National City Card Room Again Being Sought

Two years after residents defeated a proposal to build a card club in National City, another businessman announced Tuesday that he will try to get voter approval for a card room that would be open 24 hours a day.

Don Gardner, who owns several businesses in the South Bay, said he and business partner Chao C. Wu began a drive Tuesday to collect signatures for a measure that will appear on the November ballot. Gardner and Wu, a developer and businessman, formed the Highland Roosevelt Corp. to promote the gambling club.

The two men are promoting the idea under a measure called the National City Economic Improvement Act. According to Gardner, the city would get 8% of the club’s monthly gross income--an estimated $2 million annually--if voters approve the card room. He also said that half the club’s 250 employees would be National City residents.

Although plans for the Harbor Club, which would be situated at the foot of 24th Street, were formally announced Tuesday, opponents are already working quietly to stop them from going forward.

“We’re going to try to prevent them from collecting enough signatures by educating people. If that’s not successful, you can bet that we’ll defeat it at the polls,” said Ron Morrison, who led a citizens group that defeated a 1990 attempt by George Hardie to build a similar card club.

In a telephone interview, Gardner first said he was “a South Bay resident.” But, when pressed on where, he said he lives on Point Loma. Later, he said his family has “deep roots” in National City.

According to Gardner, the measure he hopes to include on the November ballot will also call for the creation of a “Public Safety and Youth Development Commission.” The commission, which would be composed of nine local residents, would advise city officials on how to use revenues generated by the casino.

Hardie also tried to gather signatures for a National City ballot measure that would have allowed him to build a card room there. Like Hardie, Gardner said that telephone surveys and interviews with residents showed “strong support” for such an operation.

However, roadblocks thrown up by the City Council and strong opposition by residents persuaded Hardie to abandon his plans.

The casino proposed by Gardner would cover 80,000 square feet and include a 24-hour restaurant, banquet rooms, conference center and a police substation.