County takes another look at Wal-Mart controversy

Monday, Oct. 4, 2004 | 10:59 a.m.

A long-running dispute about a Wal-Mart planned for Clark County-owned property at Eastern Avenue and Russell Road could come to a head Wednesday, when the county commission is scheduled to once again consider the project that officials say was a mistake to allow in the first place.

The Clark County Commission in March approved a lease with developer Marnell Corrao that included a sublease with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for a store on airport-owned land on Eastern. At a county commission land-use meeting three months later, neighbors hit the county aviation department, Marnell Corrao and Wal-Mart with sharp objections to the project.

The neighbors opposed to the Wal-Mart criticized the commission for failing to monitor lease approvals. The county has since moved such lease approvals off the usually routine "consent" portion of the commission agendas.

Attorneys for Wal-Mart insist that they have a valid and binding contract for the 200,000-square-foot store, but county officials, including Commissioner Rory Reid, have said they do not believe the county has to approve the store at the site.

The project would go on land next to McCarran International Airport where county officials plan to convert a former residential area into a mix of commercial and light-industrial uses as a buffer between airport noise and nearby homes.

Randy Walker, aviation department director, said the proposal on Wednesday includes adding a soccer field on the north side of the 150-acre parcel zoned for commercial purposes and moving the store about a half-mile south of the former site. He directed further questions to the developers.

Representatives for Marnell Corrao and Wal-Mart were not immediately available for comment. They have met on several occasions with neighbors on the issue, most recently last week at a meeting of the Paradise Town Advisory Board.

Not all the neighbors are happy with the design changes proposed by the developer.

"There's not been a compromise worked out at all," said Mary Cooke, a resident of Clydesdale Street in a residential neighborhood a few blocks north of the planned store site. "We're still not satisfied."

She said changes to the traffic flow, one of the prime concerns of opponents, still would not eliminate a heavy increase in the number of cars driving on Russell and Eastern, while the proposed soccer field could contribute to a potential problem by luring young people across busy streets.

Cooke said Wal-Mart is handing out pre-printed postcards in support of the proposed store for people to send to the county commission.

"That seems like kind of an unfair advantage," she said. "They are kind of stacking the deck."