County sets monorail guidelines

A group aiming to build a monorail that would stretch from the MGM Grand hotel-casino to the Las Vegas Hilton were given a set of guidelines Tuesday by the Clark County Commission.

The commission unanimously adopted three ordinances that set the framework for a franchise agreement likely to be arranged with the MGM Grand-Bally's (Hilton) Monorail Limited Liability Co..

The ordinances -- the first in the country that deal specifically with franchise agreements for a private mass transportation system -- set forth guidelines that say who is responsible for paying for the system, maintaining it, providing security and caring for public rights-of-way.

They also require the group to provide the county with passenger capacities, traffic studies, environmental impact reports and the design of the project.

Commissioners emphasized Tuesday's action did not seal a franchise agreement, but it informed monorail proponents of what the county needs before an operating license is considered. However, only one company -- the one managed for several investors by former Aviation Director Robert Broadbent -- has surfaced to develop a private monorail system.

Some critics contend the MGM Grand-Bally's system is just a people-mover between Hilton properties disguised as a public transportation system.

"We'll discuss all the details as we move along," said Commissioner Lorraine Hunt. "This is just a stop, one of many, as this complicated process moves on."

The monorail route initially proposed by the group traveled north from the MGM Grand, through Bally's, alongside the Flamingo Hilton, Harrah's and the Sands Convention Center and on to the New Frontier and Stardust hotel-casinos.

When the Venetian and Desert Inn hotels opposed the monorail, the route was changed to head east after Harrah's and then travel along Paradise Road. It will connect with an existing monorail that runs between Bally's and the MGM Grand.

Joe Corbo, general counsel for the Venetian, told commissioners the proposed monorail is a private system designed to benefit the MGM and is "cleverly disguised as a public system."

"We would be naive to believe they are philanthropists and have only the public good in mind," Corbo said.

In addition, he said the system doesn't address traffic problems identified along the Strip in a report released by a regional traffic authority.

Much of the congestion in the tourist area is caused by motorists traveling east and west across Las Vegas Boulevard, Corbo said. The monorail would run north and south.

"You're are simply acknowledging that you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a report that the commission had no intention of paying attention to," Corbo said.

Corbo added that he also was shocked to see the new route was accepted when it travels through a densely populated neighborhood. He said not only would the noise be a nuisance, but the high-voltage tracks could be dangerous as a generator of controversial electronic fields.

The Venetian would support a comprehensive plan that address routes and traffic impacts rather than putting together a system piecemeal, Corbo said. Neither study has been provided by the monorail group.

After a lengthy discussion about eminent domain, Broadbent persuaded the commission to leave the language in the ordinance.

Broadbent said having the power to take land gives the group leverage. Otherwise, he said, landowners could refuse to sell, which could bring the project to a halt.

"I won't tell you right now whether we'll have to," Broadbent said. "We may see a piece we need for air rights."

Commissioner Lance Malone expressed concern about authorizing that power, but said he was willing to leave the ordinance as is because the group is investing $250 million into the monorail system.

"We appreciate what they're doing," he said. "Spending their money to accommodate our tourists."

Broadbent said the group has not created a finance plan, but he assured commissioners that county taxpayers would not be left with the bill.

"As we look at financing, we're not talking about public debt," he said.

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