Council approves hotel proposal

A northwest Las Vegas development that had drawn some neighborhood opposition cleared its final hurdle Wednesday, with City Council members approving a hotel, convenience store, car wash, tavern and retail space at Durango Drive and Farm Road.

Though a small development -- eight acres -- it highlighted once again how contentious development can be in that part of the city, where residents are extremely wary of how new construction could affect quality of life.

"You have a golden opportunity to make some friends here," Councilman Steve Ross said to the developer, Rapinder Chima. "You need to do this in conjunction with your new neighbors."

Neighbors were worried about the height of the hotel, and some wondered whether the neighborhood needed another convenience store or tavern -- in this case, a Baja Rockin' Lobster restaurant.

Chima countered that because his property is near U.S. Highway 95, his Holiday Inn would be appropriate. He agreed to restrictions on the restaurant/bar to make it more family-friendly and promised that the hotel would not have kitchenettes or public laundry facilities, amenities that a weekly or monthly stay hotel would have.

He also noted that the hotel, at a height of 61 feet, would only be about 20 feet taller than the Albertsons grocery store across the street.

"These are the kinds of uses you want to see up against the freeway," said Ross, noting that U.S. 95 and Farm Road are scheduled to be widened. "You don't want those kinds of uses in neighborhoods."

The Durango and Farm intersection is in an area designated by the city as "Town Center," which is meant to concentrate high-density residential, commercial and office developments away from nearby residential neighborhoods.

But even though those types of projects have been envisioned, "when those kind of uses come out, the opposition is there," Ross said.

"Anytime anybody wants to do anything out there, there's opposition. Somebody is not going to be pleased."

He acknowledged that development in the area hasn't always followed planning goals.

"Town Center got off track before I even came into office. Now I'm dealing with all these puzzle pieces, and how do I keep putting it together so that it makes sense?" he said. "That is a big priority of mine."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.