Residents in the unincorporated Jefferson County community of Eastern Valley are voicing their concerns to local officials regarding the operation of bingo halls that are located in close proximity to homes, schools and churches.
According to Jason Leight, pastor of Eastern Valley Baptist Church, two bingo halls being located within the community have resulted in crime spikes, increased insurance rates and decreased property values.
The two bingo halls in question are Valley Bingo and Moe’s Charity Bingo, located in Bessemer and Brighton, respectively. The two establishments could not be reached for comment by Yellowhammer News.
Thus far, hundreds of residents have signed a petition urging the local government to enforce current zoning law, which prohibits adult entertainment establishments such as bingo halls from operating in close proximity to certain entities.
Leight, who is leading the effort, tells Yellowhammer News that those raising objections are not doing so due to religious or moral reasons, but rather because of the harm the bingo halls have caused the small community.
The petitioners call for government officials to revoke the permit or license of any business that is in violation of the county’s zoning resolution.
Jefferson County’s resolution governing adult establishments states, “No adult establishment shall be permitted within one thousand (1,000) feet of any religious institution, school, kindergarten or child-care facility, public or private park or playground, and/or residential zoning district.”
Residents write in the petition to local officials that the bingo halls are doing “objective and demonstrable harm” to the area, including the “erosion of community pride.”
The petition reads in part, “[T]he residents, business owners, and friends of Eastern Valley are opposed to the adult establishments that have opened in our community over the last year and we demand that action be taken by all the appropriate county officials to protect our families, churches, and businesses from further harm by fully enforcing the laws of Jefferson County.”
Jefferson County Commission president Jimmie Stephens places the responsibility of closing the bingo halls at the feet of Sheriff Mark Pettway, who the commissioner contends has yet to take meaningful action.
“The entire situation is brought about because of the lack of enforcement of the bingo ordinances by the sheriff’s department,” Stephens tells Yellowhammer News. “The sheriff needs to enforce the laws of Jefferson County and the State of Alabama. There is no ordinance legalizing bingo in any way, shape, form or fashion in unincorporated Jefferson County… The sheriff is indeed the enforcement arm of the county government.”
Stephens continues, “So we would be at a loss to figure that we would be in any better shape trying to say ‘Well, the bingo hall is here but it’s also out of zone.’ How can you have something that’s illegal in zone? So it makes no sense. We just need to get the sheriff engaged and to do what’s right. It’s infringing upon the rights of the communities in which they exist and they need to be shut down.”
When Yellowhammer News asked how the bingo halls were able to obtain licenses to operate within a prohibited zone, Stephens responded by calling it a bureaucratic error.
“They gained licenses through a misinterpretation of the law from our land planning division and our revenue department,” says Stephens. “That mistake has since been corrected and is in the process now of being remedied.”
While Stephens is not able to confirm that the licenses will be revoked, he says that the bingo halls are “being noticed that there was a mistake made.”
“There are two legal notices you have to give and they’re in the process of [sending via] certified letter and the certified letter is now in the mail. So I can say that the process is now being remedied and that mistake corrected,” the commissioner advises.
Stephens doubled down on his criticism of Pettway but indicated that he is hopeful that the sheriff will take action.
“It is a problem and I don’t think the sheriff is intent on doing what he needs to do,” he adds. “I hope I’m wrong. I know that he’s made some investigations but he hasn’t really followed through on anything yet.”
Pettway could not immediately be reached for Yellowhammer News’ request for comment.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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