Topless club gets board’s OK to expand

Erin Neff

Wednesday, April 7, 1999 | 11:21 a.m.

Sushi, sashimi or sensuality?

Patrons of the Olympic Gardens topless club will soon have their pick of the three.

Despite objections from city staff, the Las Vegas Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a variance Tuesday night allowing Olympic Gardens to add both a sushi bar and an employee lounge.

The board's approval is final unless the decision is appealed to the City Council within 10 days.

City planners recommended the board deny the variance request for the club at 1531 Las Vegas Blvd. South because the building is classified by code as a "nonconforming" use.

Olympic Gardens is located on property zoned C-2, or general commercial. By city code, sexually-oriented businesses are only permitted in commercial-industrial (C-M) or industrial (M) zones.

Since Olympic Gardens opened before the city's C-2 zoning came to the site, the sexually-oriented business was allowed to continue to operate.

However, the zoning code states "the nonconforming use of a nonconforming building may be extended or expanded into any other portion of the nonconforming building only if no structural alterations are made.

The proposed additions of a 987-square-foot, second-story employee lounge and an 807-square-foot sushi bar on a first-floor terrace would both require physical alterations.

Neither the planned sushi bar nor employee lounge -- as proposed -- offer the topless performances and lap dancing entertainment found elsewhere in the club. However, city staff said there is no guarantee that in the future both the sushi bar and lounge would not include entertainment.

City planner Sue Barton said the proposed variance was "contrary to the intent of the code" and would exacerbate zoning problems "by further embedding this nonconforming use."

John Moran Jr., who represents Eliades Family Trust -- which applied for the variance -- told the zoning board there would be no dancing in the second-floor employee lounge. He said the request for a new lounge is needed because the current first-floor facility is too crowded.

Moran was joined in support of the proposal by former Las Vegas City Councilman and former Constable Bob Nolen.

The new lounge will be furnished and is intended to allow employees a chance to relax during breaks.

The sushi bar is being built to accommodate customers, according to information supplied to the city by the applicant.

Board member Mark Solomon, who motioned for approval of the request, said the board has reviewed prior cases with Olympic Gardens, and added, "We have on several occasions visited that property."

"This seems to be a very minimal expansion," he added.

A similar approval for expansion of a nonconforming business in January led to public protest and an appeal to the City Council.

In that case, the board approved a variance for a 6,000-square-foot addition at the Crazy Horse Too club on Industrial Road, despite that club being considered nonconforming because of its proximity to Cheetah's strip club.

The city code requires sexually-oriented businesses to be 1,000 feet away from each other. Cheetah's and Crazy Horse are 773 feet apart.

An appeal of the zoning board's approval was denied by the City Council in a circus-like meeting featuring political mudslinging and accusations by Mayor Jan Laverty Jones against the woman who filed the appeal.

City Councilman Michael McDonald's abstention from that vote -- he has a friendship with Crazy Horse owner Rick Rizzolo and has used the lawyer who handled the Crazy Horse case -- has drawn criticism from his re-election campaign opponent.

The zoning board's decision Tuesday is final, unless appealed within 10 days to the council.

In a related item, the board on Tuesday also approved a 5,682-square-foot expansion of Larry's Hideaway, 3369 Thom Boulevard. Larry's Hideaway is considered a nonconforming use due because of its proximity to two churches and another tavern.

Larry's Hideaway, which is not a sexually-oriented business, opened in 1955 before either of those churches or the other tavern, but it is still legally considered nonconforming like Crazy Horse or Olympic Gardens.

"The business of Larry's Hideaway has been an institution in Las Vegas for many years," Solomon said in motioning for approval. "It's nice to see him fixing it up. We tear down too many buildings in Las Vegas."