Sky is still the limit on Las Vegas Boulevard South

Dan Kulin

Sunday, July 9, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

The death of a proposal to impose height limitations on a small stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South is an important victory for those who want to see the burgeoning vertical development of downtown continue.

For both downtown developers and supporters of the Manhattanization of Las Vegas, the battle was over much more than the regulations for a half-mile stretch of one side of the boulevard. Rather, it was a fight to stop what some saw as precedent-setting restrictions on the one street they say should be the most protected from restrictions.

"If they would put height restrictions on Las Vegas Boulevard, then all the other stuff in the city and the county is up for grabs," local Carpenters Union boss Marc Furman said.

"If you can take a piece of Las Vegas Boulevard out of the picture, that sends a terrible message," Furman said. "It wasn't just about the three blocks. It was about Las Vegas Boulevard."

Hundreds of carpenters from the local chapter of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters flooded the June 21 City Council meeting to protest a proposal to put a five-story or 60-foot height limit on construction on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard South between Oakey and Charleston boulevards.

The restrictions were sought by some residents of the adjacent neighborhood, who said high rises there would tower over their back yards and drown their community in noise and traffic.

Attorney Frank Schreck, who spearheaded the opposition to the proposed height limit for several prominent business and development interests, echoed the carpenters' concerns.

"If they were willing to do that on the most important commercial arterial in the state, what would protect you anywhere else?" Schreck asked.

Current zoning regulations place no specific height limits on downtown construction.

Schreck said that on the proposed height limit, he represented developers Irwin Molasky and Mark Fine; the Stratosphere and Golden Nugget; Tamares, which counts the Plaza among its downtown holdings, and Olympic Garden strip club owner Pete Eliades, who owns about 15 acres along the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that would have been affected by the proposal.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, an unabashed supporter of downtown's vertical development, called the proposal "an exercise in nothingness," noting that while the proposed amendment would have set height restrictions, it also would have allowed the council to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis.

But the mayor said approving the height limit would have been bad for downtown.

"Anything which would suggest negativity or interference would have had a negative effect," he said. "It would have sent a very bad message."

Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese, who proposed the restrictions at the behest of some of his constituents, said concerns about a precedent for the rest of downtown were misplaced.

The proposed restrictions were only for a small area, Reese said, pointing out that he has always been a strong supporter of high rises for the rest of downtown. Reese said that while this was very much a developers versus residents battle, he doesn't count it as a loss for the neighbors because he will still fight individual projects that residents feel are too tall and too close to their neighborhood.

But Reese said he decided to drop his push for the height limit because he did not believe it would pass the council. A losing vote on the matter, Reese worried, would indicate support for high rises there and make it more difficult to fight individual projects later. One plan for a high rise in that area already is on its way through the city's approval process.

Bob Bellis, president of the John S. Park Neighborhood Association, said residents have not lost the fight because there still are no high rises on that stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, and they plan to fight those that are proposed in the future.

But not all of his neighbors are opposed to the prospect of having some of the tallest buildings next to their community.

Neighborhood resident Mike Ganson said only a minority of the neighborhood's residents support a height limit, adding that he has a petition to back him up.

"If you move into an urban environment, a downtown, you're going to have tall buildings around you," Ganson said.