Title
Declaring that certain areas of the City, specifically the area bounded by Delaware Avenue, Shackamaxon Street (Extended), the Delaware River, and Ellen Street (Extended) and the area bounded by Christopher Columbus Boulevard, (former) Reed Street, the Delaware River, and Tasker Street (Extended), as a result of the extraordinary act of the Pennsylvania Gaming Board in granting gaming licenses to those particular sites, are no longer found to be deteriorated under §19-1303(3) of The Philadelphia Code.
Body
WHEREAS, HSP Gaming, L.P. ("HSP"), owner of the Sugar House Casino, has entered into a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement ("PILOT agreement") with the City of Philadelphia, in which HSP agrees to pay over ten years, as a settlement of real estate taxes, an estimated minimum of $40 million and an estimated maximum of $67 million, for the ten-year period during which a property tax abatement would be available; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, L.P. ("PEDP"), owner of the Foxwoods Casino, has entered into a PILOT agreement with the City of Philadelphia in which PEDP agrees to pay over ten years, as a settlement of real estate taxes, an estimated minimum of $40 million and an estimated maximum of $65 million, for the ten-year period during which a property tax abatement would be available; and
WHEREAS, The Executive Branch, which negotiated and signed the agreements on behalf of the City, does not have the power or the authority to bind City Council or to contractually obligate City Council to act or refrain from acting, including but not limited to the introduction of legislation that reduce or eliminates any property tax abatement; and,
WHEREAS, PEDP, in its "Supplement to and Restatement in its Entirety the Report filed with the City of Philadelphia on December 21, 2005 pursuant to 58 PA Code S.441.3(c)" that was submitted to the City of Philadelphia in March 2006, specifically contemplates the payment of the R...
Click here for full text