Casino foes sue county, developer

Grace Leong

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

Opponents of a proposed Spring Valley hotel-casino sued Clark County and the developer Tuesday in hopes of blocking the project.

The opponents allege violations by the Clark County Commission -- which approved the project -- of Senate Bill 208. That's a law aimed at limiting the spread of neighborhood casinos.

The law allows people to appeal the commission decision to a Gaming Policy Committee appointed by the Legislature and the governor. The same group that sued the county Tuesday has also filed an appeal with the Gaming Policy Committee, which plans a procedural meeting Monday in Las Vegas.

Attorney Garry Hayes, representing the plaintiffs, said the suit needed to be filed within 25 days of the county's approval of the project and that court action will not be requested until the Gaming Policy Committee considers the issue. The lawsuit, in the meantime, will preserve the plaintiffs' legal rights should their appeal to the state panel fail.

The Clark County District Court suit was filed by eight members of a group called Citizens of Spring Valley and the Surrounding Area. They say the casino is planned for an area not zoned for big, nonrestricted casinos.

The 300-room, eight-story project, which is owned by Triple Five Nevada Development Corp.'s affiliates, Nevso LLC and Three Sons Development LLC of Las Vegas, would be the 20-acre heart of a planned 100-acre shopping mall off the Las Vegas Beltway near the intersection of Grand Canyon Drive and Flamingo Road.

The surrounding mall, which will include a bowling alley, movie theaters, shops and restaurants, has already been approved by the county. The opponents suing the county say they have no issue with the commercial development, only the casino.

"We're not going to change anything with respect to the project just because (the Citizens of Spring Valley) filed a lawsuit," said Mark Fiorentino, Nevso and Three Sons' attorney, who declined to comment further.

The Citizens of Spring Valley and the Surrounding Area consists of residents Cheralin Zaugg, Gaylene Teshima, Charles Richardson, David Bahr, Anna Marie Serra-Radford, Nancy Noble, Dan Gonzalez and Cindy Jezzard-Gonzalez.

The group has fought the proposed casino project for fear it would attract traffic, alcoholics, crime, sexually oriented businesses and other gaming businesses into the neighborhood.

The suit said the commission, which approved Triple Five's zoning request by a 3-1 vote at a Jan. 19 public hearing, allegedly violated SB 208, which requires a majority vote of the seven-member commission.

Commissioners Lance Malone, Erin Kenny and Mary Kincaid voted for the zoning change, while commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury and Commissioner Myrna Williams abstained on the issue because they were stockholders of First Security Bank, which works with Triple Five. Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates also abstained from the vote. The sole vote against the casino came from Commissioner Dario Herrera.

Triple Five, which plans to invest about $500 million in the project that is expected to generate 400 new jobs and $10 million in taxes and fees, is owned by the Ghermezian family, a Canadian family that developed the West Edmonton mall -- the world's largest -- and the Mall of America in Minneapolis -- the largest mall in the United States. The family also owns other commercial developments in Las Vegas Valley including Boca Park, Colonnade Square and Village Center Square.