The City of Aurora has taken into consideration an exemption to its recently-enacted video gambling legislation for a new restaurant venue situated in close proximity to Fox Valley Mall.
If finalized, this would be the first exemption given under the new gambling law which Aurora City Council brought to action earlier in 2018 as part of its efforts to provide regulation for video gambling in the city. The Planning and Development Committee aldermen have recently unanimously recommended such an exemption to be granted to TW Restaurant Group’s TW Cafe.
The restaurant has applied for permission for five video gambling machines but is situated within 2,640 feet of another establishment which currently holds a video gambling operating license – Hooters. Under the provisions of the new VGT legislation, establishments which offer video gambling are required to be situated at least at half a mile from one another.
At the time when the gambling bill was brought to action by Aurora aldermen, the latter took into consideration the fact that places, where there are a lot of restaurants, could have potential video gambling establishments in close proximity to each other. That was exactly the reason why the City Council included an option for such facilities to apply for an exemption to the rules regarding VGTs’ location. The new restaurant which is set to be open would be situated at about 200 feet from Hooters, but it would also be within a half-mile of other facilities, including another dining venue owned and operated by TW Restaurant Group – Tracey’s.
Exemption Is Fine, Say Aurora Aldermen
Aldermen of Aurora’s Planning and Development Committee explained they had nothing against the exemption for the new business of TW Restaurant Group. The City Council is to discuss the matter at the Committee of the Whole meeting which is scheduled for September 18th.
Providing TW Cafe with an exemption of the proximity would not be a precedent for the city of Aurora. Last month, a longtime bar situated in downtown Aurora was provided with a permission to continue offering its video gaming terminals in spite of the new ordinance regarding the limits imposed on VGT number available to local customers.
Under the new regulations, the overall number of video gaming terminals would be limited to 200 in the city of Aurora, with establishments being permitted to feature no more than five machines. As mentioned above, there would be some limitations regarding the proximity, with establishments offering VGTs being situated within a half mile at the least from each other. Only one video gambling venue is permitted for each shopping plaza.
Still, the new video gambling rules include a procedure of exemption, by which an establishment can ask local authorities for exemption of the half-mile limit. The rule was included in the recently enacted piece of legislation because of areas of the city of Aurora where there is a large concentration of bars and restaurants.
