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Sparks Planning Commission dodges decision on casino at Lazy 8 resort
City staffer says justification needed for denial; meeting continued to July 17
Ryan Randazzo
After hours of testimony stretching into this morning, the Sparks Planning Commission delayed a vote on whether a casino could be part of the Lazy 8 resort development in Spanish Springs.
A motion and second to deny the casino was withdrawn after Community Development Director Neil Krutz told the seven commissioners that would require staff to develop justification for the action. When Assistant City Attorney David Creekman suggested the panel postpone a vote due to the late hour, the audience groaned,.
The commission meets for a vote on Reno lawyer Harvey Whittemore's Tierra Del Sol project off Pyramid Highway south of La Posada Drive at 7 p.m. July 17.
The audience of about 200 had dwindled to about 60 by the time the commission adjourned after 1 a.m. More than 30 witnesses testified.
"It's not that I am against the casino," Mary Oden of Spanish Springs. "I'm against it being in my backyard."
Opponents of the project, including John Ascuaga's Nugget and nearby residents, have argued the project needs a master plan amendment and hope it won't get one.
Getting an amendment could be more difficult after recent changes regarding tourist-commercial zoning in Sparks. The council voted Dec. 12 to change the areas where tourist commercial development could take place, restricting it to near Interstate 80 and the Truckee River.
Tierra Del Sol plans include about 315,000 square feet of development with an 18,000-square-foot casino, 200 hotel rooms, movie theater and restaurants.
The developers have agreed to give $300,000 to the city for affordable housing and propose a 4,800-square-foot community services building.
Most testimony against the casino appeared to be from residents in the area. Labor unions and residents of Wingfield Springs, another Whittemore development, supported the casino.
"I don't know this Harvey Whittemore guy, but he sure can draw a crowd," Herman Stewart of Sparks said. "I don't think he just fell off a pile of rocks, though. I think he's a pretty smart guy.
"We like what we have. It is kind of country."
More than 150 others submitted written comments, 77 opposed to the casino and 107 in favor.
Several people wore "Yes to Lazy 8" buttons, most wearing Wingfield Springs polo shirts.
Whittemore, a powerful lobbyist and developer, said he has the right to transfer a casino entitlement from his Red Hawk development to the Tierra Del Sol project north of Lazy 5 Regional Park for the ranch-themed Lazy 8 project, which he would develop with Peppermill Casinos.
The Sparks City Council, which can override the planning commission, was expected to have a special meeting regarding the Lazy 8 in mid-July, city spokesman Adam Mayberry said. The continued plan commission meeting could change that.
The crowd had been in place when the meeting started at 7 p.m. but shrunk before the chairman called the case at 9 p.m. After an hour of testimony from developers and a report and endorsement from the city planning staff, testimony began about 10 p.m. and continued for at least three hours.
"I am here for the casino. I felt like my opinion would matter," said Brady Sugui, 43, of Sparks.
"We need a place to support our growing population," said Dustin Raisseau of Reno, a business management student at the University of Nevada, Reno.
"I don't want the casino because there are too many casinos here already," said Sparks resident Gata Shukle, 46, Sparks.
Commissioner Fred Lokken, a city council candidate in Ward 3, made a motion to accept everything in the project but the casino. Commissioner Thomas Lean seconded the motion.
After brief discussion, Krutz said the staff wouild have to develop findings to justify the denial. Other commissioners asked Lokken to withdraw his motion.
"The location is bad. They have a library, a park, and they want to put a casino next a place that is family-oriented," Cynthia Heard, 25, of Spanish Springs.
Tierra Del Sol lawyer Leif Reid, son of the U.S.senator from Nevada, said a court would reverse the commission if it voted against the casino.
"That sounds like a threat to me," Commissioner Jackie Peterson said.
Both sides generally agree a court will decide the Lazy 8's fate. If Sparks officials allow the casino to be built without a master plan amendment, the project's opponents are likely to sue. If the casino is denied, Lazy 8 developers likely will sue.
By the start of testimony, some in the audience were too tired to participate.
"Spanish Springs is building," Anthony Larot, 36, said as he carried his drowsy 3-year-old son from the meeting. "They are putting up everything. I agree with it. It means money for the city."
Lawyers from Hale, Lane, Peek, Dennison and Howard, representing John Ascuaga's Nugget, sent a letter to the planning commission stating why they believe a master plan amendment is needed. "To permit a use in a district when such a use is not allowed is in effect to ignore the master plan and to accord it no deference at all," the letter said. "This is not a mere absence of strict conformity, but a total disregard for the master plan, in violation of unambiguous Nevada law."
Attorneys from Lewis and Roca LLP working for the project responded with their own letter, also obtained by the newspaper. They accuse Hale Lane of "an effort to disguise the improper nature of their client's interest, which is to prevent gaming competition in Sparks and to maintain the Nugget's near market share on gaming in the city."
Opponents also sent notices by mail and fliers to rally against the Lazy 8.
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