False Creek Residents Association votes against BC Place casino
Last Wednesday, the False Creek Residents Association (FCRA) voted unanimously to oppose the expansion and relocation of Edgewater casino to B.C. Place. They join a growing list of community and arts groups calling for increased community amenities in return for the mega-casino.
Sean Bickerton, one of the 10 steering committee members present at the meeting, said that his Association has a number of concerns about the development. "This will be a huge expansion. It will triple the number of slots," he said.
Casino funds should be going back to communities to fund arts, education and sports, he said. "If we’re going to have the social impact and costs that come with a casino, we want a substantial stream of that revenue to go back to local communities."
Paragon, the casino developers, are providing communities amenities in the form of a retractable roof on BC Place as well as a contribution to the creation of a new Smithe Street connection and to other street infrastructure. While these are important upgrades, the developers have not done enough for the community, Bickerton said.
Paragon did not respond to VO's request for comment before publication time.
The FCRA recommended that developers create a day care for their employees who will be doing shift work. "Otherwise, this need will be imposed on the local community," he said. The Association has also called for youth recreation facilities housed off-site the casino, to provide young people with alternatives to gambling.
"There are also some design issues that we are worried about. This is a great, big box. It's got three huge towers," Bickerton said. The FCRA is asking developers to make the casino more visually appealing by animating the street level. The Association suggested building restaurants or cafes at the base of the building. "It's important not to have dead, empty streets," Bickerton said.
"Michael Geller [who is not a FCRA member] has suggested that Paragon use new low-energy lighting panels [on the casino's exterior]. These have been used to cloak a number of pavilions at the Shanghai World Expo that he found very beautiful," Bickerton said.
The FCRA is concerned about traffic and parking in the area around the stadium. "This new development will bring in 300 extra cars per hour. That's a large increase in traffic with no system to deal with it. It also means that there will be an increase in pollution," Bickerton said.
Finally, the FCRA would like to see a binding agreement with Paragon Gaming to ensure the survival of Planet Bingo on Main Street. "For years, it has been taken care of by Edgewater casino," Bickerton said.
The FCRA is working with the BC Association for Charitable Gaming association and other groups to call for more community amenties. In October, the BCACG called for the City of Vancouver to make the expansion of gaming conditional upon the provincial government honouring its 1999 Memorandum of Agreement, which included a formula for 33 percent of gaming revenues to be invested in non-profit social service organizations serving the elderly, disabled, sports, cultural, environmental and other sectors.
The FCRA and the BCACG are working towards holding a public forum in early January.
Public hearings at City Hall for the B.C. Place casino are slated for January 18th, Bickerton said.
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(2) Comments
The proposed casino, and the dubious way it appears that politicians and business people are attempting to have its construction approved, is very disturbing. The obvious destructive potential for Vancouver and Vancouverites has been written about in this and a previous article on your web site: encouraging addiction, increased vehicle traffic and pollution downtown, strain on social services and resources, street and parking infrastructure, health of the family, and let's be honest - where there's gambling at this level, organized crime historically wants a piece of the profits if not to run the show entirely. The city is making a Faustian deal, privileging short term "gain" for yet another long term problem that will undoubtedly be more costly in all ways (health, socially, financially) and which we would be burdening the next generation with. I'm against it.
I prolly agree with you, that the proposed casino, very true, appears that politicians and business people are attempting to have its construction approved, no doubt its disturbing. Whereas on the one side "the largest freestanding charitable bingo operation in North America!" point to be noted "Charitable" so different from these casino's, none of these politicians as well as business people giving any attention to the place. Years back just for their survival in that kind of situation they file a permission for just a few slot machines but no one even bother to give them answer i guess, because none of them have any interest in helping communities and charities. So the outcome is that our largest freestanding charity institution is now become the smallest and slowest in world in term of revenue. I don't know how are they even surviving, Planet bingo is not just a gambling and or gaming place it is a community center where older age people can come spend good time while playing bingo. Helping just for community and or charities, Not sure what FCRA and Paragon Gaming is doing for ensuring the survival of the Planet Bingo, but looks like no one is doing anything at all for the place and that place is going down and down everyday. Planet Bingo is the only place where older group of people can spend good time and social gathering for them the only entertainment for specially old age people. If any one of all, as a whole gives this Planet Bingo a real attention, that can bring that place back to where it was before and in result helping charities/communities/society. But question is why should they ? No one ever even think about charities / communities .. All they want is to built casino's .. and they get approved easy without question approval no problem for casino s for sure approval, where as on charity bingo as of approval of any kind, not only slot any kind of help/approval they ask for just to survive, their files are kept in draws for years long and after that refusal. No, because you help charities & community not us.