FLASHPOINT for Aug. 2, 2007

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007 | 7:58 a.m.

One of the dirty little secrets of how local governments do business with developers was exposed Wednesday at Las Vegas City Hall. That is the granting of so-called "variances" to developers who want to go beyond the zoning code. They are supposed to meet specific criteria to flout the code, but many times they do not - and get approved anyhow. So check out what Deputy City Attorney Bill Henry shockingly said to the council about a variance granted months ago: "You violated the land-use law of the city of Las Vegas ... You made a mistake as a matter of law, you exceeded your authority under your own municipal code." But, Councilman Steve Wolfson essentially wondered, don't we do that all the time? Indeed. They do.

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