Since both of the proposals vying for the region’s sole casino license sit just on Boston’s doorstep, Mayor Martin Walsh is right to fight for as much influence as possible over the plans. On Monday, just before a state deadline, the city filed paperwork requesting that the Gaming Commission designate Boston a “surrounding community,” a status that would require casino developers to meet with city officials to hammer out ways to ease any casino’s impact on local roads and businesses.
The city had initially asked for an extension of the deadline, arguing that a brand-new administration needed more time to scour the 43,000 pages of documents submitted by the casino developers. The goal of the extension was to build a case that Boston was, in fact, a “host community” — and thus, entitled to far more power to shape the process than surrounding communities. Host communities, for one, can veto plans completely, while surrounding communities can’t.
The commission declined to extend Monday’s deadline, but threw the city a bone, ruling that officials could continue to seek host community status for both sites even while filing the petition for the lesser status. So by filing its application Monday, the Walsh administration didn’t give up any options.
Proving the Boston is, indeed, a host community will be an uphill battle, at least in Everett. Both the plans sit just outside the city limits, and the commission already nixed former mayor Tom Menino’s earlier attempt to win host-community status for Boston for the Everett plan. The plan at Suffolk Downs hasn’t received the same level of scrutiny. The proposed casino facilities would be located in Revere, but the track would continue horse-racing operations on the Boston part of its property. If nothing else, Boston needs more clarity about Suffolk Downs’s intentions to determine whether it’s a host community.
Meanwhile, Walsh is doing the best he can with the tricky hand he’s been dealt: Press for as much power from the Gaming Commission as possible, but have a plan B to fall back on if those efforts fail.