Here are links to published items about the proposed casino at Chain of Rocks :
Editorial from the Post Dispatch - 9/24/09
Post Dispatch 9/29/09
urban STL
KSDK-TV story aired 10/23 - 10/24/10
We are allies with the "Save The Confluence" group of North County who has been invaluable offering advice and support. They feel just as passionately against a casino at Chain or Rocks in the City of St Louis as they do about a casino proposed in St Louis County near the Confluence. Check out their website and click on "Casino Facts" for more information about the proposed casino developments at both locations.
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Our neighborhood, represented by the president of our neighborhood association, made a public statement before the Missouri Gaming Commission on September 28th,2010 in St Louis. It does a fair job of summarizing our opposition to a casino development at the historic Old Chain of Rocks Bridge location in St Louis City.
We encourage everybody who reads this to please write to the Missouri Gaming Commission and let them know you do not want a riverfront casino built in St Louis at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
Show your opposition by voicing your opinion !
write or e-mail the gaming commission at:
Leann McCarthy
Missouri Gaming Commission
3417 Knipp Drive
P.O. Box 1847
Jefferson City, MO 65102
leann.mccarthy@mgc.dps.mo.gov
STATEMENT SUBMITTED AT MO. GAMING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING SEPT 28TH, 2010
REGARDING THE “CASINO CELEBRATION” PROPOSAL W ITHIN THE CITY OF ST LOUIS
ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIN OF ROCKS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
My name is Barbara Floreth and I am President of the Chain of Rocks Community Association – the neighborhood association of the City of St. Louis in which Casino Celebration proposes to place its casino.
I speak on behalf of those city neighbors who live in the homes that directly border the Chain of Rocks Bridge, the City of St. Louis water treatment plant and the North Riverfront Park. As such, we are the citizens that would be directly impacted, on a day-to-day basis, by the development of a casino at the base of the Old Chain of Rocks bridge. We have an intimate understanding of the unique problems and possibilities of our area and therefore appreciate this opportunity given to us by the MO Gaming Commission to voice our opposition to the Casino Celebration proposal – an opportunity that unfortunately was not given to us by our City leaders prior to their decision to back this proposal.
Our concerns are as diverse and numerous as our members, but I will try to summarize them here by stating that we believe that this development represents an assault on the character of this region and is NOT what is needed to improve the amenities this area has to offer - not only for the citizens of our neighborhood, the St. Louis region and the State of Missouri, but also for those that choose to visit this unique locality.
I say unique since, this narrow strip of the City, offers:
‐ The Old Chain of Rocks pedestrian bridge, the historic Route 66 crossing of the Mississippi
‐ The Chain of Rocks Park, the City park which overlooks the Chain of Rocks Bridge, the waterworks and its historic and iconic river intake towers
‐ The North Riverfront Park, which provides access to the only stretch of
barge-free Mississippi river from St. Paul to the Gulf and allows people to
experience the river as a place of natural beauty - away from industrial
& commercial development.
‐ And The Riverfront Bike Path put in by Trailnet, part of the interconnected
system of greenways, parks and trails that encircles the St. Louis region
We realize that these and other features would not simply go away if this casino complex comes to fruition. We understand the argument that money would hopefully be infused to help maintain and possibly improve the area. We understand the need for more jobs– several of our members are unemployed and struggling to find work in this economy. But we ask, at what cost? We understand that the City needs revenue. But it is not the fault of this neighborhood that the city lost revenue due to the closing of the President casino. We don’t believe that the area should (or even can) support this development and we don’t believe our City leaders have thought this through.
As an example: St. Louis City’s water intake from the Mississippi River is located immediately downriver and adjacent to the proposed casino. Parking lot run-off, accidental spills, waste disposal and increased demands on sewer lines represent some, but not all, of the potential and serious threats to the safety of our city’s supply of drinking water. We know that studies will be done and assurances made, but we also know that accidents and the best laid plans often can, and do, go awry. We say the benefit is not worth the risk – for yet another casino.
Another example is Riverview Drive, along which the casino would be located. It is a narrow, but vital, connecting route for our City and region. The street, which is primarily a two lane road in a residential neighborhood, is prone to flash flooding and difficult to maintain. It is also a major commuter route between downtown and the northern bi-state region and the only currently viable trucking route between our City’s northern industrial area on Hall Street and U.S. Interstate 270. We already have serious maintenance and traffic safety issues on Riverview Drive that the City and State have been unable to address, making this a very dangerous road – with its unfortunate share of traffic fatalities. Our neighborhood association has been working on safety issues with MoDot officials over the last year and they are against installing traffic lights on Riverview stating it would decrease safety and increase pollution and noise – yet this is a prominent element in the Casino Celebration proposal. The developer and our city leaders say that people will learn to use a different route. The problem with that statement is that there is no real or better alternative in this narrow strip of the City. Again, we say it’s not worth risking the safety of everyone that uses Riverview Drive – not for another casino.
And what about the cost to the environmental and cultural amenities in this area that we have all (public, private, State and City) tried so hard to preserve? The City of St. Louis just months ago spent over $100,000 and passed a North Riverfront Park Master Plan that recognizes the area as one of the city’s unique gems and deserving of improvement - while also recognizing the need to preserve its inherent nature. The City of St. Louis also adopted the Riverfront Trail Master Plan in 2001 which specifically calls for limiting development in the Chain of Rocks Bridge area to uses compatible with conservation and related recreation. The area is in the center of one of the largest migratory bird corridors in America and home to many nesting bald eagles in winter months. We are concerned about the effect that 25 acres of 24/7commercial activity would have, along with the subsequent increase in noise, light pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions. The Park and bridge would remain, but at what cost? The developer says that the animals will adjust. We say it’s not worth the environmental and cultural cost – for yet another casino.
Our association is not simply anti-casino or anti-development. We encourage private/public
partnerships - and developments that enhance, rather than compete, with the area’s character. We have a great example in Cementland, the proposed family playground being developed by City Museum creator Bob Cassilly on an abandoned stretch of property just south of the park. This attraction will help increase the City and Ward’s tax base, it will bring people to the area to spend money – without destroying the distinctiveness and integrity of the neighborhood. As one of our neighbors pointed out, we can drive 20 minutes from our homes and be at any one of five casinos. Do we really need to build another one on a stretch of land that has so many other possible uses to offer?
And, of course we are concerned about the loss of our neighborhood as we know it – whether we are recent arrivals or whether our families have owned property here for many decades – this precious and precarious narrow strip of the City of St. Louis is a jewel to be protected.
Recently, a group of tourists following portions of Route 66 told one of our members that they did three things while in St. Louis – visited the Arch (for a view of the downtown riverfront), Ted Drewes (for its famous frozen custard) and the Chain of Rocks Bridge (for a view of the City’s natural and historic front door). We, as residents, are not the only ones who see the value in this area as it now stands. If this license is granted, we know the bridge would remain, the park would remain, but the character would not. We are proud that our neighborhood often serves as a visitor’s entrance to the city of St. Louis as well as the State of Missouri. We would not be proud to have that entrance marred by another casino – with its inappropriate construction, parking lots, and flashy signage.
We encourage the citizens of St. Louis, our City leaders and the State of Missouri to look beyond the immediate gains that this proposal is leading us to expect. We do not believe it is worth the cost to this unique city region. We hope the Commission agrees. Thank you.
