Anyone who has ever been to SunRail’s DeBary station knows
that there’s almost nothing there, with the exception of a well-worn
convenience store and a mobile home park.
Now after almost a year of SunRail passenger operations a
developer has floated the idea of putting a horse track or a card room (yes
gambling) near the train station. Seriously?
What’s worse, in a
recent interview with our friends at the Daytona Beach News Journal,
DeBary Mayor Clint Johnson said a card room or horse track would be “a unique
opportunity for DeBary.”
Unique indeed. When it comes to economic development, the
gambling business is a terrible idea. Don’t take our word for it, just take a
quick trip to Atlantic City, N.J. where
4 of 12 casinos closed last year. Atlantic City has one of the
highest unemployment rates in the city. Let’s not even get into the negative
elements (crime, drugs, hookers) that are attracted to gambling establishments.
The good news is that DeBary’s land-development code
currently prohibits gambling businesses. That ban needs to be kept in place.
The vacant, and underutilized land near the DeBary SunRail
station isn’t a curse, it’s
an opportunity to develop something really great to benefit DeBary, Volusia
County and SunRail riders.
A horse track or a card room is bad for DeBary, bad for
SunRail and bad for Central Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment