CASPER - The Casper City Council on Tuesday agreed to move toward a 180-day moratorium on new gambling expansion, carving out “skill-based games” as an exception because they already have limits and benefit social clubs.
City Manager Janine Jordan told the council during a work session that the moratorium would allow them to “maintain the status quo” while considering how best to manage gaming in the community moving forward.
The city currently allows gaming in its C-2 general business zoning district, C-4 highway business, and with conditional use in its C-3 central business, M-1 limited industrial, and M-2 general industrial areas. It is currently not prohibited in the Old Yellowstone District.
Jordan said gaming businesses present the city with land-use considerations in terms of parking demand and hours of operation.
They also function as late-evening destinations, may create pressures for additional liquor licenses and “can alter the character” of zoning districts and limit opportunities for more “diverse commercial development.”
Skill Games Exception
Mayor Ray Pacheco, Vice Mayor Kyle Gamroth, and council members Michael Bond, Brandy Haskins and Amber Pollock all initially seemed to favor a blanket moratorium while Councilman Pat Sweeney argued for carving out the skill-based games which he said already are restricted to four per location versus historic horse racing.
“They’re kind of critical to like the Elks Club, VFW, and some of those operation in particular,” he said.
In the end the council agreed to carve out the skill-based games.
Expansion
During the conversation at least three council members spoke of concerns within the community about the number of gambling opportunities expanding in the community.
Gamroth said at a recent meeting of downtown businesses, he heard concerns from owners about the possibility of a gaming operation going into a vacant downtown storefront.
He said the state legislature’s latest session granted cities more authority over the gambling going on within their borders.
“I imagine that I am not the only councilor that’s heard from constituents about perceived over-saturation of that industry in our community,” Gamroth said.
“I think it would kind of behoove us to kind of pause activities right now, analyze how many games we have in town, and where they are currently located," he said.
Wants Police Input
Gamroth further said he wants to hear from the police department about the kind of impact gaming has on crimes in the community and get a “heat map” of crime and other related concerns related to the areas where gambling exists.
Once information is obtained, the council could “have conversations about what our tolerance level is for those impacts,” Gamroth said. He advocated for the consideration of corridor-based zoning that would establish gaming districts in the community.
Pacheco said he also supported a moratorium because gaming has expanded quickly in the community. He said taking the time to do a study of what exists in the community and come up with a long-term plan seems “smart.”
Bond said he did not know what games are legal now under state law. He pointed out that the Natrona County Health Department has a gambling addiction support program and that “there are inherent downsides” to the activity.
“I do kind of have that impression, (and) I have heard from constituents as well that it feels like it’s kind of growing and not necessarily out of control, but just expanding,” he said.
Haskins said she wants to know how many games exist in the city and what is the maximum that the city should have or could have “so we have a full understanding of what we’re looking at versus what we are going to look at.”
She said the idea of putting gaming in districts also makes sense to her.
“Let’s establish how far from the important places like school and churches,” she said. “Let’s get some ideas of what other places have done that they find successful.”
Litigation Concern
Sweeney questioned whether considering specific gaming districts would open the city up to litigation from establishments who are already operating and would not conform to changes to city zoning.
Jordan told the council that if the council did “down the road” establish districts for gaming, existing establishments could be “grandfathered” for existing uses in their location but not for new uses.
Deputy City Attorney Wallace Trembath told the council that the moratorium can be framed the way they want it to be framed. But he warned it needed to stay within the 180-day time frame legally and that there may be some revenue impacts involved.
“I don’t know exactly what those revenue impacts would look like during the moratorium, but they exist,” he said. Trembath said the council would need to have clear definitions about the type of games involved in the moratorium.
No Concerns
Wyoming Downs/307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway said he did not have concerns with the council implementing a moratorium.
He pointed to the state legislature’s action at the budget session earlier this year that gives cities more control and authority over gambling locations.
He said he favors having the regulations “stronger and clearer” for localities to know what they are allowed to do and not to do.
As a longtime resident of Casper, he agrees with a pause.
“They’ve needed to update the zoning for this particular use for years and we’ve talked about the need,” he said. “We don’t perceive a need as a company to have more locations in that market anyway."
But I think it is appropriate for all these localities to use the powers they have to make sure they feel comfortable with the amount of locations they have and what they look like and feel like," he added.
Ridgeway said between Wyoming Downs and 307 Horse Racing there are six locations in Casper.
Six Weeks
Trembath said it would take six weeks before an ordinance change could be passed because three readings of an ordinance are required.
Gamroth said the six months to accomplish the study and enact some changes would be beneficial even if everything can’t be accomplished before the moratorium runs out.
Jordan said the process likely will involve nine months because it will take six weeks to pass the moratorium, then 180 days to study gaming and prepare changes to zoning, and another six weeks to pass the changes.
Areas of public policy related to gaming already is “pretty well developed,” Jordan said. She said city staff would draw on the examples of other communities and “would not have to recreate the wheel.”
Jordan said she would like to bring up a gaming expert from Cheyenne to brief the council on the various games.
Council members Bond, Haskins, and Sweeney were appointed to be a working group on the issue.
Jordan said she would move forward with bringing a draft resolution on the gaming moratorium before the council at a future meeting.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
