Harmon project sent back to drawing board

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1998 | 11:06 a.m.

The backroom-brokered tunnel plan for the Harmon Avenue intersection at the Strip -- seemingly clearing the way for another Steve Wynn megaresort -- was approved illegally, a judge has ruled. The County Commission broke the open meeting law on the vote, District Judge Gene Porter said Tuesday.

It doesn't mean the redesign project is dead.

It does mean that to reconsider the issue, the commission must debate the convoluted interchange concept, with its two single-lane, S-shaped tunnels beneath the Strip, in the light of day at a public hearing. And adequate, legal notice of the hearing must be given to the public.

That will give executives, experts and lawyers from Aladdin Gaming LLC and other nearby properties a chance to present their opposition or support for the project that could tie up traffic on the Strip for perhaps two years.

Tuesday's ruling on Aladdin's challenge to the plan occurred as the National Gambling Impact Study Commission was hearing testimony at the MGM Grand hotel-casino on the influence of gambling -- both good and bad -- on communities.

In court, Porter looked at a drawing of the proposed intersection redesign that was supposed to be considered during the Aug. 31 special meeting of the commission.

The support material for the agenda item showed an intersection at street level and Harmon Avenue continuing straight across the Strip until it connected to Interstate 15.

Porter then looked at a drawing of the project the commissioners passed.

Harmon Avenue jogged north through tunnels that funneled three lanes of traffic in each direction into one. The street resurfaced at the south edge of the Bellagio hotel-casino property and proceeded west to the freeway.

The jog results in Mirage Resorts preserving 55 acres of prime development land that would have been bisected had Harmon Avenue continued straight across the Strip.

Porter concluded that the final plan wasn't what was supposed to be considered by the commission that day, and the commission's actions deprived citizens of their rights under the 1989 Open Meeting Law.

The judge ruled that from the public notice and supporting data on file, anyone interested in the project simply couldn't figure out what the commission was really going to be considering on Aug. 31.

"The scheme under which this occurred didn't allow the people affected by this to present arguments to the commission," the judge said. "The way this went down violated the spirit of the Open Meeting Law."

Aladdin executive Patty Becker was at the commission hearing and was stunned by the proposal that surfaced. Although she had been supportive of the surface intersection, she said she was unprepared to combat the tunnel plan that would have reduced access to the Aladdin's upcoming $1.2 billion resort project.

Becker asked the commission to delay its vote, but it sailed through.

That is because a deal had been cut between county public works officials and Bellagio executives just hours before the commission meeting, according to court arguments, and it needed to be passed or the resort would lose its option on some of the land at stake in the project.

Aladdin attorney Randall Jones charged that the agreement for the Bellagio to sell Clark County a chunk of its land for the re-directed Harmon Avenue at a greatly reduced price was muscled through the commission before the resort even owned the land.

Attorneys hoping to salvage the tunnel project argued that commissioners have a considerable amount of latitude within agenda items and may reach compromises where necessary.

Deputy District Attorney Christine Geisler said the issue is "whether an agenda item is detailed enough to let people know what is going to be considered." She said the notice for the Aug. 31 meeting provided enough detail so anyone interested in the project would know to attend.

Attorney Stephen Peek downplayed the redesign as a simple alignment decision the commissioners had a right to make as part of the proposal to sell Clark County $114 million in land for Harmon Avenue for only $8 million.

But the judge noted that the public announcement indicated there was "an agreement" for the county to buy some Bellagio land for the Harmon Avenue extension.

"If you look at the supporting data for the agreement, you see a straight line" where the road extends through as a traditional intersection at street level, the judge said.

"It doesn't say the commission is considering a new right of way. It says a deal has been cut and all of a sudden the deal has been changed.

"You don't see a problem with that?" Porter asked in frustration.