As a key deadline nears, an organization against Las Vegas-style gambling in Saratoga Springs is urging the City Council to assert its authority to pursue more involvement in a planned expansion at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway.
Much of the recent controversy related to gambling in Saratoga Springs has focused on the proposed expansion of the Racino, which is still on the table even though a Vegas-style casino plan is not, and how much oversight the city will have in the process.
The question is related to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, process. The question of whether the city should pursue lead agency status in the Racino’s $30 million expansion, which includes a hotel and event space, has been debated among constituents and the council members themselves.
With a deadline Saturday, this week, the group SAVE Saratoga sent a letter to the city saying that based on the group’s own legal counsel, the city should pursue lead agency status.
SAVE Saratoga spokeswoman Sara Boivin.
“The legal counsel that we were given is that the city is an involved agency, and therefore should ask for lead; that there is nothing saying that they are not involved,” said Boivin.
The city has until June 14th to respond to a letter from the State Gaming Commission, which asked interested and involved agencies for their concerns.
In its SEQRA application, Saratoga Casino and Raceway said it believed the city to be an interested agency, a classification that does not carry the discretionary approval an involved agency would have.
In the last of a series of public meetings held this month, city land-use attorney Mark Schachner continued to assert that he does not believe the city has the ability to pursue lead agency status. The city lost a case on a similar matter just a few short years ago. Attorney Mark Schachner.
“There’s relevant history here, the city sought lead agency status on an earlier version of a related projected in 2006. That caused what’s called a lead agency dispute. The lead agency dispute was resolved against the city back in 2006, and I have no reason to believe that it would be resolved otherwise now.”
On Wednesday, the Saratoga Casino and Raceway appeared before the city planning board and said it believes it could accommodate suggestions to the expansion plan in a report submitted by hired consultants the Chazen Companies.
Saratoga Springs mayor Joanne Yepsen commended the level of cooperation the city has had with the Racino regarding the new expansion project.
“They’ve been nothing but cooperative. Even though they are under state jurisdiction, not local jurisdiction, I feel very good about our working relationship and what we’ve accomplished with the Saratoga Casino and Raceway thus far,” said Yepsen.
Yepsen said she’s confident the city and Racino can work together toward an agreeable end result, but…
“We also are going to make it clear that we’re disappointed in the fact that we were relegated to an interested agency from an involved agency status,” said Yepsen.
Yepsen said the city Friday will send return a letter to the State Gaming Commission that includes input from consultants, the city planning board, and constituent concerns gathered during the public meetings held this month. She said the city will not pursue lead agency, or take outside advice.
“I know there’s other attorneys out there, but we did not hire them. We hired Mark Schachner and we’re spending plenty of money to get his legal opinion and advice, and we’re following it,” said Yepsen. “We’re not interested in entering into a very costly legal action.”
The mayor said she expects the Racino’s revised plans to arrive at a later date closer to groundbreaking.
