Gaming Commission forum explores local impacts of casinos

Community mitigation relative to casino siting was the topic of a Massachusetts Gaming Commission public educational forum yesterday in Framingham.

The wide-ranging impacts of a casino that may require mitigation include public infrastructure upgrades, particularly to deal with increased traffic, greater public safety demands, and quality-of-life issues for residents.

“Gaming is big-box, mixed-use,” said panelist Mary Kay Peck, a former city manager in Henderson, Nev., and past president of the American Planning Association. “Consider all of the different impacts, of all the uses.

“Impacts on local government services, community character, and land use are substantial and long-lasting,” she continued. “Communities in Massachusetts have only one chance to get it right.”

Under the state’s expanded gaming legislation, host and surrounding communities may negotiate a mitigation package directly with a casino developer. Host and surrounding communities may also receive mitigation funds derived from gaming revenue and administered by the state, with input from a local community mitigation advisory committee.

Several forum participants emphasized the regional nature of a casino’s impact.

“Impacts are not only going to affect the host community,” said panel moderator Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. “Surrounding communities must get engaged early on.”

The forum drew a diverse audience of approximately 100 local officials, legislators, industry executives, and interested residents. All five members of the Gaming Commission attended.

It was the third of four public forums being held by the commission. The others have highlighted the role of the commission and the casino-approval process; the potential economic impact of the gaming industry in Massachusetts; and problem gambling.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is charged with creating a transparent and participatory process to implement the 2011 gaming legislation, which authorized the development of three casinos and one slot parlor in the state.

For more information or to view webcasts of the forums, visit www.mass.gov/gaming.