County OKs plan that could lead to Chinatown gaming

Stephen Curran

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005 | 9:19 a.m.

The Clark County Commission on Wednesday approved a segment of its comprehensive plan that could pave the way to gaming in Las Vegas' fledgling Chinatown district.

By a 5-1 vote, the commission, acting as the zoning board, approved what is known as "Commercial Tourist" zoning for the mostly low-rise strip mall properties along West Spring Mountain Road near Wynn Road, a move planners hope could lead to higher-density development that could turn the district into another thriving entertainment mecca.

The designation does not explicitly allow for gaming along the commercial properties but would allow the properties to begin the separate application process for a gaming license, Clark County Principal Planner Walter Cairns told the board.

Developers and planners have touted the addition of gaming to the corridor as a draw for tourists who might otherwise stay on the Strip. The matter came before the Paradise Town Board on May 31 and the Winchester Town Board on June 1, both of which approved a preliminary version of the massive land-use plan.

Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald, whose district includes Chinatown, said gaming could be the first step in creating a unique identity for the area that would rival similar neighborhoods in other cities.

"In the meetings I attended, people were very supportive of making Chinatown a tourist destination like you'd find in any other city," she said.

Cairns said turning that part of Spring Mountain west of Interstate 15 into its own kind of entertainment mecca would require a change to the county's gaming overlay district. The process, Boggs McDonald has said, would likely be a lengthy one.

The Chinatown plan was part of the county's massive comprehensive plan, which includes 11 separate land-use bodies, including Paradise and Winchester. The commission in 2003 approved requiring the planning department to update each area's land-use plan every five years.

Commissioner Tom Collins, who cast the lone vote against the change, said potentially allowing gaming in the district could lead to casinos being built too close to local schools. As a state legislator, Collins in 1997 helped pass Senate Bill 208, a sweeping piece of legislation that in part spelled out distance requirements between schools and casinos.

"I carried S.B. 208 and am not in support of expanding gaming," Collins said.

Commissioners Chip Maxfield and Yvonne Atkinson Gates were absent.