Original | Effort to bring gaming parlor to Dumfries fails, council denies permit

The effort to bring gambling to Dumfries is dead in the water.

The Town Council voted 4-3 to deny a conditional use permit that would have allowed an 18,000 square-foot Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, an off-track pari-mutuel betting parlor, in the Triangle Shopping Center at the corner of Route 1 and Graham Park Road.

The Town Council was hung up over one of the 11 conditions placed upon Colonial Downs, the firm that wishes to open the facility. It would have required it to give the town $100,000 upfront for transportation improvements for Route 1.

Councilman Charles Brewer wasn’t having it. “If we’re going to do this Rosie’s, we need to do this for everyone, and how many other businesses will be turned away if you place this kind of a requirement on a tenant moving into a shopping center?” asked Brewer.

He argued that, unlike a new commercial building or apartment complex, Rosie’s would be located inside an exiting shopping center, and that will not adversely affect the delivery of public safety services or traffic conditions in the town in the same way as a new development would.

After the motion failed, the council took about a 10-minute recess and then reconvened to reconsider the motion. Brewer motioned, again, to pass the conditional use permit that would have given the green light to he gaming parlor, and, at the same time, removing the $100,000 requirement.

Again, the motion failed 4-3 and the council adjourned.

Councilwoman Cydny Neville motioned for the adjournment and took issue with the council’s willingness to debate the issue after the original vote failed. “The vote was cast and that was it. This is called taking part in a democracy,” said Neville. “Is this going to be the new practice each time we see something on the agenda and we all don’t agree?”

Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson chastised Brewer for wanting to remove the $100,000 condition, saying that he had ample time to do so in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s meeting. “The moment that we are in now is to approve the conditions as they are,” said Nickerson.

“This is what I feel deters future businesses from coming here to Dumfries,” she later added.

After the motion failed, Town Manager Keith Rogers told the members of the council that they are now in uncharted territory when it comes to luring the gaming parlor. “There is no definitive next step after this meeting,” he said.

“For the council, staff, Rosie’s, and the citizens all put in a lot of work to come this far, and it’s a damn shame,” said Councilman Brian Fields. “We need to start talking and get some business done.”

Rosie’s in Dumfries would be the first of its kind facility in Northern Virginia. It would be open from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., and until 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, featuring 150 horse racing gambling terminals, and a bar.

Colonial Downs has already opened four other Rosie’s in other parts of the state to include locations in and around Richmond, just outside Roanoke, and in Hampton.

Colonial Downs invested heavily during the November 2019 General Election, plastering the town with signs urging town residents to vote yes to a referendum that would allow the gaming parlor to open in the town.

A total of 468 people voted for the measure, causing it to pass with more than 60% of the vote, according to the Virginia Department of Elections results.