Zoning denied for proposed hotel

Thursday, July 18, 2002 | 9:31 a.m.

Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday denied a hotly opposed zoning application to build a hotel at the intersection of Joe W. Brown Drive and Desert Inn Road.

Developer Leo Frey hoped to build a Hampton Inn at the busy intersection, saying the hotel would support the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center. But those opposing the project include hundreds of nearby residents, the Las Vegas Country Club Homeowners Association and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which runs the convention center.

The opponents argued that heavy traffic at the intersection and the small size of the property -- about 1.7 acres -- made the four-story, 104-room hotel at the location inappropriate.

Their arguments convinced the four members of the county commission present. The vote to deny the zone change to "general commercial" was 4-0.

"I would support it at any other location, but I drive by this corner every day," Commissioner Mary Kincaid-Chauncey said. "The traffic is horrendous."

"This property is too small to put that much on it."

Commissioners Chip Maxfield, Myrna Williams and Bruce Woodbury agreed.

Architect Dom Cambeiro said the location was master-planned for such uses as hotels and the developer had removed many elements neighbors objected to, including lopping off two floors of the proposed project.

Cambeiro and Frey said traffic concerns were overstated, the project had more than adequate parking, and that most of the guests at the hotel would be walking to and from the convention center, reducing potential traffic congestion.

Cambeiro said the developer will go back and evaluate where the project can go from here.