If a developer were to submit a plan to build a casino in East Windsor, the idea would be put to a referendum vote, and if residents approved it, town officials said they were prepared to act quickly.
First Selectwoman Denise Menard said that everyone in town was talking about the possibility of a casino, and residents had a wide range of opinions, both for and against it.
People have been “calling me, emailing me, stopping me at the grocery store, the hair dresser. I was at an event last night … and got stopped probably 20 times and there were 55 people there. It is definitely on a lot of people’s minds,” Menard said Friday.
The board of selectmen unanimously approved a motion Tuesday saying that the town would hold a referendum on whether to allow a casino.
“We need to give the voters a very clear picture of what they’re voting on,” Menard said. “So it would have to be in reaction to some kind of proposal to some entity that’s putting in a casino. … They have to have a pretty concrete plan.”
The town had no such proposal as of Friday, according to Menard and Town Planner Laurie Whitten.
But they’re preparing for one. Legislators have often mentioned the large, vacant buildings along I-91 in East Windsor when they talk about a possible site for a new casino north of Hartford.
“We try very hard to work with developers to have things done in as quick a time frame as possible, absolutely making sure that [we] thoroughly go through everything,” Menard said.
For example, she said, plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in town were approved in one night.
Whitten said that a casino would probably be allowed in the town’s commercial-recreation zoning that currently applies to much of the property between Exits 44 and 45, although it could require a special-use permit.
However, there is an overlaying zoning designation on a stretch of land along the eastern side of I-91 north of Exit 44, called a Highway Interchange Floating Zone, which allows development that could include a casino.
“That actually allows a lot more flexible development patterns within that I-91 corridor,” Whitten said of the zoning overlay. “So it allows for waivers and modifications of the underlying regulations. The whole point of it is to encourage economic development.”
The former La Renaissance banquet hall parcel at Exit 44, and some small sites around it, already have the zoning overlay. The zoning overlay could be expanded to include larger parcels near Exit 45, especially the 26.6-acre site of a former Showcase Cinemas and an adjacent 15-acre site of a former Wal-Mart, which was replaced in 2013 by the nearby Wal-Mart Supercenter.
“I think we’re probably going to ultimately propose that we change the whole corridor to that overlay district, just because it just makes sense,” Whitten said.
Anticipation is building around the possibility of a casino somewhere in Greater Hartford, especially after an East Hartford development team proposed Thursday a $138 million casino at the former Showcase Cinemas site along I-84 near Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
The East Hartford development plan is being pitched to the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes. Any new casino would be jointly owned and operated by the two tribes, according to a bill that is wending its way through the legislature.
Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks has also been mentioned as a possible site, and Rep. Peggy Sayers, D-Windsor Locks, told The Day of New London newspaper that she would welcome the idea.
“I would certainly support a casino coming to the airport,” Sayers said. “It’s an excellent location. We’ve got hotels with 1,500 rooms at the airport and a captive audience. My concern is protecting the 125 jobs at the teletheater. We’d have to find a way that it doesn’t impact OTB.”
In a joint statement released Thursday, the tribes said they “believe that votes like the one taken by East Windsor selectmen this week, and proposals like the one from East Hartford, show an increasing understanding from businesses and municipalities that the potential for job loss from competition over the state border is real, and protecting them will be good for the state and the region.”
Connecticut’s legislators are considering adding as many as three casinos to protect the local market from new gambling venues opening up in other states, such as the $800 million MGM Resorts International casino set to open in fall 2017 in downtown Springfield.
The bill calls for approval by a local municipality, although it’s not clear at this point whether the legislation would require a referendum vote or support from the elected body that governs a town or city where a casino would be built.
Some towns have taken a stance already. Windsor’s town council voted unanimously in early April to oppose legalized gambling facilities. Enfield town council members offered a mixed response: Some were open to the idea, some weren’t, and some thought it was too early to begin discussion on a casino in town.
In East Windsor, Menard said: “This would be a major development for the community, and there are people who love it … and some that are totally against it …”
Menard said that East Windsor needs economic growth and has several vacant buildings along the interstate highway. A casino is not a bad idea if East Windsor gets some significant tax dollars, not to mention jobs, she said.
Regarding the stretch along I-91 in East Windsor, Menard said, “I truly think it is an ideal spot.”
