The developers of the planned HeadWaters Resort and Casino said they received contradictory guidance from Norfolk officials on plans to move forward with the project, leading them to pull a development application from city review last month.

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Newly obtained letters sent by Norfolk officials to the casino applicants detail what the city said about the two-phase construction approach the developer publicly announced in June. A March 1 letter shows the city laying out an approval process for a two-phase construction approach, while a July 14 letter says the current agreement would not allow for such a plan.

A Friday statement from a Norfolk city spokesperson said though there have been talks about an amendment to the original plan to allow a phased approach, the council would have needed to approve it and nothing was ever amended or finalized.