CALEXICO — A scheduled Calexico Planning Commission vote on the proposed Calexico Casino project has been postponed, the city development department confirmed.

Last week the city mailed out public notices that said the commission would decide whether to approve the casino’s environmental impact report on Monday, but the item was removed from the agenda by Friday, Calexico Associate Planner Mark Vasquez confirmed.

“They just wanted more time to review the conditions more and talk to staff more,” he said.

Vasquez could not provide details about why the vote was postponed, but said it would now take place in January.

The casino is proposed for the southwest corner of Jasper Road and Highway 111 in Calexico and would be operated by the Manzanita Band of Kumeyaay Indians. The 460,000 square-foot casino complex would be part of a 230-acre project that could eventually include 400 hotel rooms and retail and office space, according to the proposal.

On Friday, John Kennedy, a political consultant who is working for the tribe, said the Planning Commission vote had to be postponed because the city had inadequately addressed the project’s traffic impacts.

The city development department has received comments on the EIR from government entities including Imperial County and the California Department of Transportation and was scheduled to present its responses on Monday. But Kennedy said the city’s responses to questions about the project’s impact on some intersections were too vague.

On Saturday, Carlton Hargrave, a member of the Planning Commission, declined to say whether the casino vote had been postponed and said there would still be a meeting as scheduled.

“I think that what we need to do is wait until Monday,” he said.

“I know that there are some concerns and they’re having some discussion but I think we’ve got to wait until the meting to find out,” he said.

>> Staff Writer Nicolas Taborek can be reached at 337-3439 or ntaborek@ivpressonline.com

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