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Berkeley Considers Legal Action On Betting Parlor
By Bill McLaughlin
BERKELEY - Right now, Berkeley Township's response to an off-track betting parlor set to arrive
just outside its Holiday
City community will be "wait and see."
But, Berkeley Mayor Jason Varano said, legal action would certainly be among the options township officials there consider in addressing concerns with the forthcoming facility.
The off-track betting parlor, favored by Dover Township officials as a good ratable for the township, is being looked at less favorably in Berkeley. Set to arrive in an abandoned Grand Union on Route 37, just outside Holiday City (and about a mile over the Manchester border), Berkeley officials are concerned about its impact to their community.
According to Varano, officials are not yet ready to rule out options.
The Dover planning board and state Racing Commission's lack of transparency in railroading - or so say detractors - the application process for the parlor has irked a section of the populace. At the moment, the Commission has not yet made a final decision on the application; that decision will be made before the end of the year.
"We want to see the decision of the Racing Commission before we proceed," Varano said. "We're weighing our legal options against the Dover planning board because of their decision regarding the 'courtesy review' and what that entailed. I don't think they had the right to approve the private side of the business - the restaurant and bar - without providing a complete review
of a full site plan."
Varano said no business - public or private - should be allowed to open up shop without full disclosure on whether the site will have adequate ingress and egress in case of emergencies, whether it would provide for handicapped parking and how all security issues been addressed.
"Can we take legal action against the Racing Commission if our concerns aren't fully addressed? I don't know but we will review all our options," Varano said. "For one thing, the liquor license is in the complete control of Dover Township, so they have a duty to do a complete site review. That wasn't done in this case. When we asked for specifics on the site plan, (the Dover planning board) either had no idea or chose not to be open with the details."
Varano is upset by the treatment he and other township officials received late last month at a meeting before the Dover planning board. That August body had long ago made its decision tacitly approving the 750-seat site in a former supermarket near the intersection of Bananier Drive.
Permission to open OTBs was actually given to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which straddles the government and private sectors. The SEA then approved a plan to privatize the off-track betting sites. SEA provided the bipartisan political clout necessary to get the project off the ground.
The Dover Township Council made no objection to the project; essentially an unofficial approval for the state.
While the applicant is known as Freehold Racing Off-Track, LLC, the parent company is a British wagering empire called Greenwood. Their American businesses include betting shops in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. It has a sizeable bet in OTB shops with 14 on-line to date, mostly in suburban settings like this one.
The Dover site would be the second in New Jersey; a Vineland office is being pointed for a January launch date.
Barring a miracle or lawsuit, this project will go forward quickly. A vote by the racing commission might happen next month or in December at the latest.
"We could be ready in 120 days from approval to opening," said Donald Codey, the president of Freehold Raceway, in addressing the commissioners at the application hearing last August.
Hal Handel, the CEO of Greenwood in America, privately said the corporation has such a track record for putting these shops in operation that four months' set up time might be unnecessary.
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