Attorney says tavern not part of cop facility

Bill Gang

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 11:24 a.m.

An attorney for the Police Protective Association said there are no present plans for a bar or tavern as part of a controversial commercial development in a southwest Las Vegas residential area.

The project, which will include a PPA office, is opposed by hundreds of homeowners and is the object of a pending lawsuit.

The police group's attorney, John Dean Harper, said Monday that claims by homeowners that a "debriefing room" -- essentially a bar for off-duty police officers -- would be part of the complex at Warm Springs Road and Valley View Boulevard are not accurate.

"As it stands now, there is no design or intent to include a bar or tavern" as part of the police union offices, Harper said.

Residents had gotten the impression that a bar would be part of the plan, Chuck Gardner, an attorney for the homeowners, said.

Harper said the main thrust of the building project is to provide an office and union hall for the police group, but he emphasized that the number of Metro Police officers using the facility would be minimal -- probably no more than five a day.

Harper said he believes that despite the public protests and the lawsuit, the commercial complex on 10 acres of land will be compatible with what has been exclusively a residential neighborhood.

The attorney already has said that the police association plans to go ahead with the construction project in Enterprise Township despite the lawsuit that was filed by 393 residents to stop the development.

The residents are hoping to get a court order to stop the project, but no hearings are scheduled in District Judge Mark Gibbons' courtroom.