Planning Commission OKs Margheritaville

Valerie Miller

Monday, Dec. 21, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

The Margheritaville resort received the green light from the Henderson Planning Commission last week, but it may be to soon break out those shakers of salt.

The long-awaited project, which was approved for zoning and comprehensive plan amendment changes in June 1997, was OK'd Thursday for a use permit to build a hotel and casino on its 30-acre site at 1300 East Paradise Parkway (formerly Foothills) in the Mission Hills area, but the decision was not without controversy.

Questions were raised about whether the last-minute placement on the Commission's agenda was an attempt to avoid the conforming to guidelines set for casinos by state Senate Bill 208 and whether it was violating the process other applicants had to go through.

Senate Bill 208, which was passed in July and will go into effect on Jan.1, is designed to limit the spread of casinos outside the established resort corridors by putting strict requirements on "neighborhood" casinos. Projects that have all their permits in place by Dec. 31 are not forced to comply with the new requirements.

John Marchiano, who represents Station Casinos, Inc., voiced concern before the Commission about the decision to allow the Margheritaville resort, which is being developed by Western States Co. and C.C Outlets LTD., on the agenda only weeks after submitting its application, in order to let it meet the Dec. 31 deadline.

"At the Nov. 19 (Planning Commission) meeting, comments were made by commissioners about the '11th hour' nature of the (resort) projects before the commission," he said.

"If Nov. 19 was the the '11th hour', I don't know what hour (Dec. 17) this is."

Marchiano added that he was skeptical of the developer's motives for rushing the project through, commenting that the developer would still be able to re-apply for the use permit under the new law but would have to meet its tougher standards.

"I don't see the reason for the rush to judgment on this project. We (previous applicants) had to make sure we were in compliance (with current standards), he told the Commission.

"What they (Margheritaville) are trying to do is circumvent 208, castrate 208, and totally gut 208."

The commission and planning staff defended their decision to rush the item on the agenda, since it has been done with other applicants in the past, according to Mary Kay Peck, the Community Development director.

"Since we do this for some people who have good reasons, we shouldn't discriminate against this applicant (Western states Co.), Peck said.

"They got their application in (before Dec. 31), and we expedited it. We have to give them every legal recourse."

On Friday, notices were scheduled to go out to City Council members, Peck said, adding that a special City Council meeting could be scheduled on Dec. 29 in the event that an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision is filed.

If no appeals are filed, the Commission's decision is considered final because the last regularly scheduled City Council meeting of the year was held on Dec. 15.

Marchiano said he was unsure if his client, Station Casinos, Inc., would appeal the Margheritaville approval.

The Levi Strauss Co., a neighboring business to resort's site, may also consider appealing the decision, maintaining that the hotel-casino would be incompatible with existing businesses in the area.