of a casino being built along Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County first came to light during the final days before the end of the first half of the 2023 Virginia General Assembly session, when similar bills were introduced by Sen. David Marsden (D-Burke) and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart).

Related:

• Reston Casino Developer Creates New $244K Political Action Committee
• Reston Developer's Casino Plan Target Of Online Petition
• Casino: Reston Station Fundraiser To Feature Warner As Special Guest
• 14 Comstock Employees Gave $29K To VA Delegate Who Backed Casino Bill

Read all of Patch's reporting on the proposed casino at the Weihle-Reston East Station at Silver Line Casino.

In addition, Marsden's re-election committee received a $10,000 donation from Comstock Development Services LC on June 22, which was two days after the 2023 Democratic Party primary, according to VPAP.

On Sept. 22, Comstock formed the Building a Remarkable Virginia Political Action Committee “to elect candidates committed to building a better Commonwealth,” according to state financial filing records.

Between Oct. 5 and Oct. 18, eight Comstock employees ($49,500), 13 Comstock entities ($80,000), and 12 vendors ($115,000), primarily from the building and construction industry, donated a total of $244,500 to the PAC, according to state financial records.

Further reporting revealed that 14 Comstock employees had donated $29,525 to Williams re-election campaign, according to campaign finance filings reported by the Virginia Public Access Project.

Marsden told Patch in September that he would likely re-introduce his casino bill in the next legislative session if he is re-elected in November.

The following is the full text of the letter that Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill) sent to Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill:

Bryan,

As we have discussed and as has been reported in local media, I am very much opposed to the gambling casino proposed in SB 1543 and HB 2499. During the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion on this topic in the community and there are several areas where further information about the process for casino authorization would be helpful to me, and probably my colleagues and the general public, prior to commencement of the 2024 General Assembly session.

Please confirm or provide information on the following:

• Please verify whether all 5 local jurisdictions in Virginia where state law currently authorizes a casino (Danville, Bristol, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Richmond) formally or informally requested that the General Assembly authorize a casino in their jurisdiction, and how that request was made.
• Under Virginia law, what is considered to be a casino, versus, for example, a location or event that has electronic gaming machines?
• What process would the Board of Supervisors use to “select a preferred casino gaming operator” as called for in the state law authorizing casino gambling? What would be the timing of such a selection process as it relates to authorization by the General Assembly and a countywide referendum?
• If a bill such as the ones noted above were ultimately passed and signed by the Governor, would the required countywide referendum be legally required to specify the casino location or could multiple potential locations be authorized in the referendum?
• Does the county’s current zoning ordinance include a casino use, or would it need to be amended?
• Would the location of a casino need to specified in an area plan of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan?

Thank you for providing information on these casino-specific processes. I continue to think this is a bad idea. Please share the answers to these questions with the entire Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Alcorn