The city council in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada recently voted 8-3 to rezone a property on Crawford Drive at the Parkway for the new Shorelines Casino Peterborough. Chuck Keeling, spokesman for Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, said the company “sincerely believes” the city won’t regret rezoning the property, and that the casino, which is expected to open in 2017, “won’t be a socio-economic boogeyman on the town.”
Several people attending the council meeting had hoped for a different casino site, even though Keeling emphasized GCGC only was interested in the Crawford location. “Our only intention is to proceed with this particular site,” he said.
Cavan Monaghan Township Mayor Scott McFadden said in 2013 the township council asked the city council to negotiate a deal to keep the new casino at Kawartha Downs. He said the township would have shared casino revenue with the city. The city council said it was interested but then unexpectedly announced it wanted the casino located at Crawford and the Parkway.
Several city councilors took issue with McFadden’s comments. Councilor Keith Riel said the city made five offers to the township, and all were turned down.
Downtown Business Improvement Area Chairman Dave Madill noted the city staff report recommending the rezoning was released May 6, given preliminary approval on May 9 and approved May 16. “This has been a rush job, given the timeline council has given us to deal with this,” he said. He also promoted a downtown location, noting research indicated 10 percent of downtown casino patrons dine at a downtown restaurant. “That’s thousands of people you won’t get at Crawford and The Parkway,” Madill said.
Councilor Andrew Beamer said ask community leaders in cities that have had a casino for awhile. “It’s not the social calamity they’d feared. Overall, it’s positive,” he said.
