Casino news from http://news.rgj.com/
Sparks planning officials denied a proposal Monday to build a hotel-casino on Pyramid Highway, sending the Lazy 8's fate to the city council and possibly court.
The Sparks Planning Commission denied developer Harvey Whittemore and Peppermill Casinos' $100 million plans for a resort, but the council can override the 4-3 commission vote.
"I'm confident city council will see the merits of our position," Whittemore said after the meeting. Nearby residents and other Sparks casino operators have opposed the Lazy 8. Some residents thanked the Planning Commission.
"I want to commend this commission," nearby resident John Bradbury said. "You had lots of studying to do."
Officials from John Ascuaga's Nugget also were happy with the decision.
"It is a very emotional issue -- people get upset," said Michonne Ascuaga, chief executive of the Nugget, adding her hotel-casino was not opposed to all new casinos in Sparks. "We're all about building tourism. What we want to stay focused on is the land-use issue."
Whittemore asserts the
1994 entitlement to build a casino at his Wingfield Springs
development east of Pyramid can be moved to Pyramid Highway south of La Posada Drive, where he plans to sell land to Peppermill for the development.
Commissioner Fred Lokken, a council candidate in Ward 3, made the motion to deny Lazy 8, and Thomas Lean, Mitch Nowicki and Kendall Mattina favored the motion. Scott Barnes, Jackie Peterson and Marvin Moss were opposed.
Lokken said no compelling reason exists to move the project from Wingfield Springs.
Not to be confused with the Lazy 5 Regional Park, the Lazy 8 project was proposed with an 18,000-square-foot casino, about the size of Gold Dust West in downtown Reno and larger than Tamarack Junction in south Reno.
The 20.5-acre project would include 200 hotel rooms, a movie theater, arcade, retail and restaurants.
Whittemore told commissioners the location was changed because Pyramid Highway can handle more traffic than Vista Boulevard. He said he still could build at Wingfield Springs if the council denies the Lazy 8.
"If it's denied and a court disagrees (with us), we'll be left building in Wingfield Springs," he said when Lean asked why he doesn't build the casino there.
Asked after the meeting if he was planning a lawsuit, Whittemore said he would pursue the best use of the entitlement.
Whittemore told commissioners he planned to donate his profits from the venture to the University of Nevada, Reno and that public comments on the Lazy 8 have offended him.
"I'm sick and tired of people saying it's about me -- it's not," he said to loud applause from the audience of about 150 people that seemed split between supporters and opponents of the Lazy 8.
Whittemore also has agreed to give the city $300,000 for affordable housing and is proposing to build a 4,800-square-foot community services building for the city. A lawyer working for John Ascuaga's Nugget said at a July 6 meeting the donation could be perceived as a bribe for the city's endorsement of the project.
"Are we going to find ourselves in a position where entitlements are for sale in the city of Sparks?" lawyer Doug Flowers asked commissioners then. "If people who bought houses five, 10 years ago read every public document, they would not have known it was possible to have a casino there."
Public comment was not scheduled before Monday's meeting because it was continued from July 6, when the public was allowed to speak before commissioners debated. The public was allowed to speak after the vote Monday.
Opponents have said the Lazy 8 would ruin their neighborhood and that Whittemore does not have the right to move his entitlement.
"If that is so, I could build a pig farm out there if it's not zoned for agricultural," nearby resident Shirley Bertschinger said.
"Build it in Wingfield Springs, but for god's sake, leave my neighborhood alone," resident Lynn Collins said.
At the previous meeting, Lokken made a motion to approve the resort without the casino, which was seconded by Lean. But Community Development Director Neil Krutz told the commissioners they would need to justify it.
Senior Planner Tim Thompson said Monday such justification could not be found in the law and encouraged the commission to approve the Lazy 8 request. He said also any denial should be of the entire request, not portions.
The city council was scheduled to meet with the city attorney Monday to discuss "threatened or potential" lawsuits, City Attorney Chester Adams said, but officials canceled the meeting.
Adams would not disclose the city's legal concern. The public and media would not be allowed in the meeting.
At the July 6 meeting, Leif Reid, lawyer for the developers, said a court would reverse the commission if it denied the casino.
"That sounds like a threat to me," Peterson said as some of the hundreds in attendance sneered in agreement.
|
|
