Judge OKs shift of power lines in Venetian case

Bill Gang

Friday, May 22, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.

The $1 billion Venetian hotel-casino project is back on track after a district judge ruled that power lines running through the resort's property to a diminutive restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip could be moved.

The half-century-old Rosewood Grille, surrounded on three sides by the Venetian, had engaged in a modern day David and Goliath confrontation that the resort's attorney conceded has strained the scheduled August 1999 completion date.

"Frankly, we're bleeding very badly because of this," said Venetian attorney Mark Solomon in court Tuesday, reminding District Judge Mark Gibbons of the economic value of the construction project and the thousands of jobs at stake.

The Venetian had wanted to swallow up the restaurant that has been in the same family since 1962 as part of the resort but the owners wouldn't sell and the relationship degenerated into what was characterized in court as a feud.

The Rosewood Grill claimed easement rights to the power lines supplying it electricity and Nevada Power Co. refused the Venetian's demands that the lines, which also carry telephone service, be moved.

At the end of Thursday's hearing, Gibbons decided that the "equitable" solution to the case would be to temporarily relocate the power lines and let the Venetian project continue construction.

Continued power service to the Rosewood Grille would be provided by generators during the week-long relocation process.

Stating that he was balancing the hardships to both sides, Gibbons granted a temporary restraining order letting the Venetian run a temporary power line underground to the back of the restaurant. A permanent solution will eventually route a new access line from the Las Vegas Boulevard side.

The total cost could be more than $250,000, but it is not clear whether the Venetian or Nevada Power would be stuck with the tab. The only thing that is clear is that the Rosewood Grille would not.

A hearing is set for June 5 to finalize the power line issue and a trial could eventually be held to determine if there are any financial repercussions that must be litigated.

Rosewood Grille attorneys Robert Langford and Brian Holthus said the restaurant has plans to expand its operation and, perhaps, construct a parking garage on a portion of the plot that is only 89 feet wide.

The problem is that if the power line is run under their property at this time, their expansion opportunities would be limited because Nevada Power would not permit major construction over the buried line.

Langford said the huge Venetian site could better afford to give up a 7-foot- wide easement for a power line than the Rosewood Grille. But the Venetian plans call for the resort to be built up to the boundry line between the properties.

"All the Rosewood Grille is asking is to be able to fully develop its property as the Venetian is developing theirs," Langford said.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, the Venetian claims the refusal by the LeWinter family that owns the Rosewood Grille to grant permission for relocation of the poles was delaying the resort project and costing millions.

In court Thursday, Solomon reiterated that "clearly it has delayed our project," although he believes the resort could still open on schedule if there is a relocation of the power lines that have served the restaurant since at least 1949. That is three years before the Sands hotel-casino was built on the land destined to become the Venetian.

Holthus challenged the claim of a delay, noting that Venetian president and chief executive officer William Weidner publicly stated after its own lawsuit was filed that the project is on schedule despite the power line problems.

The contradictory statements, Holthus said, are misleading either the court or the investment community about the progress of the project.