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Friday, June 22, 2007

Cowlitz casino hits potential stumbling block

The proposed Cowlitz Casino in northern Clark County may have just hit a big roadblock. The Columbian's Jeffrey Mize reports:
The federal process for reviewing the Cowlitz casino could be undermined by a decision striking down the 2004 agreement between Clark County and the Cowlitz Tribe.

The Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board this week declared the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, invalid.

The board's 12-page decision said Clark County failed to comply with provisions of state law and county code when it adopted the MOU more than three years ago.

The decision won't kill the casino plan, but it could stall the ongoing federal process for reviewing the proposed $510 million complex west of La Center.

"I think it seriously undermines any claim that the environmental review is sound for this project," said Eric Merrifield, an attorney for the Perkins Coie law firm in Seattle.
The Cowlitz tribe doesn't seem to agree, and Mize also has a second story posted that gives a little more context.

I'm still pretty sanguine about the casino anyhow. I'm not a big fan of gambling, although I don't have a problem with responsible adults gambling.

The casino, if built as proposed, would fundamentally change the character of northern Clark County, and certainly qualifies as a development project. That being said, I'm not sure why we should be against one kind of development because some influential people have a problem with who is running it or what legal activity occurs there. To oversimplify, why are houses and office parks built by mostly white Clark County developers okay, but a tribal casino isn't?

If the concern is the neighbors in the area, a precedent was already set for that when the amphitheater was built at the fairgrounds. Neighbors had valid and, as it turns out, very legitimate concerns about traffic tie ups and other problems, but they basically got some promises and a pat on the head.

Also, I'm not sure what makes north Clark County so special that they don't get to enjoy the fun and perks of rapid growth in their part of town, too. Remember, only the crazy hippies cared about growth outstripping taxpayer ability to pay for infrastructure, and now that it has, the horse is out of the barn.

Conservatives have complained so long and so bitterly about the Growth Management Act that it's hard to feel much sympathy for them up there. Welcome to the growth jungle. Maybe we should put that light rail line across the river, just in case?

The casino is all tied up in complex federal rules, so what the heck happens next I can't say. But if it's built there could be worse things to do than enjoy some dining and entertainment, and maybe lose a small amount at the blackjack table. Sure, there will be families wrecked through gambling addiction, but that happens with other legal things as well.

Caveat emptor, dudes.

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