Friday, Jan. 11, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.
Desert Inn Estates homeowners fighting to keep their property from being swallowed by Steve Wynn's newest resort believe a proposed cement and gravel mixing plant is the casino mogul's latest attempt to oust them.
What's more, many of the 10 remaining homeowners are afraid to speak publicly about their ongoing battle for fear they will be sued by Wynn.
Gilbert Barbieri said Wynn's company, Valvino Lamore, wants to build a "batch" plant where his neighbors' custom homes once stood along Country Club Lane. The Paradise Advisory Board rejected the idea, but the Planning Commission still must vote.
"Our last meeting with (Wynn), he said he wanted to be a nice neighbor," Barbieri said. "Now he wants to put a batch plant on the association lot, which I don't think is being a nice neighbor."
After Wynn purchased the Desert Inn in June 2000, he began buying out homeowners whose houses bordered the golf course.
Of the 53 lots included in the Desert Inn Estates Association, only 10 remain occupied.
Some took Wynn's initial cash offer and went quietly, the 10 remaining have been outspoken -- some to the point they are being sued by Valvino Lamore.
Attorney Marc Rubinstein, who represents Wynn's group, claims the suit was filed because residents were purposely misrepresenting the facts to the public. Others believe the suit was filed to keep homeowners' quiet.
"In my 22 years, I've never seen any litigant suggest that participation in public hearings provided a claim for relief," said attorney John Netzorg, who represents many of the residents. "I'm not privy to their strategy, but it's a pattern consistent with the abuse of homeowners."
The lawsuit filed against Desert Inn Estates residents late last year accuses two homeowners of willful abuse of process. It says Stephanie Swain and Sharon Greenbaum appeared before the Winchester Town Board to "wrongfully accuse Valvino, on the public record, of being in contempt" of court.
"What they're doing is appearing before public bodies and totally misrepresenting the facts," Rubinstein said. "It interferes with what we're trying to accomplish in terms of a legitimate business interest."
Rubinstein said Wynn is in the process of shoring up financing for his new megaresort, Le Reve -- a 45-story, 2,455-room hotel.
"Anything that clouds our ability to develop our project has the ability to jeopardize financing," Rubinstein said. "That's what the (lawsuit) is all about."
Residents, however, aren't worried about clouding Wynn's project. They believe they have been abused since Wynn took over the Desert Inn. First, residents have claimed, Wynn tried to low-ball them on the values of their homes, then he attempted to install a wall separating their properties from the golf course.
Now, they're fearful they will live next to a mixing plant. And the homeowners are essentially powerless.
Wynn acquired more than 30 of the parcels with his purchase. Having majority vote on the Desert Inn Estates Association board, he opted to dissolve the board and erase the community, covenants and restrictions.
The board was later resurrected, but whittled to three members -- none of whom own homes in Desert Inn Estates and all with ties to Wynn's company.
Rubinstein, the board chairman, insists his company is trying to treat residents well. He said there are no plans to erect walls or tear up the golf course. At worst, under existing plans, homeowners' view of the course may be impeded by a tree or berm.
He said the residents' behavior is making it increasingly difficult to work with them.
"During demolition work they were blockading trucks and harassing workers," he said. "It was silly."
But Netzorg scoffs at Rubinstein's version of the happenings over the past two years. Netzorg said Wynn's company has tried to terminate security, stopped maintaining roads and common landscaped areas .
The company also tried to have residents arrested when, as workers attempted to install a wall blocking their view of the golf course, homeowners tried to impede construction, Netzorg said.
"I don't think any homeowner in Nevada or anywhere else in this country for that matter would consider that friendly behavior," Netzorg said.
Residents and Valvino representatives are scheduled to appear before the Planning Commission next week, but their turf war will likely continue.
Wynn has said construction of Le Reve will take about 32 months and he hopes to have it open by 2004. In the meantime, Netzorg said residents will refuse to be intimidated by Wynn and will continue to fight.
"This is America and they will continue to exercise the rights they are guaranteed under our system of law," he said.
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