The board voted on a 3-2 measure to do away with distance regulations — also called separation requirements — and instead consider granting permission for owners to run new establishments in the B-4 and I-1 districts through the issuance of a conditional use permit.
Board members Richard Bolton, Henry Ford and Chairman Gregory Browning voted in favor of passing on the recommendation to council while Robert Moore and Dom Fenner voted against the matter.
Discussion was continued until this evening as planning board members last month asked for more information before making a recommendation to council.
Councilman Wayne Smith, who attended the meeting, had no comment afterward. A date has not been set for council to take up the matter.
Discussion of the matter over the course of two meetings comes as several business owners wanting to open gaming operations in the city have been stymied by the separation requirements which currently require the establishments to be 1,000-feet away from facilities such as schools, movie theaters and public parks.
“The conditional use permit is a good idea,” said Jay Patel, who currently has establishments in Wilson, Rocky Mount and Raleigh. “They can take them on a case by case basis.”
Patel said the 500-foot separation the planning board was initially considering this evening “is really restrictive. In Raleigh we can open with a retail license. The distance here is a deal killer.”
He said his business in Rocky Mount is operated in an area which includes a Rose’s, Family Dollar, fitness center and daycare.
His gaming business and the daycare, he told the planning board, “never cross paths. If you do the conditional use permit you can look at things case by case. Let’s keep an open mind.”
The separation requirement, Patel said, is “a huge hindrance. If it has to be 500 feet, I know I’m spinning my wheels. The conditional use permit is the magic tool.”
Debra Lynch, who also spoke at last month’s meeting, told the board, “When you have commercial business within residential neighborhoods the 500 feet is going to be restrictive everywhere.”
Reiterating what she said at last month’s meeting, Lynch told the board, the establishments are quiet and many people come in to use the computers for Internet. “They help people use the computer. Students go online for their classes. When you’re talking about putting people in harm’s way, there’s no 911 calls to the establishments.”
It was Bolton who first suggested doing away with the distance proposals. “If you have to have a conditional use permit, each has to be reviewed. Then why have the restrictions?”
Patel said, “A lot of people have the impression they are like an old Western saloon. They’re more along the lines of a social club. We find groups come in and enjoy themselves.”
Bolton made the motion to go with the conditional use permit requirement and do away with the separation requirement on a second by Ford.
The board also voted 4-1 on a motion of consistency with Fenner voting against the measure.
Patel said following the vote, “I think it’s a step forward. It opens up the potential for new business coming into town.”
Moore said after the meeting he voted against the measure because he was in favor of the 500-foot separation requirement. “I’m for having more business. The restriction was important to me.”