Business & Tech

Neighboring Charlestown Scrutinizes Everett Casino Proposal

Officials in Boston argue Charlestown, Somerville's neighbor, might be considered a "host community" for Everett's casino proposal.

Written by Becca Manning

Somerville's mayor has used strong words to oppose a casino proposal in Everett—a proposal that would sit at Somerville's doorstep, less than 1,000 feet from major redevelopment taking place in Assembly Square.

Meanwhile, officials in Boston are also scrutinizing the proposal to determine its impact on Charlestown. The proposal is so close to Charlestown, in fact, that part of the project may actually be in Charlestown.

That, one city of Boston attorney argued, could make Charlestown a "host community," possibly giving Charlestown residents a vote on whether to approve the casino.

At a meeting on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s licensing process held Monday night at the Charlestown Knights of Columbus Hall, commission secretary James McHugh outlined the rules and timeline for casino license applications but did not go into specifics about the three proposals in Boston’s Region A.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Charlestown residents questioned how they would be represented in the conversation, particularly in the case of the Everett proposal, if Boston was not considered a host community—a designation that requires a citizens' vote on the proposal for the application to move forward.

That’s when Elizabeth Dello Russo, assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston, spoke up. 

She said the city last week received the first concrete plans for Wynn’s project—the environmental notification form that is a requirement of Phase 2 of the application process. Though she said the filing doesn’t include a lot of detail, it does indicate that a portion of the project would be located on Boston property and that the project as a whole would significantly impact Charlestown.

“When we saw this filing we said what we are reviewing shows us that, first of all, Charlestown is very impacted, and second of all, potentially a host community,” Dello Russo said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

In response, the city requested and received a two-week extension on the comment period for the environmental notification form to give residents and officials more time to review the plans and submit concerns.

To “open up that dialogue,” Dello Russo said, the city has placed a copy of the ENF at the Charlestown Branch Library for public viewing and has also posted the plans on the city website atcityofboston.gov/gaming. Information is also being distributed through the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

A host community, as defined in the Massachusetts Gaming Commission rules, is the community in which the resort casino would be located. As part of the developer’s phase 2 application, they must submit a written contract between the developer and the host community, and the citizens of that community must pass a referendum on the issue, McHugh explained. In a city of more than 125,000 people, such as Boston, the vote can take place only in the ward in which the casino would be located.

In June, the City of Everett, which has already been declared a host community for the Wynn LLC casino project, passed the referendum by a margin of 86.5 percent, according to a Boston Globe article.

Now Boston officials are looking into whether their citizens should get a vote, too.

If not considered a host community, Boston could still be designated a surrounding community, which does not get a vote but does require a written agreement between the community and the developer, McHugh said.

In the case of another resort casino proposal in Region A, theSuffolk Downs project in East Boston, the city is considered a host community, and East Boston is expected to hold a referendum vote on the issue soon. Mayor Thomas Menino is in the process of negotiating an agreement on which East Boston citizens would vote, the Globe reported last week.

A third application has been filed in Region A for a Foxwoods casino in Milford.

Dello Russo did not go into detail Monday night about the potential impacts of the Wynn LLC casino on Charlestown, but a representative from District 1 Boston City Councilor Sal LaMattina's office distributed copies of a letter the councilor has submitted to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs regarding the plans.

In the letter, LaMattina writes: "Charlestown will be the single most impacted community effected by the existence of any casino located at the Monsanto parcel in the cities of Everett and Boston—since the initial traffic information submitted in the proponent's ENF study shows that at least 50 percent of all vehicles will utilize the Charlestown road system (more than for the Everett road system)."

LaMattina asked that the developer submit information about traffic impacts and mitigation, specifically through the Sullivan Square area.

"... Bringing that much traffic through Sullivan Square and down Rutherford Ave is inconsistent with the city's recently announced plans to remove traffic from Sullivan Square, downsize Rutherford Ave and return the street to the community," LaMattina wrote. "The plan was the result of a thorough and lengthy community process, it is strongly supporter by the mayor and the residents of Charlestown and yet it seems the Everett proposal will ignore it entirely and push more of its casino traffic into Charlestown than Everett."

LaMattina also expressed concerns about toxic and hazardous materials cleanup on the site, particularly along the waterfront area; the effects of the project's proposed marina on Charlestown's port area; and other issues.

In the letter, dated July 10, the city councilor requested that the comment period on the filing be extended 30 days to give Charlestown residents time to review the plans.

"Now that I am engaged in and aware of the process, I find it surprising that, as residents of the district in Boston that directly abuts the project site, we have not received a single notice related to the MEPA [Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency] or Municipal Harbor Plan project for this process ..." LaMattina concluded.

On a separate but related note, the Charlestown Waterfront Coalition has scheduled a meeting with representatives from Wynn LLC to present plans for the Everett casino on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. The meeting, open to the community, will be held at Building 114 in the Navy Yard.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here