The town of Braintree will today begin its final review of plans by the arcade-dining complex Dave and Busters to build a US$12m, 170-game complex at the location of the current Circuit City building at the South Shore Plaza.
The review, which officials predict may take two meetings with the town licensing board, will go over the entirety of the site’s layout, alcohol policies, safety personnel requirements, and gaming room requirements before receiving the go-ahead from town staff.
“This is the first time we’ve done a video gaming ordinance and there is quite amount of material to go through,” said town clerk and chair of the Licensing Board Joseph Powers. “You’re going to hear from the applicant, questions from the board, and the general public has a right to weigh in, so it’s a one inch binder of things we’re going to sort through,” he said.
Massachusetts’ first Dave and Busters has been in the works for months, and pended approval from numerous town boards. Although the go-ahead from the planning board in early October 2010 was mired in months of controversy and town outcry, Powers doesn’t suspect the meeting will have as much controversy.
Even so, the licensing board will have to ensure that the facility follows through with the recently enacted Policies and Regulations Governing Amusement Games ordinance, passed in December.
Included in the ordinance is the requirement that the facility be occupied by no more than 49 percent of gaming space and that the owner pay a licensing fee of $100 per gaming device. According to Powers, this is one of the more technical licensing issues the board will look at, specifically because of the square footage gaming restrictions. However square footage restrictions won’t be the only thing D&B has faced in recent months.
In October, the planning board passed an additional 54 conditions to D&B to mitigate local concerns - among them a required contribution to the safety fund for the town and the maintenance of an exterior security system. The establishment’s liquor licence was approved in December 2009.
In addition to its proposed Braintree location, Dave and Busters is currently working to build an establishment at the 90 Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington.
