The Daily Review
Village trustees Tuesday unanimously lent their support to an upcoming ballot measure relating to the expansion of casino gaming in New York State.
Trustees passed a resolution at Tuesday’s board meeting supporting Proposition 1, which if passed would allow the state legislature to authorize up to seven casinos on non-Native American grounds statewide.
Jeff Gural, owner of Tioga Downs in nearby Nichols, has said he intends to apply for one of the seven licenses to allow table games at the facility if the proposition passes. He has also stated his intention to build a hotel and banquet facility on the property if Tioga Downs receives a license.
The expansion of the facility would create additional jobs for the area, said village mayor Dan Leary. Waverly would also receive some of the school aid and property tax relief allocated in the proposition from the revenue to be generated from the casinos, Leary said.
Tioga County legislators also recently passed a resolution in support of the proposition.
Trustees Tuesday also authorized the village planning board to review the zoning of Broad Street and adjoining areas.
Broad Street is largely classified as commercial, said trustee Patrick Ayres. However, both Ayres and planning board chair Bob Wright have expressed interest in exploring whether some parts of the street would benefit from a designation of Planned Unit Development, the village’s mixed-use designation.
In its review, the board would look at the benefits and drawbacks of making a zoning change to the street, much of which already has mixed uses outside the village’s core business district, Ayres said.
“I just really think it could create some opportunities in the village in those areas,” Ayres said.