Deal made over car lots in proposed Town Center

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001 | 8:50 a.m.

A compromise reached Wednesday will allow auto dealerships to cover more of the commercial area in Town Center, but keep a 50-acre auto mall from taking shape in northwest Las Vegas.

After three hours of sometimes loud debate between residents who opposed expanding the commercial zone and developers who said it is needed, the Las Vegas City Council decided against a massive expansion of the general commercial zone inside Town Center to allow for more auto dealerships.

The council did, however, rezone four parcels, totaling 40 acres, to allow car dealerships. The 4-0 vote ended what some developers called a "land monopoly" inside Town Center, where only two property owners held the key to future dealerships.

It also rezoned two parcels, totaling 60 acres, from commercial to public uses.

The Town Center plan would cluster all businesses in one area, away from neighborhoods, near U.S. 95 and Centennial Parkway.

Three of the parcels rezoned for dealerships -- 14.63 acres, 6 acres and 3.66 acres -- are west of U.S. 95, near Tropical Parkway, and owned by private developers.

A 16-acre parcel east of U.S. 95 near Azure Drive is owned by Findlay Automotive Group and Clark County.

Town Center now has 169.5 acres of general commercial land available, which allows car dealerships, taverns, hotels and arenas.

The city's Planning Department had identified another 56 acres as the maximum available for expansion of the general commercial zone.

Councilman Michael Mack, who represents the northwest, abstained from the vote -- as he has with others relating to Town Center -- because he is facing a lawsuit and two ethics complaints over his financial relationship with Courtesy Automotive owner Joseph Scala, who owns Town Center property zoned for dealerships.

Mack led the vote in June to deny a dealership along Rancho Drive proposed by John Staluppi Jr. Mack disclosed after the vote that he had an outstanding $60,000 loan from Scala.

Councilman Larry Brown, who represented the area for two years before Mack was appointed, fielded residents' criticism that an auto mall would violate the "integrity of Town Center," saying he had worked to ensure the vision of the community was protected.

"We have done what everyone said was impossible," Brown said. "We have created an environment in the housing community that is unsurpassable."