SierraScape April - May 2010
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by Ginger Harris
Transportation and Smart Growth Committee Chair

Environmentalists have varying opinions of casinos and gambling per se. But they are united in opposing the location proposed for yet another casino in the St. Louis area: it's in the wrong place!

With Lumiere Place, we thought casinos had finally crawled up the river bank, so as not to be such a hindrance when a flood plain needs to be used to capture flood waters. And the last few casinos in St. Louis have at least been located in highly urban districts, where roads, sewers and glittering lights are already in place.

So it was distressing to see the St. Louis County Planning Department recommend in favor of rezoning agricultural floodplain land in Spanish Lake so that it could be used for a proposed casino. …and distressing to see the Planning & Zoning Commission and subsequently the County Council cave in to casino interests. It is even more unfortunate that the land proposed for this new casino is 500 feet from the Confluence Wildlife Conservation Area.

When the Missouri "Gaming" Commission was in St. Louis for a meeting in late February, Sierra Club members and CasiNO allies rallied prior to the meeting and received helpful media coverage. We appeared to have been persuasive, because the Commission Chair deviated from the printed agenda to invite comments from the audience, and also promised that if another St. Louis casino asked to be licensed, the Commission would hold any meeting or hearing on this request in St. Louis so that Missourians most concerned about this project could more easily attend.

To emphasize what Sierra Club and our allies are trying to protect and why we especially oppose this casino, the alliance of opposition groups has changed its name from CasiNO to "Save the Confluence." A Sierra Club member will serve on its new Steering Committee.

Opposition is growing, but we still need you to mention this issue to your neighbors and local political officials.