Monday, April 3, 2000 | 11:49 a.m.
An informal group of citizens on the western reaches of Sahara Avenue is mobilizing to fight another battle against used-car lots in the neighborhood.
Twice the group has defeated proposals and zoning amendments for 10-acre used-car lots along Sahara that would have held hundreds of cars. Now they are fighting a smaller proposal for a seven-car used-car dealership at the corner of Sahara and Belcastro Street.
The would-be dealership, Total Eclipse, is currently a small window-tinting and auto-detailing shop.
Don Romano is one of the neighbors in an upscale subdivision south of Sahara. He and his neighbors have pledged to fight all used-car proposals west of Rainbow Boulevard.
Already the group of neighbors has quashed the newest proposal before the Spring Valley Town Board and the Clark County Planning Commission, both advisory boards. The Clark County Commission, which makes the final decision, is tentatively scheduled to judge the merits of Total Eclipse's application for a use permit at Wednesday's Zoning Board meeting.
Total Eclipse owner John Rana said he's seeking to delay the commission's judgment until May so he will have an opportunity to meet with the group to work on a compromise.
Fighting a car-sales operation might seem quixotic on Sahara Avenue, where block after block is filled with car dealerships. Members of the neighborhood group say they've been plagued with people test driving cars along the cul-de-sacs and other streets in the area.
The problem doesn't come from new-car sales, but from used-car operations, they argue.
Romano and others believe that Total Eclipse's proposal is a Trojan horse that would set a precedent for more used-car lots farther west on Sahara -- a point Rana disputes.
The only precedent would be for small operations to sell a handful of cars, he said. Rana said he didn't mind the other proposals for large used-car lots next door, figuring that they would bring him business, but he isn't connected to those.
He would be happy to live with a county-mandated review of the use permit after a year, a condition that could be part of any commission approval, he said.
"Give us a fair shake," Rana said. "If we do anything different than what we're saying, take our license away."
Neighbors are not convinced. They argue that the master plan for the area provides for light-commercial and professional-office zoning as a buffer for heavier commercial uses.
A used-car lot in the light-commercial zoning that Total Eclipse is under requires a use permit.
"We just want to preserve the master plan," said Debbie Sisseck, who lives a few blocks from Total Eclipse. Sisseck is passing around a petition, a weapon in her arsenal that she has used effectively in fights against used-car sales.
"We have so many car lots on Sahara as it is. Do we need another one?" said Laura Gronrold, a 22-year resident of the neighborhood.
Neighbors say they aren't as concerned about proposals to put in Ford and Mercedes-Benz dealerships between Rainbow Boulevard and Buffalo Drive. Those new-car dealers have pledged to keep test drivers out of the neighborhood, Sisseck said.
Launce Rake covers growth issues for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4127 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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