PA Valley View Downs Racino Clears Last Hurdle

HILLSVILLE, Pennsylvania -- As reported by the Vindicator: "The proposed Valley View Downs racetrack and casino won the last local approval it needed with the unanimous approval Thursday by the
  Mahoning Township Zoning Hearing Board of five zoning variance requests.

"A sixth request was declared to be already in compliance with the zoning ordinance, so no variance was needed.

"The board granted a height variance allowing a covered drive-up entryway to the casino to be 72 feet high; a variance to allow a hotel to be 180 feet high; 80-foot maximum heights for a possible three parking garages; a variance permitting a 140,000-gallon above-ground sewage tank on the site as a backup sewage plan in case the anticipated public sanitary sewer is not completed by the planned July, 2009 racetrack opening date; and a variance to allow an overflow 1,200-space parking area to have a grassy instead of the required paved surface.

"A fifth variance request — to declare that a planned 7-foot fence around the harness racing track meets the fence requirement — was declared to be in compliance..."