Vancouver council unanimously rejects $500-million casino expansion his, developer, gambling, proposal, council

tiffiant

Vancouver council unanimously rejects $500-million casino expansion
Public pressure trumps casino expansion: Mayor Gregor Robertson also called for a moratorium on "any and all applications to expand gambling"

VANCOUVER - Nearly 20 years ago, developer David Podmore watched as a proposal for a “Las Vegas-style” casino his company and Mirage Resorts wanted to build on Vancouver’s waterfront was rejected by the province in the face of major public opposition.

On Tuesday, Podmore, now chairman of the B.C. Pavilion Corp., watched again as his next — and likely last — attempt to bring a major casino to the city went down in flames amid a similar upwelling of public anger.

But this time, the unanimous rejection of the proposed $500-million Paragon Gaming expansion at BC Place spiked all immediate plans for a gambling mecca in the city.

Mayor Gregor Robertson, leading the charge out of the gate during debate, engineered a moratorium on all future gambling facilities until a long, long list of demands is met. And he made it clear the city neither needs nor cares about the vast sums of money dropped into slot machines or on blackjack tables.

“Enabling the largest casino in Western Canada in our downtown doesn’t fit with Vancouver’s global brand as the world’s most livable city, the Green Capital, and hotbed for innovation, from clean and digital technology to resource management,” Robertson said.

This is what it came down to in a city full of sidewalk cafés and bike lanes, of beehives on the roof of city hall and the Vancouver Convention Centre, and where the aroma of the best B.C. bud wafts across the beaches on a sunny day.

Council members want sustainable development and entrepreneurial spirit here, but don’t believe those things can be found in a 1,500-slot machine casino that would, to their minds, divert money from the local economy and produce little in the way of tangible goods.

And council made it clear that the B.C. Lottery Corp. and the province had themselves to blame for the rejection, citing their failure to properly consult with the public and their lack of “internationally recognized best practices” for dealing with a wide range of negative gambling issues.

Robertson said that if they want to come back to council again, they’ll have to first address all those issues, from the prevention of problem gambling and protection against organized crime to adequate treatment for gambling addicts.

Podmore, who became the frontman for the province, the B.C. Lottery Corp. and Paragon Gaming in their hopes to break the no-casino jinx, was disappointed by the unanimous rejection. So too was BCLC president Michael Graydon, whose Crown corporation has been on a campaign to dramatically expand gambling in B.C. and who had wanted to crack the Vancouver market with a major destination casino.

About the only one who appeared not to be surprised was Scott Menke, the president of Las Vegas-based Paragon. “Well, that’s development,” he said simply.

lo_pak

Good work! A triumph of the general public...

tiffiant

Paragom CEO Scott Menke sits in council chamber as Vancouver City council turned down the proposed $500-million Edgewater Casino expansion in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 19, 2011


Paragon CEO Scott Menke (left ) sits next to a cheering anti casino supporter (right) as Va


Vancouveer Mayor Gregor Robertson and city council turned down the $500-million Edgewater Casino expansion in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.



Councillor David Cadman and Vancouver City council turned down the proposed $500-million Edgewater Casino expansion.



From left, Chairman of Pavco David Podmore and Paragom CEO Scott Menke leave after Vancouver City council turned down the proposed $500-million Edgewater Casino expansion in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.



Paragon CEO Scott Menke leaves the Vancouver council chamber after city council turned down the proposed $500-million Edgewater Casino expansion in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 19, 2011.



Artist's impression of the proposed casino to be built by Paragon Gaming at the new BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

tiffiant

3:22 p.m.: Coun. Suzanne Anton says she'll support the city in its moratorium. She said the Non-Partisan Association always opposed expanded gambling. She says she would have allowed a limited expansion as proposed recently by PavCo chair David Podmore. While she supports Vision Vancouver's plans, she also says the city could have supported more gambling without hurting the city.


3:27 p.m.: Anton compliments Paragon for the way they treat their employees, who she said "deserve to keep their jobs." She was impressed with the views of the employees who recounted how the company has been good to them in providing gainful employment.


3:28 p.m.: David Cadman, one of the two Coalition of Progressive Electors, also rises to oppose the casino application. "We don't want more expanded gambling." He said Paragon "showed bad faith" in trying to get an expansion that the city clearly had said in the past it didn't want on policy grounds. He doesn't oppose any of the other parts of the development, "but making it conditional on expanded gambling."


3:32 p.m.: David Cadman tells Paragon Casino employees to "keep your yellow (Save Our Casino) shirts" and now challenge their company to keep the casino open in its limited form. The casino company had suggested if the application is turned down they would close the casino.


3:35 p.m.: COPE's Ellen Woodsworth completes the list of 11 council members opposed to the casino application. Thanks the arts community for raising the issue of the province cutting gambling funds to arts groups. Also thanks the Vancouver Not Vegas! group for launching the protest. But she's also moved by the speeches by the Paragon employees who came to tell council to protect their jobs. "We do have to ensure in this move that we protect those 600 jobs."


3:40 p.m.: Coun. Raymond Louie wraps up for the city, saying the city didn't want an expanded casino and was being forced into a decision. "This was not of our doing." He said there was a great fear among people that "this was a done deal". "I take this opportunity to say my mind was not made up but the decision we're taking today is consistent with all the other decisions we've taken on this." Louie reminds the public that the city had in 2008 opposed expanded gambling and still felt that way today.


3:42 p.m.: Mayor Gregor Robertson thanks staff, PavCo, Paragon and Podmore for the application. "It's back to you to put forward a proposal" that benefits the city "without the expansion of gambling", he said. Robertson also thanks the large number of people who turned out for the public hearings, and specifically singles out the Vancouver Not Vegas! group.


3:45 p.m.: Council rejects application.

tiffiant

2:23 p.m.: Mayor Gregor Robertson shuts Woodsworth down, saying she's over her five-minute allowance. She objects, saying she still has more questions. Coun. Heather Deal asks how city would deal with the increasing traffic on streets that are already hard to cross because of traffic. Staff says there would be a tripling of traffic, to 6-8 vehicles a minute. City would account for that with an increase in other changes, including more emphasis on bicycles.


2:30 p.m.: Coun. Suzanne Anton weighs in. Asks if Paragon proposal and an adjacent Concord Pacific residential tower site are linked together. If casino falls, would it affect the other development? Toderian says the two parcels are "inextricably linked together" because they involve land swaps for the completion of Smithe Street. She also wonders about whether the city can allow taller hotel buildings that would impact long-established view corridors.


2:35 p.m.: Coun. Tim Stevenson asks why city staff weren't in touch with Vancouver Coastal Health before Dr. John Carsley stunned council by appearing during the public hearing to say the health authority opposes the application.


2:36 p.m.: Mayor Robertson appears a bit distracted, talking very quietly while social planner Mario Lee responds to Stevenson's question. The mayor appears to be taking a phone call?


2:45 p.m.: Vancouver councillor now on the second round of questions by Coun. Anton and Coun. Woodsworth. There have been no questions to staff from the majority of Vision Vancouver councillors, perhaps a signal that they have made up their minds about what to do.


2:48 p.m.: Anton asks about money the city would get from the casino. Lee says between $11-17 million, with another $5 million in property taxes. She's asking more information about taxation.


2:51 p.m.: Woodsworth and Anton appear to be tag-teaming on questions to staff. No one else on council still trying to get information from staff. Some frustrated looks coming from Vision Vancouver councillors, who want to get moving on debate.


2:55 p.m.: Mayor Robertson becomes aware of my "he's muttering" tweet. Smiles broadly. He's got an ear mike for secret staff mutterings. Questions over. Now debate about to come.


3 p.m.: Robertson tells council he opposes the proposed expansion, saying it is not the right direction to go for the city. "It does not meet the right expectations of the city or its citizens," he says. He tables new amendments to the proposal that would turn down the expansion and also put in place a moratorium.


3:16 p.m.: Coun. Heather Deal, following in on comments from Geoff Meggs, George Chow and Tim Stevenson, also opposes the casino application. She says the casino would affect the city's unique downtown residential neighborhoods. Said Chow: "They (the people of Vancouver) are the ones who decide the future of the city."


3:20 p.m.: Coun. Andrea Reimer says she has "never considered a casino as a place of redemption". She thinks many people who go there "are coming from dark places." But she also says the casino was an important place for the employees.

tiffiant

She said her group is now looking at whether the B.C. Gaming Act would allow the current Edgewater Casino to move next to BC Place without having to submit a new application.

Paragon’s casino and hotel expansion proposal spelled trouble for every councillor. Coun. Kerry Jang pointed to the Portuguese enclave of Macau as an object lesson in what happens when a community becomes a gambling mecca. The enclave, near Hong Kong, has lost its identity and he didn’t want the same to happen to Vancouver.

As an addiction researcher, Jang said he was deeply troubled by BCLC’s glamorization of gambling and that it appeared only interested in promoting “responsible gaming” but not dealing with “problem gambling.”

Coun. George Chow said the city wasn’t swayed by the demands of the provincial government, which has an agenda to attract people into gambling. “They [the people of Vancouver] are the ones who decide the future of the city,” he said.

Only Suzanne Anton, the lone Non-Partisan Association councillor, said she could have accepted a phased-in expansion as proposed by Podmore. But even then, she said she couldn’t support the overall expansion and noted her party has long opposed expanded gambling.

The decision came after the longest public hearing in the city’s recent history, which tapped into a deep well of opposition from many different quarters. It did not matter whether they were supporters of Vision Vancouver, the NPA or the Coalition of Progressive Electors; virtually the only ones supporting the expansion were Paragon’s employees and a few business groups.

But councillors praised Paragon’s employees, who came out to plead for approval. Their stories of how Paragon has been a good employer were redemptive, said Coun. Andrea Reimer. But she still “never considered a casino as a place of redemption,” she said.

Cadman counselled Paragon’s 600 employees to “keep your yellow [Save Our Casino] shirts” and now challenge their company to keep the casino open in its limited form.

[email protected]

twitter.com/sunciviclee

With files from Tiffany Crawford

- - -

Below is the debate and discussion that preceded council's decision:


2:16 p.m.: Vancouver council begins the Paragon Gaming debate with questions from council to staff. Coun. Ellen Woodsworth wants to know why no economic impact study was done on the surrounding area. She also wants to know if any environmental impact study was done on traffic, and energy required for project. And she has questions about the ratio of problem gamblers in the city.


2:18 p.m.: City Planner Brent Toderian answers, saying there wasn't a need for a economic analysis because the proposed uses aren't out of line with what is expected in the area.


2:22 p.m.: Social planner Mario Lee says the data on problem gamblers in Vancouver is not inconsistent; 4.6 per cent are at risk.

tiffiant

Council’s decision came with a number of caveats, however. Although councillors completely ruled out a future expansion of the casino, they said they still want Paragon and its partners to proceed with a mixed commercial and hotel complex next to the stadium. As part of that, they will allow Paragon’s smaller existing Edgewater Casino to move to the site from the Plaza of Nations.

Menke, Podmore and Graydon all said it was too early to decide whether the entire development is dead or whether it could go ahead without the expanded casino. They said they will meet to consider what the city approved.

But Menke hinted that he’s finished with Vancouver and that he’ll look to move the casino elsewhere in Metro Vancouver before the current lease expires in 2013.

“We certainly are disappointed in today’s outcome but we stand committed to our employees and our supporters in our efforts to find a permanent destination in the Lower Mainland,” he said.

Podmore said council’s rejection does not at all affect PavCo’s $563-million renovation of the stadium and its new roof.

“No, we’ve explained that repeatedly. It doesn’t have any impact on the roof. The roof is fully budgeted at the present time and it will proceed and be completed as planned.”

Podmore has said in the past PavCo needs to raise $75 million from the development of the lands around the stadium to repay a provincial roof loan, but that it could be found from other sources if the casino wasn’t approved.

Pat Bell, the provincial minister of jobs, tourism and innovation, said he accepted the decision.

Bell said in a statement: “We have a renewed government under the leadership of Premier Christy Clark, and we are going to take a fresh look at options to develop this property.

“I have directed PavCo to work with Vancouver council and the community to ensure that any future decisions are in alignment with what the community wants.”

But the rejection is a sizable hit to a number of purses, including the province’s.

PavCo had expected to get $6 million a year from Paragon in a 70-year land lease deal. If Paragon’s projections of up to $390 million a year in casino revenues had proved out, the province would have received another $140 million a year. And the city would have seen its annual cut rise from $6 million a year to as much as $23 million.

But even then, council doubted those ambitious projections. Coun. David Cadman said Paragon has never yet met its revenue promises to the city and he didn’t believe the new promises either.

Asked Tuesday evening how the government will make up the $140 million it stands to lose, Premier Clark said it will look to other development opportunities, though she did not know what those might be.

“PavCo’s job is to develop that site and they’re going to develop it. And if there’s not going to be a casino as a tenant in it, there will be other tenants and we’ll get revenue from that,” she said in response to questions at her nomination meeting for the Vancouver-Point Grey byelection.

“This is how the process is designed to work and nothing was ever guaranteed with this. We’ve always been partners with the city and if the city votes that this is unacceptable then we are going to respect that decision.”

As far as plans for gambling expansion are concerned, she said, her primary focus will be to ensure that money raised through gambling is properly allocated to charities.

She said the government will appoint a gaming revenue commission, to be headed by a retired judge or “someone of that ilk,” to look at the government’s relationship with charities and how it can ensure government funding for charities is stable and renewable.

In rejecting the casino plan, Robertson and many of the councillors thanked a broad coalition of opponents who gathered under the banner Vancouver Not Vegas! for reminding them of the city’s needs. Sandy Garossino, the main spokeswoman for the group, said she was “terribly relieved, very very happy” that council had killed the expansion.