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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mike O’Brien |
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Philadelphia lawmakers to call on attorney general to intercede in land licensing for proposed casino
HARRISBURG, Dec. 4 – State Reps. Bill Keller, Mike McGeehan and Mike O’Brien, all D-Phila.; and John Taylor, R-Phila., have introduced resolutions calling on the state attorney general to seek a temporary restraining order to overturn a recent decision by the Philadelphia Department of Commerce, and calling on the House State Government Committee to hold hearings on the issue.
The city Department of Commerce recently issued a “Submerged Land License” to HSP Gaming Inc., which plans to open the Sugarhouse Casino at the site of the former Jack Frost Refinery on the Delaware River waterfront, which is in O’Brien’s legislative district.
“No one here today is against casinos and gaming,” O’Brien said. “This situation has escalated to the point that the city is giving away the rights to land that it has no authority over, and we disagree with the process and method that resulted in this license being granted because basic land-use principles are not being adhered to.”
HSP Gaming sought the submerged land license under a 1907 act of the General Assembly that grants Philadelphia the authority to construct “pier, wharves, docks and harbor structures.” The intent of the legislation was to expand the port facilities at the turn of the 20th century and to increase “water-borne commerce.”
Keller, who represents portions of south Philadelphia, said his district includes the site of the Foxwoods Casino.
“The circumstances under which this license was granted is a real stretch of that law’s original intent,” Keller said. “Neither Foxwoods nor Sugarhouse would increase commerce along the Delaware River, and to suggest they would is ridiculous.
“We are sworn to uphold the law, and we will not stand by and watch the Street administration’s repeated attempts to circumvent the law without a fight,” O’Brien said.
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CONTACT: Ruth A. Myers |