The prospect of an off-track betting operation in downtown Danbury seemed to be all but a done deal last month ”“ but that was before legal action was filed by one of OTB”™s fiercest opponents.
At issue is London-based gambling and entertainment company Sportech”™s plan to add an approximately 1,200-square-foot OTB operation to the second floor of Two Steps Downtown Grille, a longtime fixture at 5 Ives St. Sportech is spending $750,000 to renovate the eatery and has said that it will provide 1.6 percent of its gross revenue to CityCenter Danbury, the special taxing district formed by merchants in the late 1980s with the goal of drawing more people and business to the area. City officials have estimated that sum could be as much as $100,000 per year.
After a pair of sometimes combative public hearings, and the presentation of a petition with 170 signatures opposing the proposal, the city”™s Zoning Commission voted 6-3 on May 9 to approve the measure, after which the City Council was due to weigh in.
But that is unlikely to happen anytime soon, as Andrea Gartner, a former Danbury CityCenter executive director, has filed an appeal of the Zoning CommissionӪs decision in Danbury Superior Court. Gartner, who owns the recently opened Pour Me Coffee & Wine Caf̩ at 247 Main St., has effectively been leading the charge against the OTB site.
Gartner”™s complaint asks that Sportech and the Zoning Commission appear in court on July 18 to answer to what it terms the “illegal, arbitrary and capricious” decision by the latter. Specifically, it maintains that Zoning Commission”™s conclusion that the application is consistent with the 2013 Plan of Conservation and Development “is not supported by substantial evidence in the record;” that its decision that the amendments “will not have a detrimental impact on the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Danbury is not supported by substantial evidence in the record;” and that it violated a city statute holding that “all (zoning) regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings, structures or use of land throughout each district,” in that it permits some businesses classified as “restaurants” in the various zoning districts to enjoy different accessory uses than other restaurants.
In addition, the complaint accuses the commission of having “illegally defined Off-Track Betting Facilities as uses accessory to a principal use of a restaurant, where such uses are not customary, incidental to and subordinate to restaurant uses, but in fact constitute principal uses” and of having illegally adopted zoning regulations specifically designed to benefit a single, identified person, rather than to benefit the city as a whole.”
The complaint asks the court to reverse the commission”™s approval and deny or direct the commission to deny the application; institute a restraining order staying the commission”™s decision pursuant to general statutes; and pay statutory costs as well as “such other relief as in law or equity may apply.”
“I’m hoping the appeal gives the City Council a reason not to place it on the agenda for June,” Gartner told the Business Journal, something that Councilman and Deputy Minority Leader Paul Rotello ”“ himself an opponent of the measure ”“ said had effectively already happened.
“Unless it”™s a special last-minute item it must be announced well before the monthly council meeting and it”™s not on June”™s agenda,” he told the Business Journal. “So that means July at the earliest, absent an interim meeting. My guess? Last month may have been more damaging than anticipated and the petitioner (Sportech) is dealing with unease and uncertainty, and counting noses before placing it. Just a guess, but no sense taking that final step unless you know it”™ll pass.”
Rotello called Gartner”™s legal challenge “no real surprise.”
When contacted by the Business Journal, Sportech Venues President Ted Taylor said: “It”™s obviously unfortunate that we need to resubmit our application, but we will be doing so imminently.”
Two Steps owner Tom Devine ”“ who also serves as CityCenter chairman, giving rise to complaints that the project is a sweetheart deal and/or represents a conflict of interest ”“ was decidedly less circumspect.
“It”™s interesting to note that Andrea never states that she has known about this project for over three years,” he told the Business Journal, “and as executive director of CityCenter she viewed plans when this project was being planned on a larger scale at another location, 40 White St. As chairman of CityCenter Andrea never came to me or to the whole CityCenter Board to voice objections to this project.”
Devine noted that Sportech and Two Steps “have the backing of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, the CityCenter Danbury Board of Directors (composed of area business leaders, banks and universities), The Paul Mitchell School (directly behind Two Steps), The Danbury Ice Arena and The Danbury Titans, to name a few. We”™ve received approvals from both the Planning Commission and the Zoning Commission of the city of Danbury.
“Our business model is going to be run on the same principles that our family has run our restaurant since 1991,” he said. “We will continue to contribute to the vitality of downtown Danbury, and Sportech Venues shares our vision.”
Devine also questioned whether the reasons behind Gartner”™s moves included the fact that her Pour Me is now competing with Two Steps for customers, and hinted at other possible motivations.
“By the way that Andrea has been trying to energize political bases and generate fear in the community, I can”™t help but wonder if there are other factors at play,” Devine said. “We all know that Andrea Gartner has political aspirations and has run for the City Council twice and lost. Is she planning on running again?”
“For the past 10 years, I have been committed to being an agent of change and transformation in moving Downtown Danbury revitalization forward,” Gartner replied. “It”™s why I embraced taking on the job CityCenter executive director in 2007 and why I purchased a downtown home in 2010.
“My decision to run for City Council in 2013 and 2015 falls within this framework,” she said. “My frustration with the lackluster will and acumen of CityCenter stakeholders to initiate and create a dynamic, vibrant, sustainable vision for CityCenter informed my decision to resign my position in 2015. I can”™t say that I understand how strongly standing by that ideal generates fear.”
Due to the time involved with opening Pour Me, she added, “I have not made a decision about running for City Council. Truth be told, if I were to run at all in upcoming municipal elections, my inclination would be for a position on the Zoning Commission.”
