The Anne Arundel County Council will not vote on zoning bills that would allow slots into the county until at least December, further delaying and potentially derailing an already stalled bid to open what would be the state's most lucrative gambling parlor.
Council members introduced two competing bills Monday night - one to permit a slots parlor at Arundel Mills mall and another shifting the location to an industrial area in the western part of the county - but by law cannot vote on either measure until after a public hearing scheduled for Dec. 7.
The decision sets up a clash among the various parties involved in bringing slots to Arundel. The developer bidding to build a 4,750-machine slots parlor at Arundel Mills, Cordish Cos., has signaled it has no interest in a different location. And the state slots commission, which plans to complete the process of licensing slots operators this fall, has said it will not award a license before the proper local zoning is in place.
The bid to bring slots to Arundel has been stalled as the county council, which is divided on the issue, has delayed voting on rezoning the Arundel Mills area to allow gambling. Then, on Friday, Council Chairwoman Cathleen M. Vitale told The Baltimore Sun that she would introduce legislation to instead zone an area south of Route 32 near Route 295 for gambling.
But Cordish, the Baltimore-based developer, reiterated on Monday a statement to The Sun that the company's application "calls for a casino at Arundel Mills." The developer remains confident that "very shortly" it will be licensed by the state slots commission and that the County Council will grant the needed zoning changes at the mall, a representative said in an e-mail.
Before the meeting on Monday, Vitale refused to identify specific sites for a slots parlor in the general area described in her bill, which was co-sponsored by Councilman Daryl Jones, who represents the Arundel Mills area. Vitale said it is the state commission's job to choose sites.
The company that owns Laurel Park race track, which is in the area designated in Vitale's proposal, put in a bid but was disqualified.
Asked if slots at Laurel Park were still a possibility, Vitale said, "I think when you speak to citizens about what they hoped when they were voting for this referendum is that slots would be at the racetrack."
Also at the meeting, Councilman Ronald C. Dillon Jr. re-introduced the original zoning bill that would pave the way for slots at Arundel Mills.
