County deals Rosewood two blows in feud with Venetian

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Aug. 5, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

As the walls close in on an old Las Vegas Strip restaurant, its owners are scurrying to keep their small building in view of tourists and out of the shadows of looming mega-resorts.

After pleas for protection on Wednesday, Rosewood Grille owners Alan and Kevin LeWinter suffered a significant setback.

Not only did the Clark County Commission reject Rosewood Grille owners' proposal to add onto their one-story building until it rivals the height of their neighbors, but it approved a pedestrian bridge heavily protested by the LeWinters.

Now, the LeWinters contest, their 45-year-old restaurant is surrounded on two sides by 100-foot-tall concrete walls belonging to the Venetian hotel-casino and soon a pedestrian bridge that feeds directly into the casino will block views of the Rosewood.

"(The Venetian) says they're building the bridge for public safety, for mom, for apple pie," said Kevin LeWinter. "But they tell a different story outside this room. They express their intent to divert pedestrians away so they can buy out our property."

The bridge design approved Wednesday has never before been allowed; overpasses do not bypass adjacent properties. Commissioners, acting as the zoning board, admitted that errors throughout the planning phases of the Venetian lead to their decision.

And they acknowledged their decision could affect business at the Rosewood Grille.

"Somebody dropped the ball on this and that includes the Board of County Commissioners," said board member Yvonne Atkinson Gates. "Obviously we didn't do our homework with due diligence."

When the Venetian -- Rosewood Grille's neighbors to the south -- designed its building, it included space on the second floor where a pedestrian bridge could be accessed. Nothing was said by the LeWinters or the county during the design review process.

In fact, according Venetian attorney Paul Larsen, the LeWinters even told hotel-casino representatives that it was "a hell of a project."

The bridge will stretch from a sidewalk between the Treasure Island and Mirage hotel-casinos east where it will drop off pedestrians about 100 feet inside the Venetian. The three resorts have agreed to fund the bridge.

John Moran Jr., who represents the Rosewood Grille, said in 1995, the county spent $300,000 on a report that studied alternatives for the pedestrian bridge. While one of the options included the current site -- 900 feet south of Spring Mountain Road -- none suggested the bridge flow into the casino.

Moran said county studies show that 5,000 people walk along the sidewalk in front of the Rosewood Grille every hour. He and the LeWinters believe if those pedestrians are on a bridge above the restaurant, it will adversely affect their business.

To appease the restaurant, the commission agreed to allow the owners to build a new sign on their property that doubles the county's 50-foot-high limit. Board members also instructed the Venetian and Mirage Resorts to place a sign on the bridge pointing to the Rosewood Grille.

In addition, the LeWinters can build an escalator or stairway from the bridge on the outside of the Venetian to their restaurant.

After the bridge was approved, Rosewood Grille tried to push for a 28-story time-share that would include a shopping complex and two new restaurants. But the plan wasn't taken seriously by commissioners or neighbors because of the business' small lot size -- an eighth of an acre.

"This is far, far too much on far too little space," said Mark Russell, an attorney for Mirage Resorts.

After the meeting, Moran said the issue wasn't likely over. He said the Rosewood Grille plans to sue the county.