Report on locals’ casinos delayed

Thursday, July 21, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

A committee created to study how neighborhood casinos can better fit into Southern Nevada communities will need another 30 days before presenting a report expected to create new standards for how such projects look.

The committee created at the request of Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald in January is now reviewing possible changes to the design requirements for the hotels, which unlike massive Strip properties are built near residential neighborhoods and often feature shopping, movie theaters and bowling alleys designed to appeal to families.

Commissioners had asked for a report from the committee in April but gave the group until the Zoning Board's Wednesday meeting. The report is now expected to come before the commission when it meets as the Zoning Board Aug. 17.

The issue has come to a head since 1997, when Senate Bill 208 laid the groundwork for 13 casinos in the Las Vegas area and five more sites approved for development as neighborhood casinos. Another piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 485, was intended to limit such properties but failed earlier this year.

Committee members in the past have suggested county officials consider creating a special licensing category in between small bars with limited gaming licenses and those awarded to Strip hotels.

Unions including Culinary Local 226 have opposed Station Casino's projects including Red Rock Station now under construction on West Charleston Boulevard, trying to block land-use approvals needed by the nonunion company.

A survey conducted by Las Vegas-based Magellan Research but paid for by the union met with heavy criticism at the meeting, after committee members questioned whether the wording in the largely oppositional study may have influenced the answers.