By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Horse racing betting is back on track here.
Mayor Douglas Tomson said Tuesday night that the proposal to locate an off-track wagering site in a refurbished restaurant on Route 206 has moved forward with state officials.
The mayor said the township that afternoon had received word from the N.J. Racing Commission that “the application filed by the N.J. Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc, regarding the initial license for the planned off-track waging facility in Hillsborough is now complete.”
That would start the clock ticking toward a public hearing in Hillsborough on the proposal, “if there are no legal issues identified or new documents that need to be submitted that would render the application incomplete,” according to the mayor’s statement.
State law requires the Racing Commission to schedule a public hearing within 45 days in Hillsborough. Mr. Tomson said the township will notify the public when the date and time are confirmed.
The complete application wasn’t made immediately available, but the mayor later repeated his promise to post the entire application on the township’s web site.
The hearing would be “the appropriate time to address any and all questions,” he said. “We look forward to the public participating in this process.”
N.J. Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc, is the successor to Darby Development on the proposal, which would locate in the former Maestro’s restaurant on southbound Route 206 just south of Brown Avenue in the northern part of the township. More than 18 months ago, Darby spent money to refurbish the restaurant, but the facility has sat vacant for many months.
A 2011 state law allows off-track wagering operations in any commercial or industrially zoned site in the state, subject to the approval of the Racing Commission and the state Attorney General.
Darby unveiled its proposal in xx 2014. In April of that year Darby answered the public’s questions at an informal forum organized by the township. There was no public movement on the application until two weeks ago, when the Township Committee, following an executive session at the end of its regular meeting, returned to change the name on the property tax-paying arrangement to the N.J. Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Inc.
If the governing body didn’t do that, possibly the horsemen’s association could choose to subvert the agreement for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) and seek a tax abatement from the state that would pay the township less in property taxes.
That part of the May 26 meeting was not videotaped, but is on audiotape, officials said.
The Township Committee passed an ordinance granting a PILOT to Darby. The developer agreed to pay the township a set amount of $32,000 ($3,000 would go to the county) per year for five years, instead of full property taxes on the site.
Again, the Township Committee said it was hamstrung by state law. It was either agree to a PILOT, or watch Darby apply for a property tax abatement that would have brought half as much. Under a PILOT, the municipal treasury can keep all the money, with none going to schools, library, fire district and other parts of the budget.
Township officials have said since the beginning that state laws block their authority to stop the proposal, and the public opposition’s best bet is to convince the racing commission of flaws to the plan.
As described by Darby, the OTW would have separate restaurant and wagering areas. There would be simulcasts of standardbred and thoroughbred horse racing from around the country most days of the year.
