Zoning Changes To Philly's Second Casino Introduced Into City Council
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's second casino -- still on the drawing board -- would be allowed a larger building and bigger signs, under a bill introduced in city council this week. The bill's sponsor has promised the project will get plenty of scrutiny at public hearings.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson says he knows there are a lot of concerns about the project and the public will have a chance to air them, but he went a step further and, in a statement during Thursday's council session, sought to explain his relationship with the casino developer, Cordish.
"The Cordish company has been operating in the second councilmanic district since 2012," Johnson says. "And so just as a prudent councilman would operate with any other business out of the second councilmanic district, obviously you will develop a working relationship."
Critics of the casino project raised concerns about Johnson's relationship with Cordish after he scheduled a fundraiser for later this month at Xfinity Live, a Cordish-owned property. Johnson declined to comment beyond his statement, but the fundraiser has been moved.