Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005 | 7:09 a.m.
Federal indictments announced Tuesday could send a Las Vegas developer and his son to prison for decades, but the issue that brought the charges has already had an impact that goes far beyond the individuals.
The indictments of Don Davidson and his son, Lawrence Davidson, stem from the November 2001 approval of a CVS Pharmacy at the corner of Desert Inn Road and Buffalo Drive by the Clark County Commission. The federal government charges that the Davidsons conspired to pay Commissioner Erin Kenny $200,000 for her help in getting the land-use approval for the store.
The approval came despite the strenuous objections of both nearby residents and Commissioner Chip Maxfield, who represented the area. Along with perhaps a half dozen other high-profile and controversial decisions by the commission, the CVS decision sparked a popular rebellion that ultimately led to fundamental changes in the county's land-use policies.
Kenny is cooperating with the government in this and other corruption cases targeting the Clark County Commission.
Dominic Gentile, who is representing Don Davidson, said his client contests the government's case. But one of the residents who closely followed the issue when it came before the County Commission said she always believed that Kenny had a financial interest.
Carolyn Edwards, who fought the zoning approval and several associated votes, has a back yard that now faces the cinderblock wall of the CVS store. Edwards said her suspicions of impropriety were confirmed by the government's charge that Kenny took $200,000 from the Davidsons.
The decision "brought to a head the belief by the public that the commission was not operating in good faith," she said. "There were suspicions prior to that. ... You could see commissioners making eye contact with developers in the audience during (zoning) board meetings -- Would that be OK? -- shaking their head yes or no.
"I didn't want to believe people were taking money, but in this case, I became convinced of it even before I knew for sure it was true."
The pharmacy approval was only one decision of many that sparked popular resentment, but by 2002, the tide started to turn. Mark James, a former state senator who had opposed a controversial casino approval in Spring Valley, took Kenny's seat on the commission after her failed run for lieutenant governor.
James was joined by lawyer Rory Reid, and both pledged changes to the way that the county handled land-use decisions.
They joined Maxfield, who was elected in 2000, and Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, a pair who had frequently been on the losing end of contentious 5-2 votes.
"With Mark James and Rory Reid, we ushered in a new era," Edwards said.
Reid said that when he was sworn in, there was significant distrust of the commission and county government -- a distrust that, according to federal prosecutors, was justified.
Since his election, Reid has seen the indictment or guilty pleas of four of the seven commissioners of the class of 2000.
"Most of these allegations came to light before I was there," Reid said. "But it was obvious even before this that people were dissatisfied with the county process. There was a belief that decisions were made outside of the merits of the (land-use) proposals.
"Government has to have the trust of the people," he said.
The November 2002 election opened the door for changes. Among them, the county made it more difficult to change the basic land-use "master plans" for neighborhoods or to win approval for zoning requests that do not match the master plans.
The county also required more notification for residents around a proposed master plan or zoning change, and requires more frequent updates of the master plans.
Reid said the changes have made the process more predictable and orderly, helping to restore some faith in county government.
"It may have made it take longer for the development community to obtain approvals, but that cost is far outweighed by the increased public faith in the system," he said. "I don't regret what we did at all. I think the reforms were necessary."
Reid said Edwards in particular made a difference during the 2003 debate on the process changes and since then as the county has deliberated land-use issues and rules.
"She is an asset," Reid said. "She and a number of others have been very involved in county government. ... They deserve credit for the reforms we made."
A decision like the one that came in November 2002 would be much less likely to occur today, in part because the commissioner representing a district receives more respect than Maxfield got, Reid said.
"It would be much more difficult for something like that to happen today," he said.
Maxfield agreed.
One of the most profound changes is that master plan or zoning change requests now are accompanied by mandatory public meetings, "opening up the process to allow citizens' input," he said. That and the other rules, he added, have produced "significant changes that have benefited the general public and helped preserve the integrity of neighborhoods."
"All of those things together have put more trust and confidence in the system and curtailed the blindsidedness, or surprise element of master plan changes and nonconforming zone changes," Maxfield said.
The pharmacy approval and similar approvals "brought weaknesses in the system to light," he said. "It's much different now."
County counsel Rob Warhola, a deputy district attorney, worked to advise the commission before and after the changes and watched the controversy develop over the pharmacy approval. He echoed the comments by Reid and Maxfield.
"It's working a lot better," Warhola said of the county land-use rules. "It requires a lot more meetings between staff, developers and interested citizens. You identify a lot of the issues, and a lot of times you solve them."
Sue Allen, a community activist with the South West Action Network, used a baseball metaphor to describe how the balance of power between citizens and developers is fundamentally different now.
"You're never going to bat 1.000, but we're batting over .500, and that's good," Allen said. "Four years ago, it was .200, if that. It was like, we'd go down to the commission meetings, we'd get a couple of modifications here and there, but no clean wins.
"Now it's to the point that developers and representatives are calling us before they even submit plans, which is good. That saves everyone a lot of time and aggravation. We're working out deals before we even go to the commission.
"We're giving up some and they're giving some, and nobody is totally destroyed. And that is what compromise is, really."
Edwards said she believes that the presence of the CVS store hovering over her back yard was worth it because of the changes that project ultimately brought.
"The county and the people in the county are better off for the changes that have come from this," she said. "It's worth the price. We all have a better opportunity to have a voice. We have more ground to stand on, to ask for something to be denied."
Launce Rake can be reached at 259-4127 or at [email protected].
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