Northwest auto mall proposal introduced to council

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, June 20, 2001 | 11:05 a.m.

Shopping for a new car has never been easier than in the city of Henderson, where the Valley Auto Mall offers 13 dealerships.

It's this same one-stop shopping that is the model for an "auto village" being carved out of at least 100 acres of vacant land in the northwest, at Town Center.

After a heated meeting earlier this month, Las Vegas City Councilman Michael Mack sponsored an ordinance to create the auto village. The ordinance was to be introduced today and will be voted on next month.

The ordinance amends the city's zoning code by creating minimum requirements for new-car dealerships opening in the newly named Centennial Hills.

The ordinance requires any new-car dealer north of Cheyenne Avenue to find a location that is at least 50 acres and that includes a minimum of five new-car dealerships.

The result will be similar to Henderson's 137-acre auto mall, which was borne out of an ordinance adopted in the early 1990s.

"The ordinance was done for the very same purpose as in the city of Las Vegas, to not have a proliferation of car dealerships up and down different streets," said Phil Speight, Henderson's city manager. "It's been very successful because it concentrates all the new-car dealerships in one location and allows them to primarily police themselves."

The intent of the 1996 Town Center master plan was to keep commercial uses in one area, near U.S. 95 and Centennial Parkway, to prevent sprawl into residential areas. Three car dealerships are operating outside the boundaries because they opened before the Town Center plan was adopted.

But it wasn't until earlier this month when a car dealer tried to open outside the preferred limits that the need for an ordinance forbidding the sprawl was realized. At the June 6 council meeting, Mack called a 60-day moratorium on all new-car dealerships in order to draft the ordinance.

Resident John Staluppi argued that he should be allowed to open a Nissan dealership outside the Town Center limits because he could not strike a deal with one of the land owners in the proposed auto village, Joseph Scala, who owns 20 acres. The council voted against the dealership before issuing the moratorium.

At the meeting, Mack was accused of being unethical in trying to arrange a deal between Staluppi and Scala, and was even threatened with legal action by Staluppi's attorney.

Despite the heated meeting, Mack said Monday that said he's received overwhelming support from area residents who bought into the Town Center concept.

"If we keep allowing uses outside Town Center, we're going to bust down the whole concept," he said.

The proposed auto village includes at least 100 acres, on land that is owned by Scala and two others. Courtesy GMC and Jim Marsh Chrysler Jeep have already opened in the future auto village.

Mack said Staluppi had the chance to negotiate with several land owners and the city can't be held responsible if a deal can't be reached.

"Overall, once this new ordinance takes place, (the car dealers) are all going to be much happier in a controlled environment, where they can offer one-stop shopping," Mack said.