Adrienne Packer

Fri, Sep 13, 2002 (11:10 a.m.)

Business owners in the deteriorating Commercial Center might be strapped with a new tax to help renovate the 40-year-old strip mall they claim Clark County failed to maintain.

Commissioners will consider taking the first steps Tuesday in imposing a special improvement district on businesses in the East Sahara Avenue complex.

The proposed tax is the latest move in a back-and-forth battle over who is responsible for mending gaping parking lot cracks and crumbling sidewalks leading to the 26 shops, restaurants and bars.

If commissioners opt to move forward, a public hearing will be held Oct. 15.

"What we'll try to do with the (special improvement district) is allow property owners to assume the responsibilities for their particular properties," Bobby Shelton, public works spokesman, said.

Shelton said the county has yet to determine how much each property owner or business will be assessed. According to a county report, the overall project will cost $3.5 million and the special assessments will amount to $272,429 a year.

The cost of the project depends on what property owners want, Shelton said. They might opt for a simple renovation or they might favor landscaping.

"This will give them a voice in how to improve what they want," Shelton said. Whether business owners are responsible for the upkeep of the asphalt lot and sidewalks will be debated in court.

Commercial Center was part of Clark County's urban renewal program in the 1960s. In exchange for developing a strip mall, the county agreed to pay for the upkeep of parking lots and sidewalks for the life of the project.

But the project is a drab complex that has no landscaping and is essentially a massive parking lot lined with old businesses hidden behind tinted windows.

In a lawsuit filed by Al Marquis, who represents Commercial Center Enterprises, the county violated the agreement by allowing the parking lot and sidewalks to deteriorate. The case is scheduled to go to trial in January.

Dezerie Christiansen, Marquis' partner, said Thursday their client is willing to consider options to repair the property. However, Christiansen did not say they would be willing to pay an extra tax to do the work the lawsuit claims was the county's responsibility.

"A lot of it is up in the air," she said. "We would like to see the sidewalks and parking lot taken care of. Other than that, until we have a hearing I don't think we can make any further comment."

Commercial Center business owners tangled with county officials in October 2000, when two weeks after the lawsuit was filed, members of the 18-month-old County Multi-Agency Response Team descended on the complex.

The raid resulted in several citations, and some businesses were immediately shut down.

County officials insist the task force assembled to clean up blighted areas was called after Metro Police reported being summoned to the property 387 times during a six-month period. Police calls included gunshots and gang activity.

Marquis, however, argues the "siege" was an act of intimidation.

District Court Judge Michael Cherry denied Marquis' request to disband the task force team, which is made up of the county's building, social services, public response, neighborhood services and health departments.

According to county spokeswoman Les Lee Shell-Beckert, the task force is still together and meets monthly.

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