Church plan helped Anthony prevail

By Sam Skolnik

Sunday, June 21, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The biggest issue in the Ward 4 Las Vegas City Council contest between Metro Capt. Stavros Anthony and Glenn Trowbridge was the controversial new city hall proposal, which Anthony opposed.

But those who would conclude that the issue turned the race in Anthony’s favor might be wrong.

A more localized issue — a proposal for a large church with an 85-foot tower in the western part of the ward — may have been what provided Anthony with his super-slim 10-vote victory.

Scores of residents in that neighborhood became inflamed about the issue, area activists say. For as many as 100, the International Church of Las Vegas’ proposed “Prayer Mountain Project” would become their reason to vote for Anthony over Trowbridge, who had voted for the church project while on the city Planning Commission.

As it moved through the city’s approval process, the proposed church, which would be near the southwest corner of Cliff Shadows Parkway and the Las Vegas Beltway, encountered growing opposition from residents.

The main concern was the height of the tower, which opponents said would fundamentally alter the area’s visual landscape and block views of an adjacent La Madre Mountain range foothill. Residents also were concerned about the lack of notice to express their concerns, the fact that a variance would be needed to build a tower higher than a city ordinance allows, and the church’s construction plans to dig into the mountain.

“The issue had a huge impact on my decision to vote for Anthony,” said Kathleen Staite, who went door to door trying to persuade others to vote the same way. “I was not appreciative of Trowbridge’s decision to allow the church to come in with that plan.”

Out of 6,608 votes cast, Anthony prevailed by a mere handful. Yet in the 10 precincts closest to the site of the proposed church that recorded any votes, Anthony defeated Trowbridge by 64 votes. It’s not a huge number, but more than enough to sway the outcome in such a tight race.

The three precincts with the biggest pro-Anthony turnout were relatively close to the proposed church site.

After meeting with Trowbridge and Anthony before the election, Amy Brewster and other opponents of the church project came to believe that Anthony was more on their side, though he never explicitly stated opposition to the church’s plan. They have noted that they wouldn’t mind having a church on the site, just not the one originally designed.

Brewster, who held Anthony candidate meetings at her home, said she enlisted about 100 neighbors who felt similarly and were willing to vote for him primarily because of the issue.

Brewster said she felt more comfortable with Anthony. “I just really felt like Anthony would be a better representative for the community,” she said.

Anthony noted his advantage on the issue. “Mr. Trowbridge had voted for the church and I was neutral,” he said.

According to Anthony, the race came down to two types of issues, citywide issues including the proposed city hall, and neighborhood issues such as the church.

Trowbridge said he didn’t doubt that some residents who live near the proposed church became energized against the proposal. But he said it was unfair to tag him as a staunch advocate of the plan, and unfortunate that some voters may have cast their ballots on that issue alone.

Before the matter came to the Planning Commission, Trowbridge said commissioners were dealing primarily with the church’s side of the issue. But as the opposition became clear, he said he did his best to take a statesman’s role.

“I started working on a compromise,” he said. “I met with both sides of the issue in an attempt to find a middle ground.”

That may be where the matter is headed. Church officials decided to take the proposal off a council meeting agenda in early April.

A redesign is in the works, likely with a smaller tower, and church officials hope to unveil it in the next few months, the Rev. Paul Goulet said.

The new facility would be the third satellite of the church, which is headquartered on Westcliff Drive.

“We want to build something that the neighborhood wants and that’s also in our hearts,” Goulet said. “We’re a church. We’re not some mega-store that wants to get its way.”