State panel to rule on controversial Spring Valley casino

Thursday, March 16, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

A special panel will make history Friday -- although how much history may be up to the courts to decide.

The review panel of the state Gaming Policy Committee will vote to approve or deny an application to build a casino and 300-room hotel in Spring Valley, off Flamingo Road. The panel action is the first test of Senate Bill 208, a law designed to limit encroachment by casinos into residential neighborhoods.

The Clark County Commission in January approved the casino, which would be the heart of a 110-acre shopping mall to be developed by Triple Five Nevada Development Corp. Triple Five is owned by a Canadian family, the Ghermezians, well known for developing huge malls in Canada and Minnesota.

The approval ignited a firestorm of criticism from nearby residents, who said the project would bring crime, traffic and other problems into their neighborhood. The residents quickly formed a citizens group to fight the approval and used SB 208 to appeal the decision.

"We're pretty optimistic" that the panel will deny the casino, said Cheralin Zaugg, one of the group's organizers.

Mark Fiorentino, attorney for Triple Five, said he has no sense how it will go.

The County Commission's 3-1 decision sparked political attacks on Commissioner Lance Malone, the swing vote for approval, who had earlier pledged to vote against the casino project.

The commission approval also prompted calls for a stronger state law to restrict neighborhood casinos and an effort by two county commissioners, Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Bruce Woodbury, to pass a local ordinance to stop neighborhood casinos. Gates and Woodbury, citing conflicts of interest, had abstained on the January vote for approval.

Malone has also pledged his support of the stronger local ordinance.

The five-member review panel convened in February to hear the appeal of the Triple Five casino approval. The panel is mandated under the law to give a decision Friday at 10 a.m., but the courts may have the final say: Both participants and observers predict a further legal challenge regardless of which way the panel moves.

Panel members received 45 pages of legal briefs last week. Brian Sandoval, its chairman, said Tuesday that the written briefs -- 15 pages each from the Clark County district attorney's office, the Spring Valley group appealing the decision and attorneys for Triple Five -- essentially restated oral arguments made Feb. 25.

In the briefs, Deputy District Attorney Robert Warhola argued that the Spring Valley residents opposed to the casino have no legal standing to appeal the case; that SB208 is unconstitutional because is allows the executive branch, the panel, to substitute its judgment for the legislative branch, the County Commission; and "the review panel should not rely on the unsubstantiated fears and concerns of the appellants."

Fiorentino argued in his written briefs that the county properly determined the boundaries of the proposed gaming establishment, that the application to build the casino was "supported by clear and convincing evidence," and that the County Commission properly found that the casino would not unduly affect the quality of life of residents in surrounding neighborhoods.

The Spring Valley appellants argued in their briefs that Triple Five failed to provide "clear and convincing evidence" that the project would not negatively affect their neighborhood and that the county cannot approve a casino in this area unless previously zoned as a gaming district.

Under SB208, the "overwhelming number of letters of opposition to this project is enough" for the panel to reject the application, Spring Valley attorneys Garry Hayes and Ron Madson argued in their brief.

Hayes said Wednesday that casino opponents are likely to continue the fight in court if the panel disagrees and approves the casino. The Citizens of Spring Valley already has filed an appeal of the County Commission's decision with District Court. The appeal has been on hold while the panel deliberates the issue.

The Las Vegas Sun will post the results of the panel review vote Friday afternoon on the Web (www.lasvegassun.com).