City of LV sued over rejection of Costco project

Peccole Nevada Corp. sued the city of Las Vegas in hopes of reversing the city council's vote against its plan for a Costco superstore in a residential area.

Peccole's plan was recommended for approval by the city planning department but was rejected on Jan. 19 by the council because of concerns the project would attract too much traffic and harm the neighborhood.

The council, which voted 7-0 to block the project, contends that Costco -- which it considers a regional commercial center business with a potential to draw customers from as far as Henderson and Mesquite -- would be better located elsewhere. The superstore was planned for the south side of Charleston Boulevard between Fort Apache Road and Odette Lane.

But Peccole said Costco, which sells memberships, is more likely to be a grocery store or price club with an immediate neighborhood draw since it requires its shoppers to be members.

In a Clark County District Court suit, Peccole Nevada, William and Wanda Peccole Family LP and William and Wanda Peccole 1982 Family Trust are seeking an injunction to force the city council to approve their plan and three special use permits applications for Costco's own gasoline and package/liquor sales and a separate but nearby restaurant/bar, which is to be run by another company.

The council today was to consider Peccole's application for a special use permit for the restaurant/bar. The restaurant, to be built on the southeast corner of Charleston Boulevard and Fort Apache, will have its own parking lot and is independent of Costco's operations.

Peccole said the council's denial of the plan was "arbitrary" because the city doesn't have a regional commercial zoning code requirement and has allegedly admitted that building a Costco superstore is legal and permitted under a C-2 commercial zoning code.

"There were concerns about the compatibility of Costco with the surrounding neighborhood. The meeting included discussions as to whether Costco was a regional-type use or neighborhood-type use development," said Bob Genzer, the city planning department's deputy director.

"Where are the people that are going to use this facility coming from? Will they be coming from the immediate neighborhood or from all over the Las Vegas valley, which makes the development a regional-type use facility?" he said. "In the end, the council decided it was more of a regional-type use facility that is better suited elsewhere, especially since Charleston Boulevard is a major thoroughfare."

Charleston Boulevard and Fort Apache Road/Rampart Drive are major regional roads designed to be the widest possible carriers of traffic other than freeways.

Genzer said another factor exacerbating the traffic problem is that the Costco site is near a large shopping center, Boca Park, at the northeast corner of Charleston and Rampart. "Also there's no immediate proximity to a freeway, in terms of moving traffic in and out of that area," he said.

Genzer said the neigborhood was divided over whether to support the Costco project, with some saying the superstore will be an amenity that has controlled hours, while other residents complained about heavier traffic in the neighborhood.

"Odette Lane was a concern because it is the only open access to Charleston from the residential area adjacent to the Costco site," Genzer said. "If there is access allowed from Costco to Odette Lane, people would be cutting through the residential neighborhood." Genzer said the planning department had recommended a condition that would prohibit a driveway from the Costco site to Odette Lane. But he said the planning commission didn't agree with that condition and imposed another condition that required Peccole to work with public works and the residents to determine whether Odette Lane should remain open or terminate in a cul-de-sac and when that should occur.

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