Council to take up casino zoning amendment Monday

LACONIA — City councilors will discuss an amendment to the zoning ordinance to regulate gambling and casinos during their meeting Monday night at City Hall downtown. 

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 27.

The proposed amendment would add provisions to Article II, Article VII and Attachment 2 related to the regulation of games of chance and casino use in the city, according to a city staff report. The provisions include definitions, performance standards and adding the use to the city’s Table of Permitted Uses. 

Discussions regarding the benefits and drawbacks of allowing casinos and gambling in the city have come up several times over the years.

The terms “casino” and “games of chance” would be added as definitions to the zoning ordinance to ensure compliance with state regulations. Performance standards, which prevent the placement of casinos next to places of worship, schools, day care facilities, health care facilities, the amount of parking required and restricting the use to major resort corridors within Laconia would also be added.

The table of permitted uses would be updated to ensure casinos are permitted only in the Commercial Resort District, and would be required to receive a conditional use permit from the city’s planning board before operation. Businesses which offer Keno, the lottery or Bingo will not be impacted by the amendment. 

The planning board unanimously approved language for the amendment following a public hearing at their meeting on Jan. 7, as is required when attempting to amend the zoning ordinance. Planning board members referred the matter to the city council, which retains ultimate decision-making authority. 

The version of the ordinance amendment before the city council Monday evening, among numerous conditions, requires that “all vehicular traffic must ingress and egress from Endicott Street East, Endicott Street North, or Weirs Boulevard”. 

One of the proposed motions, included in a city staff report on the agenda item, suggests a public hearing be held at the Monday, Feb. 10 meeting of the council. 

In other business, councilors will discuss a request to increase the fees for disposing of tires at the transfer station and establish a late fee for customers with a transfer station account. 

The city uses the state’s contract to recycle tires brought to the transfer station, according to a city staff report. The cost of recycling tires in the state contract increased which, in turn, raised the city’s cost for passenger car tires as well as light and heavy truck tires. The public works department is requesting a fee increase to cover the cost of recycling tires. 

The current transfer station fee for car tires is $6 and for truck tires over 18 inches is $10. The proposed fee for car tires is $7, for light truck tires is $13 and for heavy truck tires is $29.

And councilors will also hear a request to create a fee for late payment of invoices for transfer station charge account customers. 

The city provides large volume customers the ability to establish a transfer station account. The city bills those customers each month, but does not charge a fee to customers who pay late.