Judge finds fault with zoning permits for tribes' East Windsor casino project
A Superior Court judge in Hartford has sustained a property owner’s appeal of the issuance of zoning permits for the East Windsor casino the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes have proposed.
In a 36-page decision issued Wednesday, Judge Marshall Berger found that the East Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission “abused its discretion” in approving a site plan and granting a special permit “as to the sale of alcohol,” and lacked jurisdiction to consider the sale of alcohol because it failed to properly publish notice of public hearings on the matter.
The decision dismisses claims that the approvals constitute “contract zoning,” in which a local government “extracts” a promise from a developer.
“While we disagree with the ruling, the decision is not entirely unexpected and affects only one aspect of our application,” Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the tribes, said in a statement. "We still have a path forward and remain committed to our ultimate goal of preserving Connecticut jobs and revenue.”
The tribes have pursued the East Windsor casino project in a bid to protect their southeastern Connecticut casinos from the competitive impact of MGM Springfield, a western Massachusetts casino about 13 miles north of East Windsor. MGM Resorts International, the Springfield casino’s owner, has sought for years to block the tribes' project, most recently through a pending lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior for approving the tribes’ gaming agreements with the state.
The zoning appeal, filed by Sofia’s Plazas LLC, owner of a retail area located across the street from the proposed East Windsor casino site, claimed the town’s agreement with the tribes “colored” the Planning and Zoning Commission’s “processing of the applications at every stage of the proceedings in favor of approval.”
The tribes have agreed to pay East Windsor an estimated $5.5 million a year in property taxes and another $3 million annually in payments aimed at offsetting the casino-related costs the town would incur.
David Sherwood, the Glastonbury attorney representing Sofia's Plazas, could not be reached for comment.
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