Neighborhood residents unhappy with Forest Central Bingo moving into the Lake Ridge Village Shopping Center at Forest and Audelia Roads have no say under City zoning regulations.
ÒPeople have called in to ask ÔWhat can we do to prevent the bingo parlor from going in?Õ and now the answer is ÔThereÕs nothing you can do,Õ Ó says City Councilman Alan Walne, who represents Lake Highlands.
Bingo halls are permitted under the shopping centerÕs designation as community retail. Walne would like to change that. He is seeking a moratorium on building permits for bingo halls until a City committee can make a recommendation. Ultimately, he would like to see bingo halls required to obtain special use permits as do dance halls and sexually-oriented businesses.
Walne says he doesnÕt Òhave a bone to pickÓ with bingo halls. But he questions whether they fit into the types of businesses designated for community retail. Also, he believes going through a public process would better serve the neighborhood by providing accountability.
ÒCommunity retail centers have changed from what they are supposed to be,Ó Walne says, citing drug stores and shoe shops as some of the service-oriented businesses intended. ÒThis is an amusement use. IÕm not sure they should have carte blanche for the permit.Ó
In the meantime, Walne is planning a town hall meeting (tentatively expected sometime this month) where neighborhood residents can meet with the owner of Forest Central Bingo, Cecile Rosenzweig. All involved say they welcome such a forum.
Jonna Miller, a mother of three living less than a block away from the shopping center, says she led a petition drive against the bingo hall because ÒI really care about my neighborhood and I really donÕt want to see it go to pot.Ó
Among her specific concerns: that alcohol will be allowed, that the value of neighborhood homes will go down, and that other businesses will leave the shopping center. The bingo hall should be located, as others are, in commercial areas far from homes, she says.
ÒIf a bingo parlor was the best they could get there now, I canÕt imagine what is next,Ó Miller says. ÒIt will run off legitimate businesses.Ó
Tenants at the shopping center may eventually pull up stakes because of the newcomer but hesitate to protest publicly because they fear retaliation by their landlord, Miller says.
Miller also fears drinking will be tolerated at the hall.
ÒIf people want to bring their own alcohol, she would let them drink in her bingo parlor,Ó Miller says. Ò I can see the uproar when one of the kids is walking past there and gets hit by a car.
ÒWeÕve already had a problem with that at White Rock Trail, and thatÕs without the drinking.Ó
Rosenzweig says the drinking issue has been misconstrued. She says she indicated that under state law, customers could legally bring in alcohol because she does not have a liquor license. However, she says drinking is not encouraged and she does not have a ÒBYOB policy.Ó
ÒI never used those words,Ó Rosenzweig says. ÒThatÕs the last thing I want in my hall. This is a family place where people can bring their children.Ó
Rosenzweig describes her clientele as including blue-collar workers, office workers and retirees. Neighbors have preconceived ideas about bingo, she says.
ÒI just have a nice, clean operation,Ó she says. ÒItÕs quiet. If you miss a number, you may miss a bingo.
ÒThey have the wrong impression of what bingo is, at least at my hall. ThatÕs why we need this forum.Ó
The hall is expected to open in a month or so, with operating hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information on the town hall meeting, call WalneÕs council office at 670-4068.
