Seniors in Bakersfield fight for bingo games

Senior citizens of Stockdale Villa Mobile Home Park of Bakersfield nearly had their bingo game shut because of the city charging them a $1,900 conditional use permit.

 

However these players didn’t find this right as they had been playing bingo every Wednesday night for about 20 years.

 

The Bingo Association president Darlene Phillips had enquired why this rule came into being and was told that the conditional permit had become mandatory. However with the group being a small group, they hardly rake in $75 which made them outraged.

 

This group has up to 20 players where playing bingo was one of the activities they looked forward to. So a player’s son contacted the Eyewitness News tipline, wherein Jim Movius of the city planning department met the staffer handling bingo permits.

 

They found out that the city had required bingo permits for years, and on checking on the zoning of the game, they found out that as Mobile Home Park is a residential zone, and bingo is not permitted in residential zones, they had to pay the conditional use permit.

 

However the planning department had a change of heart for Stockdale Villa needing a permit as they decided to grandfather all the small existing bingo games in residential areas.

 

With this development, Darlene Phillips advises everyone to stand up if they find something wrong. Remember that no one likes the news calling them, and if the news does call, they do the necessary research to check for truth in what you had said.

 

Bingo news from bingo reviewer.