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Decision day for next step in casino relocation bid
Damage caused to a house in the city of Ashdod, after it was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza by Palestinians militants on July 14, 2014. Kobi Gideon photo/ Corbis images
City staff report advises against move By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
FROM KAMLOOPS TO CONFLICT BY CAM FORTEMS • STAFF REPORTER • CAM@KAMLOOPSTHISWEEK.COM
At the Wolfson Medical Centre, south of Tel Aviv, the smallest children awaiting or recovering from heart surgery have developed a response to the sound of rocket fire. “When the sirens go, the babies simply lift up their arms and wait for the adults to pick them up and take them to the safe room,” said Randi Weiss, a 26-year-old Kamloops woman whose trip to Israel last year started as a vacation and volunteer experience that turned into a job, a relationship and citizenship amid a war zone. “They’re getting so used to it that it has become an automatic response.” Weiss grew up in a city where gunshots are heard at a restricted firing range or in the distance of the forest in hunting season. She now finds herself living several days a week in the midst of a the deadliest conflict in Israel in a decade. Rockets fired from Hamas militants are intercepted by Israel’s “Iron Dome” defence system several times a day as the country’s
army makes incursions into the Palestinian Gaza Strip, blowing up tunnels, buildings and killing citizens in a tit-for-tat that has made it the world’s most familiar conflict. KTW interviewed Weiss, daughter of Kamloops lawyer Tom Weiss, by telephone, email and through excerpts of a letter she sent to worried friends. Weiss started university at Thompson Rivers University and
finished her science degree at Simon Fraser University. Her father is Jewish by heritage and she is Norwegian on her mother’s side. Tom said his daughter was not raised in a religious household, but she became interested in her heritage particularly because her grandparents were Holocaust survivors. X See CALM AND CHAOTIC A6
City staff are encouraging Kamloops city council to reject Gateway Casino’s bid to build an expanded casino in the former Rona building in Versatile, arguing it will weaken the downtown core. In a report council will debate today (July 29), the city’s planning department points to Kamloops’ official community plan (KAMPLAN) and city-centre plan as reasons to keep the casino downtown. “General planning philosophy accepts that strong downtown centres help create a sense of place and community focus,” the report states, noting both plans stake out downtown as “one of the primary commercial and cultural centres in the city.” In an unusual move, Gateway purchased the Rona property at 1555 Versatile Dr. from the hardware company without waiting to see if the city would approve the necessary zoning changes. The property is presently zoned for shopping centre use. The city does not designate land for casino use except on a case-by-case basis. If council chooses today to ignore staff’s recommendation, it would next consider rezoning the Rona building at a public hearing at a later date. That’s Coun. Pat Wallace’s preference. “I’m always reluctant not to take something to a public hearing and air it well,” she said. “Because there’s not just KAMPLAN involved. There’s a lot of money with a casino.” Casinos pay 10 per cent of their net gaming revenue to host municipalities. In 2013, Kamloops picked up more than $1.8 million from Lake City. CEO Tony Santo told KTW earlier this year the company plans to convert the former big-box store into a $34-mil-
lion casino featuring restaurants and pubs, a 500-seat amphitheatre, 600 slot machines and 20 gaming tables. The new casino would be rebranded to Cascades Casino and Santo estimated it would create 110 new jobs. “We’re confident that the city and community will be onside,” Santo said when questioned about the company’s decision to purchase the building in advance of a zoning decision. “As you know, Kamloops hosts the head office of the BCLC [B.C. Lottery Corporation] and we would like to build a facility that warrants that type of exposure.” Gateway held a series of open houses at the Versatile site earlier this year, which appeared to attract mainly supportive community members. Mayor Peter Milobar has also spoken in favour of Gateway’s expansion plans, telling KTW in April he’s been pushing for a better class of casino for five years — provided a casino is an appropriate use for the former Rona site. City staff did give council one argument in favour of the relocation bid — the site’s current designation as a shopping centre. “Shopping-centre categories permit a wide range of retail, personal service, and entertainment uses,” the report notes. “The role of casinos in general is shifting to entertainment designations with multiple complementary uses, such as hotels, restaurants, and live entertainment.” If Gateway’s relocation bid ultimately fails, there may be opportunity across the river, outside of city limits. In February, T’kemlups Indian Band, Chief Shane Gottfriedson said it would be an “exciting opportunity” if the company was to consider a move to band land.
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