Goodman hopes to use eminent domain powers to create massive park downtown

Sonya Padgett

Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 11:43 a.m.

A downtown park the size of a small city may be Oscar Goodman's legacy from his first term as mayor of Las Vegas.

He has a dream to use eminent domain to give city residents a new place to play and at the same time spruce up run-down areas of downtown by building a park in the tradition of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

Fairmount Park is 4,180 acres with amenities such as an outdoor venue for performers, tennis courts, miles of bike trails and several historical buildings.

Goodman made his remarks Tuesday on "POV Vegas," the Las Vegas Sun's television discussion show, which airs on Las Vegas 1, Cox Cable channels 1 and 39, daily at 5, 6, and 8 p.m.

"It dawned on me the other day that Las Vegas is the only city that I could think of ... that's a great city that doesn't have a park downtown," Goodman said.

While Goodman thinks the 178 acres of Union Pacific Railroad land -- bordered by Interstate 15, Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway -- would be the perfect location for a municipal park, it's not big enough for the project he has in mind.

A park like Fairmount would need a great deal of land, and Goodman thinks the city would have to use eminent domain to acquire the needed space.

"I think that would be a marvelous place to have a park, but Union Pacific isn't going to give that land away," he said. "I think you almost have to use the eminent domain process so that you don't interfere with an individual's lifestyle."

Goodman envisions the park somewhere behind the Stratosphere Tower on Las Vegas Boulevard near Cincinnati Avenue. The city could buy up run-down businesses and homes in the area to help with revitalization of downtown, he said.

"There are a lot of businesses run-down, a lot of businesses that are a nuisance there" that could be removed to make way for a municipal park, Goodman said.

Using eminent domain is somewhat controversial, as the city has used it in the past to acquire land from private property owners only to turn around and give it to another private owner.

Land on Fremont Street was taken by the city from the Pappas family in 1993 to build a garage for the Fremont Street Experience.

A judge ruled in 1996 that the use of eminent domain in that case was illegal and ordered the land returned since the city intended on transferring ownership of the garage to the Fremont Street Experience.

But Goodman doesn't think using eminent domain in this case would be controversial since the property would be for public use.

"The controversial part as I understand is taking private land and giving it to a private owner to make a profit," he said. "If you pay people a fair price," using eminent domain would be appropriate.

Meadows Village, the area behind the Stratosphere, is a low-income neighborhood known for its crime problems. Former Mayor Jan Laverty Jones asked Sheriff Jerry Keller in 1997 to crack down on crime in the area.

Buying property using eminent domain only reimburses the owner a fair-market price. Meadows Village has many residents who rent, so condemning the property could displace some people without reimbursement.

The park is only in the idea stage at this point, Goodman said, and it's premature to even think of issues like that.

"I have a dream to make that a very liveable area... (but now) it's just a gleam in my eye," he said.

Goodman's park proposal is only a part of his plans to spark downtown revitalization. Other topics he touched upon include an arts boulevard, with cafes, shops, art displays and park benches along Charleston Boulevard.