Property owners speak out against historic district

Jace Radke

Friday, Sept. 24, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

History will be standing still for the next few months after a determined group of property owners persuaded the Las Vegas Planning Commission to put a proposed downtown historic district on hold.

The commissioners were ready to entertain a motion on the proposed boundaries of the district when about 10 property owners stepped forward.

The item was not on the agenda for a public hearing, but Ted Manos, a local attorney who owns property in the proposed district, pleaded the group's case at Thursday's planning meeting.

"This is something that will severely impact our properties, and frankly as citizens and property owners we request to be heard," Manos told the commissioners. "We want to know what the design standards are going to be in this new district because it's going to affect us."

At the August meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, which reports to the Planning Commission, only the boundaries of the district were hammered out, with the design standards scheduled for a future meeting.

The area approved by the historic commission is bounded by the Las Vegas Academy and Lewis Avenue to the north, Sixth Street to the west, Gass Avenue to the south and Ninth Street to the east.

Planning Commission Vice Chairman Craig Galati made the motion to strike the item from Thursday night's agenda, saying that he wanted to see the boundaries and the design standards at the same time.

"Before we adopt a district I want to see the whole picture," Galati said. "We need to see the boundaries and the design standards all at once, and have a public hearing on the design standards."

With that move, the plans for the historic district go back to the Historic Preservation Commission, which will likely schedule a meeting in October to set the design standards.

"This probably won't be back before the Planning Commission before December or January," Historic Commission Chairman Richard Segerblom said. "We separated the boundaries from the design guidelines because we thought it would speed this up."

Manos and some of the other property owners oppose the historic designation because it will add restrictions to what they are allowed to build on their property.

For example, one large structure, such as an office building, could not be built on multiple lots in the district. A developer who owns two lots could build one larger building, but three lots would require two separate structures, city planner Marc Castagnola said.

Some of the property owners against the designation also question what they see as inconsistencies in the district, especially on Sixth Street where it will border the new federal courthouse.

At its August meeting the Historic Commission agreed to look at devising different design standards for various parts of the district, effectively creating a buffer zone between the district and surrounding development.

While the design standards are open for discussion, Segerblom said he thinks Sixth Street will remain in the district.

"The reality is that the Historic Commission believes Sixth Street is an integral part of the district," Segerblom said.

After design standards are worked out and the proposed district is voted on by the Planning Commission, it will be sent to the Las Vegas City Council for final approval or denial.