This story was originally produced by The Keene Sentinel. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Keene’s City Council could make a decision on an ordinance to regulate where casinos can operate as soon as next month, after hearing more details on the plan at last Thursday’s council meeting.
The most recent version of the plan further restricts casinos from the downtown area, now encompassing the downtown growth zoning district, in addition to the downtown core district.
The downtown core district covers the heart of downtown, with the growth district to parts of the east, west and south.
The changes came after meetings of the joint city planning board and council planning, licenses and development committee earlier this summer, where the group weighed in on not only where the casinos should be permitted, but also their minimum size and where they can be in relation to schools, churches and homes.
“I’d say probably the biggest change is that the joint committee really felt strongly that it didn’t necessarily make sense as a use for a charitable gaming facility to occur in the downtown growth district,” said Keene senior planner Mari Brunner.
The group “really took a close look at the intent statement for that district and felt that the downtown growth is intended for a more walkable, pedestrian-oriented environment and it’s meant to be an extension,” Brunner said.
Introducing casinos, which generate a significant parking need, to this district would be contrary to this intent, according to Community Development Director Jesse Rounds.
The city’s parking capacity has been a contentious issue during discussions about where casinos should be allowed to open, and the joint committee working on the ordinance ultimately decided that the commercial district is the most suitable location for casinos in Keene — “which is our more automobile-oriented district,” Brunner said Thursday.
In the newest draft of the regulations, casinos must be at least 10,000 square feet (lower than the 20,000 square feet previously discussed), there can be only one casino on any one lot, and a casino can’t be within 500 feet of another casino; within 200 feet of a place of worship, daycare center or school; within 250 feet of a single- or two-family home; or within 250 feet of a residential zoning district, Brunner said.
Brunner said the permitted places for a casino in the ordinance are now West Street from Island Street to the bypass, Winchester Street south of Island Street and north of Cornwell Drive, Main Street south of Route 101 and north of Silent Way, and Ash Brook Road. Key Road and Kit Street are also listed. In addition to being zoned in the commercial district, these locations all also have access to a major road, another characteristic that Brunner said the committee considered.
The introduction of the ordinance last October has halted business owner Dorrie Masten’s plans to open a casino at Central Square.
Wonder Casino is Keene’s sole casino. At 172 Emerald St., the business does not lie within a region the ordinance would permit, but Rounds previously said the business would not be required to move.
Following Thursday’s public hearing, the ordinance now heads to the council’s planning, licenses and development committee, Rounds said. The committee is scheduled to make its recommendation on the regulations at its Sept. 11 meeting. The council is then expected to take up the ordinance on Sept. 19.
