The city filed a brief last Friday opposing Foxwoods Philadelphia's lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to compel the issuance of construction permits to get things rolling at Columbus Boulevard and Reed Street. The Connecticut-based casino group's suit also claims the city has tried to stall the ground-breaking on its slots parlor and entertainment project.
The brief was filed to allow the city more time to review Foxwoods' building plans, which the City Planning Commission conditionally approved in the summer. Those conditions were not met until the end of Mayor John Street's administration. The plans are now before City Council to determine if critical concerns about traffic, public safety and neighborhood impacts have been met.
"There simply was no time to do so under the previous administration," Mayor Michael Nutter said in a press release Friday.
In the brief, the city asked the court to respect "this fair and reasonable process and to halt Foxwoods attempt to bypass input on a local level," according to the press release.
Foxwoods spokeswoman Maureen Garrity of Tierney Communications said, in response to the filing, "Foxwoods accepts the invitation from the City and City Council to discuss the positive benefits our project will bring to the City of Philadelphia. We plan to be a good corporate citizen, as we outlined in our commitments to the City in the Development Agreement. At the same time, we believe very strongly in our legal position and we believe the City will have a difficult time in abandoning the position it has consistently taken in this case and in its last two filings with the Supreme Court."
Casino Free Philadelphia spokesman Daniel Hunter applauded Nutter's willingness for a more thorough review. "It is far past time some transparency was brought on to this process. Now, with some greater input, we can shed some light on these previously backdoor deals," Hunter said.
In their attempt to bring Pennsylvania its 11th casino, investors, including Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider, had hoped for an 11th-hour extension of their Foxwoods Casino Project. On Dec. 16, however, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted 6-1 to revoke a 2006 license that cost the investors $50 million and steady provisions of grief.
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