Ethics complaint dismissed

By ALAN CHOATE

The Nevada Ethics Commission has dismissed a complaint alleging that Las Vegas Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian was wrong to get involved in a Rancho Circle wall variance because her daughter owns property there.

Jon Jackson filed the complaint. He and a partner, Joseph Miller, bought property at 1500 Rancho Circle in February 2007, intending to demolish the existing house and build a new one, along with a wall enclosing the property.

City code limited the height of the wall to 5 feet, and they applied for a variance to make it 8 feet. That was approved by the Las Vegas Planning Commission, but Tarkanian asked for it to be reviewed by the City Council, which turned down the variance request.

Tarkanian said at the March 19 meeting that her daughter owns property on Rancho Circle, but said she had been advised by the city attorney's office that she did not have to abstain. Mayor Oscar Goodman said his son owns property there and did not abstain.

An investigator for the Ethics Commission found that opposition to the higher wall was expressed by Rancho Circle residents and that Tarkanian's daughter did not benefit more than other residents because of Tarkanian's participation.

The property later was cited by the code enforcement department. Jackson appealed to the council, and Tarkanian and Goodman abstained from voting on that matter after Jackson objected to their participation.