BILOXI -- Those betting on casino expansion in Biloxi were given a reality check Thursday by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, which turned down the South Beach Casino site, and the Biloxi Planning Commission, which voted 7-6 against rezoning 81 acres in East Biloxi to waterfront.
A collective gasp was heard at the Biloxi Community Center Thursday when Gaming Commissioner Jerry St. Pé made a motion to deny RW Development's proposal to build a casino on U.S. 90 at Veteran's Avenue. The vote was 3-0 and after the meeting St. Pé and Commissioner John Hairston said their decision wasn't about the casino being north of U.S. 90 or the start of the 800-foot measurement for onshore casinos. It came down to RW Development not having control of the beach to the water's edge, they said, as required by state law. There is a strip of public sand beach between the applicant's land and the water.
RW lawyers argued the seawall is the water's edge. But Hairston said, "The definition of the seawall as the shore would open up a proliferation of casinos," which he said would stretch past Biloxi and Harrison County and would go beyond what the Legislature intended when it allowed onshore casinos. "To adopt a change in regulations for one project that is proposed is a very slippery slope."
"We're certainly disappointed," said Ray Woodbridge, owner of RW Development. He intends to examine his alternatives, including appealing the Gaming Commission's decision, and said plans for South Beach are on hold.
The Gaming Commission did leave the door open slightly. Several of the more than two dozen people who spoke at the meeting said this decision was vital to the future of casinos in Biloxi. St. Pé said if the Back Bay and Point Cadet sites can't be developed and the only way to grow the casino industry in Biloxi is to create additional beachfront venues, it might be wise to ask for a regulatory change and confine additional casinos to certain areas along the beach.
Mayor A.J. Holloway said after Hurricane Katrina the city had dozens of casino developers looking at the legal sites on the Back Bay, "but they just disappeared for some reason." He had hoped South Beach would spur economic development in West Biloxi. "It's a major economic blow to Biloxi," Holloway said of the Gaming Commission's decision. "We can recover. It's not a spear in the heart."
House Gaming Committee Chairman Bobby Moak and other state and local officials spoke about the intent of the Legislature when House Bill 45 was written to allow onshore casinos after Katrina. Ultimately, "The Gaming Commission is the gatekeeper of these sites," Moak acknowledged.
"It was always a 50/50 chance," said attorney Dan McDaniel, who represented RW Development at Thursday's meeting. The Gaming Commission is "well within their prerogative of ruling that way. That's what the Gaming Commission is supposed to do. It's supposed to set policy."
McDaniel thinks it was a momentous ruling for the Coast. "It will have the biggest impact of any decision made since gaming was legalized. It greatly restrains where casinos can be." He said Thursday's ruling will cause Woolridge and other potential developers to re-evaluate their plans for the Coast.
The Biloxi Planning Commission waited to hear the fate of South Beach Casino before considering whether to collectively rezone 81 acres between Dukate and Kuhn streets to waterfront. After learning of the denial of South Beach Casino, Planning Commissioner Gary Lechner suggested tabling the decision to give each commissioner additional time to consider the rezoning of land.
"Whether (the Gaming Commission) approved gaming or not, the residents in that area have come together and asked for this change," Commissioner Jamey Hunt said. The commission eventually voted and narrowly recommended to deny the rezoning.
Planning Commission attorneys said they would request an opinion from the Gaming Commission today on how the denial of the South Beach project would affect the city's zoning change. The request for rezoning in East Biloxi now goes to the City Council for a vote.
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