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Appeal filed to block outdoor racino concerts
YOUNGSTOWN
The decibel level of the debate over potential outdoor evening concerts at the Austintown racino may be intensifying.
A dispute over whether the summer weekend concerts should be allowed at the racino is going before the 7th District Court of Appeals.
Ashley Facility Realty LLC, which operates Briarfield at Ashley Circle, a nursing home and skilled rehabilitation facility adjacent to the racino, filed its notice of appeal Thursday.
Ashley is appealing the decision by Judge Shirley J. Christian, of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, to permit the concerts, for which the Austintown Zoning Board of Appeals issued a conditional use permit.
Ashley complained that such concerts at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course would create excessive noise that would disrupt the nursing home environment.
However, Hollywood’s representatives said the concert area would be 1,000 feet away from Ashley, and the sound would be directed north toward Interstate 80 and away from Ashley, with the sound intensity reduced by full summer foliage on the trees.
The permit would limit Hollywood’s outdoor concerts to eight a year on weekends only, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 4 to 8 p.m. Sundays, with seating limited to 1,500 people.
A spokesman for Penn National Gaming, which owns Hollywood Gaming, said no amplified summer outdoor concerts were planned for this year, but Hollywood’s business plan calls for the possibility of eventually offering such concerts.
Ashley’s appeal notice blasted Judge Christian’s decision as “unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable” and unsupported by sufficient substantial and reliable evidence.
The racino, which opened last Sept. 17 at state Route 46 and Silica Road, is nearing its one-year anniversary.