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Aug. 07, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Casino project draws critics

Not every neighborhood in Nevada needs gambling, opponents say

By DAVID McGRATH SCHWARTZ
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A proposal to build a casino as part of a development near Kyle Canyon could bring the glitter of Las Vegas to the rural area.
Photo by Ronda Churchill



Click image for enlargement.

The next battle over a plan for a neighborhood casino is on the horizon.

A developer of 1,712 acres in northwest Las Vegas wants to build a casino at the entrance to Kyle Canyon to go along with as many as 16,000 new houses, condominiums and apartments.

The proposal is reviving debate over whether casinos should be in or near residential neighborhoods.

Representatives of Focus Property Group, the development company, and the city councilman who represents the area say the people who already live out near the site of the proposed casino wouldn't be bothered by it because they are far enough away from the site.

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    • The closest existing homes are at least 3,000 feet away from the casino site, and most are at least 5,000 feet away, said Mark Fiorentino, senior vice president of government affairs for the company. Additionally, he said, the project would be bordered on the east by U.S. Highway 95.

    Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross, whose Ward 6 includes the "Kyle Canyon project," agrees with Focus Property Group.

    In his 2005 campaign, he promised to fight neighborhood casinos and casinos that would change the character of neighborhoods. Focus Property Group's proposed casino, however, "is out in the middle of nowhere. It's not in a neighborhood. This is a good location for a casino," Ross said.

    But some residents, many of whom have sent protests to Ross, say they don't want to see a casino built in the far northwest part of the Las Vegas Valley.

    "Just because gaming is legal in Nevada doesn't mean it has to be in every neighborhood," said Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, a community activist and resident of the northwest who has been organizing opposition to the Kyle Canyon project and the casino.

    The northwest, she said, still has horses, an equestrian trail and open space and most of its commercial development is clustered away from neighborhoods.

    "I don't think we all need to live within a few miles of casinos," she said, pointing out that Santa Fe Station already serves the northwest.

    A community meeting is set for 6 p.m. tonight at Mountain Crest Community Center, 4701 N. Durango Drive. The meeting is required by state law, and representatives of Focus Property Group are to be there to present more details about the company's proposal. Fiorentino said the current plan is for a 75,000-square-foot casino.

    Under a development agreement passed by the Las Vegas City Council in May, the casino could be no taller than 160 feet.

    If Ross stays on board, the casino's fate could come down to whether Fiorentino and his fellow lobbyists can pass the muster of a 1997 state law.

    Assembly Bill 208 earmarked specific areas in the Las Vegas Valley for casino resorts. If developers want to build a casino in any other areas, they have to show that it won't have a negative impact on its neighbors.

    Fiorentino said "the bar has to be set very high."

    "I'm confident that the way we located the casino and the way we designed the project, it doesn't have any negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods," he said.

    "Look at all of the successful, large-scale master plans. They all incorporate well-thought out, well-planned casino projects," Fiorentino said. He pointed to Green Valley Ranch, Summerlin and Inspirada, a Henderson project that Focus is developing.

    With as many as 16,000 homes planned for the Kyle Canyon area, those who would live closest to the proposed casino would do so by choice, Fiorentino said.

    "If you think (a casino) will negatively impact you, you won't buy a house there," he said.

    Mayo-DeRiso said the 160-foot-tall potential height of the Kyle Canyon casino would be an issue for residents far and wide.

    "You have this beautiful land, and this 160-foot finger or thing sticking up out where everything else is flat," she said. "Somehow this community has to get out of the mind-set that every neighborhood, every master-planned community, has to have a casino."

    In the residential portions of the project, construction on sewers, roads and other infrastructure should start later this year, Fiorentino said. The first homes could be built in spring 2009.

    Construction of the casino would not come until later, possibly not until about 2012, Fiorentino said.



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    Bob P wrote on September 01, 2007 10:41 AM: Why is it that all the extra(?) money in a neighborhood/area has to be bleed out by a casino? They are not charities
    for the general good. Only for a chosen few wealthy owners.


    PCS wrote on August 24, 2007 12:58 PM: THIS IS LAS VEGAS !!!!!
    THATS WHAT LAS VEGAS IS FOR TO GAMBLE
    WHAT DID YOU MOVE HERE FOR IF YOU DONT WANT CASINOS. GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM IF YOU DONT LIKE IT....YOU HAVE NO STATE TAX IS THAT IT, CASINOS IS WHY YOU DONT YOU DUMB PEOPLE...
    WE NEED MORE, BUILD BUILD BUILD ALL YOU WANT.DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WANT TO COME LIVE HERE
    AND YOU DO LIVE HERE YOU SHOULD THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS YOU ARE HERE...


    Thomas wrote on August 15, 2007 06:36 PM: It's hard to imagine anyone complaining about an effort to improve Kyle Canyon, but then, it will make the single wide trailers with tires on the roof look bad.


    Bob wrote on August 08, 2007 01:45 AM: Well instead of complaining about it call YOUR CONGRESSPERSON!!!! ... thats the ONLY way things get done ... tell your freinds and family who live thier too...start a neighborhood petition... come on people this is STILL A DEMOCRACY!!! GET OFF YOUR BUTSS


    Ruffie wrote on August 07, 2007 09:55 PM: Why, oh why does every big land owner think they have to have a "neighborhood" casino. Red Rock is hardly a neighborhood casino and is way out of proportion for its location. Every business in Summerlin has low key signs, not very low key signs for Red Rock. The developers of Red Rock had 100 feetin height allowed and then asked for 300 and "compromised" at 200, double what everyone signed a disclosure for. You don't need a casino in the NW at the entrance to Mt. Charleston. Establish concentrated casino locations and don't change if for ambitious property owners. This NW location is exactly the type of location that the State Law review wanted to stop. Gosh knows there is no shortage of casinos in Las Vegas that they have to be in every section of the urban area.


    Elizabeth Crane wrote on August 07, 2007 08:42 PM: Bring it on. We need a casino in the far northwest area. We also need a large major shopping center. Congratulation on completing the new YMCA. Now let's make this our own northwest community and have all we need right here.


    Las Vegas Bob wrote on August 07, 2007 08:40 PM: Just Great. More houses being built. I guess we forget that there are now 29,000 homes for sale, 14,000 vacant, Lending meltdowns and bankrupcy, Las Vegas No. 1 Foreclosure capital in nation. Did I forget something? Oh yea, pricing falling like a knife!


    D wrote on August 07, 2007 05:18 PM: I think that we should put a hold on any more development, until our water situation is corrected.


    Scott wrote on August 07, 2007 04:51 PM: My thought is simple like so many others. Everyone I talk to some from Vegas some not but everyone agree's the politicians let it get to big, and they just need to say No More Building period. But they won't because all the fat cats are money hungry and don't give a rats ass about the environmental impact or the human impact all this growth is having. Someone needs to stand up to these guys, the politicians and the developers but no one has the balls. Guess things haven't really changed in Vegas it's still run by the money.


    Ken wrote on August 07, 2007 03:41 PM: Is this just another out of state developer wanting to build as many poor quality homes as possible, get the money and get out as soon as possible while we have to deal with all the problems. Water shortages, over crowded schools and poor health care just to name a few. I hope local government has ths backbone to say no.


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