Parking demands and traffic concerns prompted the Columbus Town Council to re-evaluate its zoning ordinance for electronic gaming, and the council finalized a few changes in November by adding a parking requirement.

Electronic gaming terminals have been capped at six allowed in any business, and now each business will need to supply one parking space for each electronic gaming terminal in the business.

“The council finds electronic gaming machines are not consistent with the small-town, local feel which exist in Columbus and which the citizens of Columbus have asked for, and that

large scale electronic gaming machine parlors would not fit well in a small town environment and would detract from the type of community which the council and townspeople are working to foster,” the amendment states.

The amendment further notes that the I-26 Corridor Overlay area has the highest traffic volume, and electronic gaming operations are allowed only in that area at this time.

“The commission hopes to be in compliance with the state and not restrict enterprise,” said Devon LaFramboise, town clerk.

Electronic gaming arrived in Columbus in 2010, and the council has wrestled with a number of concerns in that time.

The Columbus Town Council approved reducing its gaming machine fees from $3,000 per location and $2,500 per machine to $300 per location and $300 per machine in July 2013, in an effort to balance the needs of business owners and the general public, while complying fully with state law.

The state of North Carolina has banned electronic gaming but litigation has continued to surround the issue. Current terminals are grandfathered in as the law changes, and one establishment already has six terminals in Columbus.