North Las Vegas weighing two more casino proposals

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 11:27 a.m.

While the North Las Vegas City Council Wednesday is considering an application for a casino near Cheyenne Avenue and Interstate 15, owners of the Craig Ranch Golf Course will be just a few doors down talking about Station Casinos Inc.'s next proposed venture.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the North Las Vegas Library, owners of the Craig Ranch Golf Course will hold their final public meeting to gain input from residents on the casino planned for the golf course.

Then as part of their regular meeting, City Council members at 7 p.m. inside council chambers will consider the fate of another proposed casino near I-15 and Cheyenne Avenue.

Station Casinos' proposed development has been the more controversial casino plan.

Shawn Lampman, who represents the golf course owner, Stimson Enterprises, said the last few months have been challenging, but many residents who were once opposed to the neighborhood casino now recognize its benefits.

Residents were initially outraged in May when the council approved Craig Ranch Station on Martin Luther King Boulevard just south of Craig Road. Residential developments are just 60 feet away from the proposed Station casino. The council was told by the courts that they must allow the casino because the site is zoned for gaming.

Another group of residents fought a second application in August when Stimson Enterprises was granted a request to rezone part of the golf course, which will allow Station to develop a casino on 36 acres, with the existing 18-hole golf course redesigned on the remaining 111 acres. Although the golf course is not zoned for gaming, Station has indicated that if it is allowed to build a casino on the golf course it will give up the rights to the parcel off Martin Luther King.

Residents located 500 feet from the Craig Ranch Golf Course at Craig Ranch Villas came out to fight the move, but Lampman said things have settled down since then. Stimson Enterprises is working with the residents to install trees to buffer them from the casino, and is working on adding other amenities to their development, he said.

During the regular council meeting, the City Council will consider an appeal by Hart Volland Enterprises, which is asking for an extension of a zoning change and special use permit for its proposed casino on Losee Road.

Planning commissioners turned down the application in September, saying the area is too saturated with industrial uses and is no longer compatible for a casino.